Working Out Doesn’t Mean You Can Eat More!

gaeljo · February 2011

A great article from Henry the Health Hound
http://www.healthhound.org/1984/working-out-doesnt-mean-you-can-eat-more/

Sure, you’re saying, I know that Henry! I’m a smart person, I understand that just because I did a half hour on the treadmill, it doesn’t mean that I can eat anything I want for dinner…but do you really understand that? How many people have you heard say, “I worked out today! I am going to have dessert!” I’m sure you’ve heard that dozens of times.

In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in, and a half hour walk on that treadmill is not burning enough calories for you to turn around and have a triple brownie sundae or a three slices of pizza and still expect to lose weight. Nope. You have to have both exercise and a good diet to make that happen…but did you know that exercising can actually make you hungrier? So you actually are reaching for more calories afterwords without even realizing it?

In a United Kingdom study of new exercisers, many participants compensated for all that new physical activity by adding 270 calories a day to their diets. This means they were losing less weight than they could have been, and sometimes for new exercisers, that’s a reason in itself to give up altogether1.

In a University of Massachusetts study, when sedentary women began to workout four days in a row, for over an hour, their appetite hormone levels changed. They began to stimulate eating—but the opposite was found in men.

What can you do to combat this? First, tell yourself that it can happen and be prepared. Have water on hand to fight those hunger cravings, and if you must give in, eat something healthy. A post-workout snack is fine, but make sure you are eating five to six small meals a day, and make sure that post workout snack has protein and good carbs. Make sure the after workout meal is planned, and not a mad dash to the cupboard or refrigerator to see what is there.

It also may help to do shorter workouts at first, rather than a long one. Try two half hour workouts, one in the morning and one in the evening, rather than an hour long workout at once1. This can help keep your metabolism up, but your brain won’t send signals that say “Oh my gosh, we’ve been working so hard, and for so long, we need to consume a lot of calories!” Stick to your mini meals and you will be fine!

Shannon7713 · February 2011

Love this, and couldn't agree more..... Great Post, Thankyou!!!!

keith0373 · February 2011

You can eat more .. .you just can't exceed the calories you burn. I average doing about 750 calories a day in exercise and eating about 400 of them. Works out just fine.

sara_xo · February 2011

I used to work out in a gym that was in the basement of a mall. The only way to get to the escalater to go down to the gym was to pass the Food Court AND 4 little Cafe's on the way.

COUNTLESS people would be infront of me working out saying, lets grab a bite, or lets get a treat after this awesome workout.

It's crazy how many people think just because they did something good for them, they can reward themselves.

And it's the same people saying, why am I not loosing, why am I stuck at a plateau.

I don't even eat back my exercise cals cause I want to ALWAYS be deficet.

BryanAir · February 2011

Losing weight slower than you could have isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if it helps you retain lean body mass.

Mindful_Trent · February 2011

While I agree you can't just mindlessly eat whatever you want when you workout, it's important to have a balance. It's all common sense. On days when I run 5 miles, you can sure bet that I'll be eating more calories than on days where I'm just doing a 60 min. weightlifting session or a light cardio session. You need to properly fuel your body. That's where MFP comes in handy - log everything you eat and be AWARE - make sure you're eating the appropriate calories for your activity level (which means a little more on more active days, less on less active days) and you'll be fine.

princesschikee · February 2011

I'm a staunch believer in eating 5 small meals a day including carbs, protein and fat in each meal. I can't believe the amount of food I can eat without gaining weight. If you work out with weights and do cardio, your metabolism increases therefore you will be able to eat more, but you still have to watch the numbers.

emmaleigh47 · February 2011

While I agree you can't just mindlessly eat whatever you want when you workout, it's important to have a balance. It's all common sense. On days when I run 5 miles, you can sure bet that I'll be eating more calories than on days where I'm just doing a 60 min. weightlifting session or a light cardio session. You need to properly fuel your body. That's where MFP comes in handy - log everything you eat and be AWARE - make sure you're eating the appropriate calories for your activity level (which means a little more on more active days, less on less active days) and you'll be fine.

Amen to that -- I certainly have a few extra treats on those days I go 6 or more! But i also know exactly what I burn too

mamawildbear · February 2011

I agree/disagree. I believe that working out DOES mean you can eat more. The problem is that when I (and probably a lot of people) do a workout that burns 350 calories, my natural tendency is to reward myself with a 1000 calorie treat. The math just doesn't work there and my weight loss is sabotaged. However, were I to choose a 200 calorie treat I'd probably be fine, provided the rest of my daily intake is within the correct range for weight loss.

omgitsgarry · February 2011

Working out does mean you can eat more. If fact, you need to eat more to replace what you just worked off. Sure, that doesn't mean pulling up to a McDonald's drive thru and having at it because you burned 100 calories. I'll use an example, if you worked off, lets say, 700 calories, your body needs at least half of those back. Your body runs the show. If it's not getting the fuel, you can walk all you want on that treadmill, but you won't go anywhere with your weight loss.

RMinVA · February 2011

Many studies have shown that you don't have to eat any differently than you normally would unless you are engaging in intense cardio activity of an hour or more. Intense is the key word.

That is just one of the many reasons I stick to a range of calories rather than trying to worry about "eating" exercise calories on a day in day out basis. I only have one day a week right now, where I hit that 1 hour+ threshold, but I am fast approaching 2. Most days, I try to stick to 1400-1600 cals: it usually accounts for eating some but not all of my exercise calories. Some days I will be a bit over, and others way under, but it all balances out in the long run.

The bigger problem, as someone already pointed out, is the types of foods that people often reward themselves with..."I just did x, so now I can eat y." Exercise is often used as an excuse to justify bad behavior. I speak from experience...it's part of the reason I packed a few pounds back on last year.

ebgbjo · February 2011

Well, I sort of disagree because prior to starting Insanity I was only eating 1200-1300 calories max (I am only 59") but now I am eating 1600-1800 calories, so yes, because I am working out, I CAN eat more

stormieweather · February 2011

If you are using MFP, then yes, working out DOES mean you can eat more!

You see, MFP already deducts an amount from your normal daily calorie usage to give you your calorie goals. The idea (ON THIS WEBSITE) is to maintain that deficit, not increase it to unhealthy levels. So when you exercise, you ARE increasing that deficit, so you absolutely should eat back at least part of them, to keep your body fueled.

This is my goal page - 1710 is my estimated daily calorie burn doing normal living- 1250 is my calorie goal. The deficit given to me by MFP is 460 calories. If I burn an extra 200 calories on the elliptical and I eat 200 calories extra, I am STILL at a 460 calorie deficit. And most importantly, I have fueled my body and feel good, all while losing approximately 1 pound a week.

(Personally, I would eat 100 extra and leave 100 as a cushion against over/underestimating.)

Now, experts and nutritionist and doctors do not know that MFP does this. Their advice is to work out some and eat less. The two together give you a deficit and you will lose weight. This is true, it's just a different way of arriving at the same place that MFP does (if you follow the plan). But it doesn't work to apply their directions in addition to the MFP pre-calculated deficit, because then you'll end up not eating enough to fuel your body and potentially cause major harm over time.

Note: exceptions to this are usually due to overestimating calories burned, underestimating calories eaten or a medical issue.

Working Out Doesn’t Mean You Can Eat More!

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