Exercise Calories!

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johnjely
johnjely Posts: 99
in Health and Weight Loss
I am having a really difficult time eating my exercise calories. I try to eat small things every 2 hours or so, but even then.. I just don't feel hungry and feel really weird eating despite that. What do you guys do/how do you manage exercise calories?

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  • dogdaze
    dogdaze Posts: 110 Member
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    If I am not hungry, I don't eat!

    I don't ever go less than 1200 calories but I don't get obsessive about eating all the exercise calories. I will eat up to my 1200 + exercise calories if I feel hungry enough.

    Seems to work for me!
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
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    I generally don't eat mine at all unless I have a day Im really hungry. Seems to work for me!
  • howardrw
    howardrw Posts: 80 Member
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    Make sure that if you do eat your exercise calories, that the calories that you burned thru exercising are correct.
    Once I started using a HRM, I found that what MFP stated I was burning, was much higher than what the HRM was stating.
    One example is that the Turbo Jam workout that I do the MFP states that I burned over 650 calories for a 40 minute workout. The HRM only showed a burn of 308 calories.

    So just make sure that the amount of calories that you burn are the correct amount.

    Hope this helps.....
  • picturegirl1
    picturegirl1 Posts: 2 Member
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    I did not know we were supposed to eat them! I see them added to my calories, but I think it defeats the purpose of exercising if I am going to eat what I burnt!
  • embym
    embym Posts: 65
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    If you diet without exercising, your metabolism will slow immensely because your body is trying to maintain itself and conserve the energy you have stored if you are restricting your diet and not doing anything that uses your energy. Also, the more muscle you have, the greater your basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories you burn by just sitting there breathing), so it's really important to exercise.

    Also, MFP calculates how many calories you should eat each day in order to lose the weight you want, you don't need to restrict them any more. If your body thinks that it's starving, it will not only eat away at its fat deposits, but will move on to depleting your muscle as well, severely slowing your metabolism.

    I hope this helps to explain things. :)
  • dogdaze
    dogdaze Posts: 110 Member
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    If you are consuming a LOT of calories through exercise (I was burning upwards of 600 per hour when I was moving hay bales this summer) then your body/metabolism may go into "famine mode" and not lose weight effectively. I found that I actually had to eat more to lose weight steadily over the summer. Men probably have less of a problem with this happening and being younger helps with weight loss as well.
  • shaunbassett
    shaunbassett Posts: 5
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    Calorie counting is important BUT the concept of eating numerous small meals is about 'firing' your metabolism. This is the function that burns the fuel.

    If you eat the correct foods, the calorie value is less important - this is a complex topic and your best answers will come from a dietician who has your history but I suggest you research the calorie values on foods high in protein (the body's building block) and lower in carbs. This process encourages your body to burn fat when the carb intake has been depleted without sacrificing muscle loss - making you stronger, fitter and lighter.

    Good luck.

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