Do you use your exercise calories?

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mochamom83
mochamom83 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know when you add in your exercise for the day it adds calories to your daily total. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this!! Sometimes that is my only incentive to exercise. However, I'm not sure if I should really be eating those extra calories during the day or not. Will someone give me an opinion on this?

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  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    Yes you should. Or at least most of them. Your net intake needs to be at least 1200, so depending on what your goal is before exercise, you might be able to get away without eating back all your calories as long as your net intake stays above 1200.
  • Jag13760
    Jag13760 Posts: 23
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • Jesseann
    Jesseann Posts: 35 Member
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    Yep, well at least some of them. You can't always eat all of them...
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I eat them all. It hasn't negatively affected my weight loss at all.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Yes, I eat mine most of the time
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    The thread Jag suggested is the best explanation of why you should eat at least some of them. It's definitely a MUST READ.

    Part of "how much" depends on how much weight you have to lose. If you have a lot (50 lbs or more), then you can better handle a larger deficit each day (but should still be staying above your BMR). You might get by with only eating 25-50% of them. If you have less to lose (especially 20 lbs or under), it is much more important that you eat 75-100% of them, as your body will break down muscle for energy much more easily.

    Also, if your loss goal/week is already high (1.5 or 2 lbs/week), you should be eating all or most of them, as you already have a large deficit built in to your goal.

    Good luck!
  • masterofktulu
    masterofktulu Posts: 151 Member
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    Everyone is different. I work out and I don't eat mine I just eat when I am hungry and I drink a ton of water. And I've lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
  • spuzo
    spuzo Posts: 50
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    No, I dont eat them and I dont even log my exercise on this site so I wont be tempted to eat them. I have such a large amount of weight to lose [200lbs] that I can afford the deficit and it won't adversely affect my body or my weight loss. As I lose weight, I'll have to adjust that.
  • mochamom83
    mochamom83 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks to everyone! This is very helpful!!
  • jessicakay1202
    jessicakay1202 Posts: 5
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    Mom you are so cute :) I say eat them!
  • fitmamaoftwins
    fitmamaoftwins Posts: 116
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    I dont use mine.... I stick to 1200 calories a day 6 days a week no matter what... and on sunday I consume an extra 1000 calories a day (fat foods of course) to spike my metabolism so it works for me.... not only that, you cant really know how many calories you burn during exercise, everyone is different... its just an estimate.

    as long as you are consuming over 1200 you are in the clear my dear
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    I dont use mine.... I stick to 1200 calories a day 6 days a week no matter what... and on sunday I consume an extra 1000 calories a day (fat foods of course) to spike my metabolism so it works for me.... not only that, you cant really know how many calories you burn during exercise, everyone is different... its just an estimate.

    as long as you are consuming over 1200 you are in the clear my dear

    Um...perhaps it's just me. But this sounds exactly like using them, at least partially. Just because you don't use them THAT day, doesn't mean you aren't making them up with your "spike" on Sunday. You're essentially eating about 1350 cals per day, once it's all averaged for the week.

    And while the entries in the database can be inaccurate, depending on the individual, you can certainly get a good estimate from a HRM; or by finding a middle ground between a (decent) machine reading (which takes into account height/weight/age) and some entries in the database.

    At any rate, if that works for you, good on ya! :flowerforyou:
  • mochamom83
    mochamom83 Posts: 6 Member
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    I was kind of comparing it to Weight Watchers where you get your 35 "flex" points that you can use throughout the week. You don't have to, but you can. Taking in a total of 1200 calories a day, including the ones you burned of with exercise, makes sense to me. I have been trying to use them, so we will see if I get results! Thanks for all the comments!

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