Another question regarding the eating exercise calorie debat

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jessicamichalski
jessicamichalski Posts: 45
in Fitness and Exercise
*first off I noticed I spelled debate wrong ;)

And...before I ask my question..here's my life..
I eat about 1500 calories a day and I go to the gym to do serious cardio at least 3 times a week. (I end up losing about 1.5 pounds a week) BUT, I work 7-4 M,W,Th,F, and 11-8 on Tuesdays...and I work the occasional Saturday as well. I also have class 530-1045 on Mondays and Thursdays...so with that being said, I usually go to the gym in between all of that, and don't get done till 8pm or after...I usually eat before I work out and when I am done, I am not too hungry and if I am, I drink a fruit smoothie..or something relatively light so I don't make myself sick. I don't know how anyone else feels about this, but I think 8pm is waay too late to be eating back my exercise calories, especially since, I do hardcore cardio when I go...and I really don't want to eat my predicted exercise calories before I exercise, for fear of something happening and me not going to the gym...
So my question is, to the people who swear by eating exercise calories, what would you do in my situation?

Replies

  • louisee294
    louisee294 Posts: 140 Member
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    Maybe log the calories as if its the next day and eat them back throughout the next day?
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
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    Add the extra calories to your meals earlier in the day. If I don't exercise, I keep my meals around 300 calories. (5 a day). (I am on maintenance). If I exercise, I keep my meals around 400, or one of them at 600 or 700, while leaving the others at 300 calories. You have to plan ahead. But if all else fails, you could always eat the extra calories the next day. It all evens out in the end.
  • lovemyhellokitty
    lovemyhellokitty Posts: 72 Member
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    sometimes I don't get to eat dinner until after 10 pm. I don't think it matters what time you eat. I think it matters WHAT you actually eat. Think about all the people that work nights- they eat after 8 pm. I find that when I eat most of my exercise calories I lose more weight :)
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    On the days i'm going to the gym i have larger meals all day !
  • lilmissy2
    lilmissy2 Posts: 595 Member
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    As long as you are healthy, eating at regular times and don't have an absurd calorie restriction (and therefore your body has enough stores to replenish itself a bit), it wouldn't really matter that you didn't eat them back on the same day - assuming this is short bursts of activity e.g. an hour or 2 at the gym rather than several hours running or something. I don't see any reason why you couldn't factor them into the following day's allowance instead so that you could spread them out but still be sure you had done the exercise to account for them.
  • jessicamichalski
    jessicamichalski Posts: 45
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    The thing is, I won't eat meals after 8 bc it doesn't work for my body...I am not asking about that..I am asking about eating the exercise calories...I am not going to eat 500 calories back after 8..lol that's insane! Also the people working nights work out and sleep on different schedules than I do..trust me been there done that..but eating them the next day makes sense...sorta...I guess I am just not convinced you should be eating them all back...I will eat some back about 75% of the time, but not all of them..and not all the time....hmmm
  • rachgleeson
    rachgleeson Posts: 83 Member
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    i am finding this one helpful as i have never been sure what to do with the calories i earn through exercise
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    You can do a protein shake/bar after the workout, to get in a little. If your schedule is unpredictable enough that you don't want to eat those cals during the day (in case you miss the workout), just increase your intake the next day. From everything I've read, it's not that detrimental to eat late in the evening - except possibly for sleep. Some people can't sleep well after eating late. If you don't have a problem with that, there's no legitimate reason I've heard of to not have a snack after your workout, even if it is late.
  • jessicamichalski
    jessicamichalski Posts: 45
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    This makes sense..thank you :)
  • Lydbell
    Lydbell Posts: 28
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    I posted something very similar and decided that I didn't have to eat back all my calories but I needed a snack before I went to bed. I found if I didn't I was too hungry and that wasn't good. So I think if your doing your workouts and need to take the hunger edge off have a small meal or snack to get you through. I am no expert and am just starting on this journey but this is what I do.
  • skinnyme125
    skinnyme125 Posts: 396 Member
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    This is a hard one. I agree eating after 7 is not a good idea as your matabolism slows down when the sun goes down. Plus you are not doing enough to burn those calories as most people are starting to get ready to relax and go to bed. I learned this on either Dr. Oz or The Doctors. I also think it is important to eat your exercise calories to avoid sending your body into starvation mode, but if you are still losing weight at a regular pace of 1 and a half pounds a week then what you are doing seems to be working. If you stop losing that is when I would look at changing things. Sounds to me like you have things under controle. Good job.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    The thing is, I won't eat meals after 8 bc it doesn't work for my body...I am not asking about that..I am asking about eating the exercise calories...I am not going to eat 500 calories back after 8..lol that's insane! Also the people working nights work out and sleep on different schedules than I do..trust me been there done that..but eating them the next day makes sense...sorta...I guess I am just not convinced you should be eating them all back...I will eat some back about 75% of the time, but not all of them..and not all the time....hmmm

    Remember - if you are confident that you are accurate with intake and burns, it is even more important to eat as much of them as possible, the closer you get to your goal weight. The body naturally prefers to have a cushion. When you don't have that much to lose, your body needs to KNOW it will be getting enough fuel to be willing to let go of that cushion. Also, the leaner you get, the more detrimental underfeeding is. When you have a lower body fat %, the more muscle you burn as opposed to fat - refueling properly will help limit the lean tissue breakdown.
  • AmericanNewfie
    AmericanNewfie Posts: 21
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    Jessica, there is nothing wrong with eating back your calories after 8, just be sure not to eat any starchy carbs such as bread, potatoes or rice and stay away from fruit and sugars. In other words, chow down on chicken, lean meats or fish and fiberous (notstarchy) veggies... pretty much anything green. If you do this, you will not retain the calories (fat) overnight, instead you will have prepared your body for the upcoming catonic state it is about to endure for the next 8 hours or so.
    I am trying to bulk up muscle so I actually get up around 3AM and pound a protein shake. I eat 6-7x per day besides that and I consume @2300 calories per day. I usually stay with that amount no matter how much I work out. My point is, I eat ALOT and I eat in the middle of the night and just before I go to bed. Guess what? I am losing on average 1/2 lb a day!
    Just watch your starchy carbs after 6PM, keep your sugars and sodium down under MFP goal mark and be sure to consume .75-1g of protein per lb of body weight you have and you WILL loose weight. Oh, and be sure to eat every 2-3 hours.
    Hope this helps! Good lUck!
  • lulutm
    lulutm Posts: 57
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    I don't think you should try to eat 500 calories late in the evening either, though, your body needs protein after any workout to rebuild muscle fibers. What I find works well, is a scoop of low-carb protein (I like Nu-Tek Pro5 - all flavors!) in either a big glass of water, or half water/half milk. Should be about 200 calories, and very little sugar.

    Try it, it worked for me!

    Laura


    Highest weight:175
    Current weight: 129
    Weight: 5'5
    Final goal: ACHIEVED!!!
    Exercise: weight training, running, cycling
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I don't get to the gym until 9 or 10 at night and I burn 500-700 calories. Since I just drink a protein shake and go to bed soon after, there's not way I could eat my exercise calories. So I estimate what I'll burn at they gym and I work those calories into my meals earlier in the day. For me, it just takes logging my protein shake and two snacks to use up the exercise calories.

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