Eating exercise calories? What's YOUR opinion?

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jacolyncoker123
jacolyncoker123 Posts: 55
in Health and Weight Loss
I can't decide wheither I should or not, haha. I eat 1200, and on an average day I burn 150-200.
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Replies

  • Mary830
    Mary830 Posts: 64
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    I am not a fan of eating back the calories I burned. It feels like "cheating" to me. What's the point for working my butt off with a run, if I am going to eat those calories? Just my opinion, of course.
  • mishmash73
    mishmash73 Posts: 166 Member
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    the 1200 is already putting a deficit in your diet... however 150/200 isn't that much so if you were to skip i doubt your body would go into starvation mode & hoard the carbs & calories. i'd only eat them if you are burning 400-and up
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
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    Some people will argue strongly for yes eat them, and others will argue strongly for no don't eat them.

    My personal opinion is figure out what works for YOU personally. Try 2 - 3 weeks eating them, and 2 - 3 weeks without. Maybe even try 2-3 weeks staggering (eating them some days, others not).

    I never eat mine, because that is what works for me. But, I do stagger occasionally just due to where I am/vacation/etc.
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
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    i eat about half of them. if im really working out hard i get hungry, but i never eat all of the calories, i try to leave about 250 left, but i leave more if i dont do workout super hard.
  • MOMvsFOOD
    MOMvsFOOD Posts: 654 Member
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    I was eating back all or most, and sometimes going over because I earned it. It stalled me and I didnt hardly lose for weeks. Now I strive to burn 300-500 and will only eat back half. Its kicked it up for me.
  • jacolyncoker123
    jacolyncoker123 Posts: 55
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    I only burn that much because I'm already a pretty small person, and I can't burn a lot without REALLY pumping it up. And it's only a rough estimate, I do a 30 minute aerobic class mon-fri, and Jillian Michael's 30 day shred everyday.
  • arfdemob5
    arfdemob5 Posts: 109 Member
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    Of course everyone is different and what works for some won't work for others. MFP recommended about 1800 calories a day for me but I was going over that. So, I set mine at 1200 a day, and when I go over I'm not over the 1800 actually recommended. I try not to eat my burned calories, but i let it provide a nice buffer. But, when i eat something "bad" or go over significantly..then I make myself burn it in additional exercise. Makes me think twice about a bad food choice! It seems to be working for me...I lost 2 pounds this week..despite a 7.4 pound gain thanks to mother nature.

    But, try some of the suggestions we've given you and you'll probably end up meshing a few together to find a plan that works for you!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    That's not very much (in exercise calories), so not eating them won't hurt you too much. But too many people have 1200 as a calorie goal, in my opinion. If you have a small amount to lose, you should probably be eating much closer to maintenance. The loss would be much easier that way (although still not "easy").
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    doubleclick oops
  • jacolyncoker123
    jacolyncoker123 Posts: 55
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    1200 isn't that far off from maintence for me, seeing as I'm about 120 lbs
  • elizwelshman
    elizwelshman Posts: 136
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    Yeah, what ever works for you is what is best for you. I eat most of mine back. I prefer routine of some sort and if I go over my calorie goal for the day- one day should not affect my whole life. I don't beat myself up over food, I just give myself a goal for the next day. As long as I remain balanced and focus on what I should be doing for myself, I will have a healthy lifestyle. Which I have lost some weight and my butt looks awesomely toned! :laugh:
  • carriej82
    carriej82 Posts: 123 Member
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    eating them HAS NOT worked for me. I have maintained my weight by eating them but not losing anything with all the work I am putting in. I am not going to continue to eat them
  • sars_68
    sars_68 Posts: 308 Member
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    I don't like to eat them as I feel it's just zeroing out the hard work put in to burn those calories in the first place.

    I guess everyone is different and you have to decide what's best for you.:smile:
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    You want your goal calories and net calories to be equal, ideally, at the end of the day. Do what works for you. Just be consistent so you know what's actually working and what isn't. Good luck! :)
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    When I don't eat most of them back, I don't see weight loss that week, or it is something ridiculously small like 0.2 pounds. My goal is set at 1200, but I tend to eat 1600 on average when I add the calories back, and when I do this, I lose around 1 pound per week which is my goal. There was a month where I was averaging about 1300 calories per day while burning off 500, and as I said before, I didn't lose much of anything that month.

    I have been losing the whole time since Jan. 3, don't get me wrong, but I just lose MORE when I eat most of exercise cals back. I have even gotten in the habit of scheduling my food choices to equal 1200 + what I think I will burn off since I have gotten a feel for the average calories my workouts burn.
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
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    I would eat it back. 1200 is little, if you exercise, you should give your body some more food so it can run smoothly. I read many articles here about it. You should probably try both and check out how you feel about it!
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    You're not burning very many calories a day so I wouldn't worry too much. If you eat between 1200 and 1400 you should lose weight.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    I am not a fan of eating back the calories I burned. It feels like "cheating" to me. What's the point for working my butt off with a run, if I am going to eat those calories? Just my opinion, of course.

    thats one way to look at it, but MFP already estimates how many calories you need to eat to meet your goals without exercise, then calculates the calories burned into it. im sure its never 100% accurate so i try to leave a buffer whenever i can, but i feel like i earned at least some of those calories, especially if im feeling hungry :)
  • rascal21
    rascal21 Posts: 29 Member
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    Okay, you guys made me feel better. There are days that I do eat some of them, and days that I don't even touch them. How will I know if my body is beginning to go into starvation mode? Will I just stop losing weight? The reason I ask is that I am generally not hungry, but I am all but forcing myself to eat to make it to the 1200/day. My diet has gone from ridiculous (Fast food 5-7 times per week) to extremely healthy (1 trip to mcds in 60 days). and I have lost 17 lbs. Now i have a step aerobics video that kicks my butt, and according to my HRM, burns over 1000 calories in the hour I am working out. So that means that I am keeping about 200 calories of what i ate for the day, and that is not counting the amount that I burn just by living...Am i doing okay, or should I be eating more?
  • tsumpter
    tsumpter Posts: 491
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    I try not to eat my workout calories. Although if I am having a cheat day or just need a treat. Then I will use some of my workout calories. A couple of times I have used all of my calories but I really don't like to because this has stalled my weight loss but in turn I have taken in less than 1200 calories which has resulted no weight loss. I have found that calorie intake is a work of art and each person is different. You have to find what works for you. I have to have 1200 calories or the starve mode kicks in & there is no weight loss.

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