To eat, or not to eat? That is the question!

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tessjordan88
tessjordan88 Posts: 201 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've heard from several people that I "should" be eating my excercise calories. "It will boost your metabolism and make you lose weight faster!" they told me. I must say, it sounded like a good idea the way it was explained to me, so I gave it a try. It was hard. I stayed too full. I even got to the point where it was so hard to eat my goal calories plus about half my excercise calories. I felt full and bloated all the time. BUT I noticed that since I made that change, I stopped losing weight. I even started gaining it back, and struggling with trying to keep it down, even though I was gradually increasing my excercise to nearly 1,000 calories! Depressing thought, right? Especially since it was working for almost everybody else! :noway:

This week, I decided to go back to eating between 1,200 and my BMR, still excercising, but just not eating the excercise calories. Guess what? I sneaked a peek at the scale this morning and it's beginning to go down again! :happy: I also don't stress too much if I'm not quite reaching the "minimum" 1,200 daily calories, sometimes going as low as 1,000; as long as I'm not hungry, I don't force myself to eat. I don't try to make this a habit, but if that's how it happens, I just trust my gut (pun intended.) I also don't fear the dreaded "starvation mode" anymore, but I do eat a healthy, balanced, nutrient-rich diet and I watch my intake vs. the nutrition guidelines. I also researched "starvation mode" and found out it's VERY rare, and you would have to eat LESS than 600 calories/day for SEVERAL months for that to happen. First of all, I NEVER drop that low, and very rarely go less that 1,200/day for more than one day at a time.

So, what is my point? What works for some may not work for everybody. For me, eating the excercise calories is not a good thing. It sends my metabolism the wrong way. If it works for you, by all means, DO IT! But please don't jump down my/others' throat/s and try to scare me/us fat! Do what works for YOU and stop trying to "fix" other people's weight problems by offering a frightening assumption as Gospel truth. (Yeah, I'm feeling cocky today. PMS... deal with it!)

I feel it coming now... Let the rants begin...
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Replies

  • heyitsmekatie
    heyitsmekatie Posts: 544 Member
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    I've always wondered why so many people are preaching the need to eat your exercise calories. i'd agree if a person really wanted to stick to just the 1-2 lbs per week weight loss they've plugged into their goals, but for anyone who's okay with losing a bit more quickly why eat what you just worked so hard to work off?
  • lockedonna
    lockedonna Posts: 38
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    Funny you should write about this because on the nights that I have bellydance class, I burn an extra 1000 calories in the day and at first I was so excited that I would be able to eat more that day. But this week, when it actually came to the day of eating extra calories...I had no desire to do so. I ate a well-balanced diet and was close to my maximum calories for a usual day but didn't eat any extra to offset my exercise. I'm heavier than I look and although I know it SAYS I can have extra calories...I don't eat them unless I'm actually hungry because the more days I stay at my minimum...the more days I actually lose. :)
  • tessjordan88
    tessjordan88 Posts: 201 Member
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    Thanks, Ladies! :wink: I thought I'd immediately have 20 responses contradicting my post! Great to know I'm not alone!
  • tessjordan88
    tessjordan88 Posts: 201 Member
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    Also, on another note, I read a quote from a fitness trainer/nutritionist. She said, "Unless you're excercising more than DOUBLE your BMR calories, DON'T eat the excercise calories."
  • tessjordan88
    tessjordan88 Posts: 201 Member
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    I also copied/pasted/blogged it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/tessjordan88

    Go "vote" for it if you'd like!
  • sleight119
    sleight119 Posts: 125
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    I cant eat mine most days
  • kittyinaz
    kittyinaz Posts: 300 Member
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    I find that days I exercise, I get full WAY faster and can't eat all my calories. But today, I didn't exercise, and I went over my calorie goal by 100. Weird!
  • hellen72
    hellen72 Posts: 144 Member
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    I think the reason why some people don't lose when they eat the exercises cal is that Mfp over estimates exercise, we over under estimate what we eat and Mfp may have maintenane cal over what they really are

    Pre trying to lose weigh I had been gradually putting on as I run a lot and thought I could eat what I want.

    I worked out that I was prob eating 2500 a day. I was running 60 miles a week as well as cycling about 20 miles and doing 2-3 sessions at the gym.

    Mfp gives me over 7000 calories for that so that means an 1000 cal a day. My maintainane cal are 1900 so i would hace to eat 2900 a day, i put on on 2500 so would def put on on 2900

    I have now alteres the figures and give myself 80 per mile and use 1100 as my target for the day based on the fact i thnk my maintenance is 1600 so if i break e ven it means a 500 déficit, i rarely eat lesa than 1500 cos i earn through exercise
  • spaboleo
    spaboleo Posts: 172
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    Also, on another note, I read a quote from a fitness trainer/nutritionist. She said, "Unless you're excercising more than DOUBLE your BMR calories, DON'T eat the excercise calories."

    Simple math following:
    My BMR 2300kcal/day.
    Double BMR: 4600kcal

    1 hour on the stationary bike with moderate effort: ~600kcal
    --> 8 hours of exercising to burn 4600kcal.
    I would fall from the bike after 4hours, because of undernutrition... :wink:

    My common sense tells me that this fitness trainer's "rule" is not anywhere near an healthy advice.


    @ Topic-starter:
    Eat you calories if you are hungry. – Yes, it's that simple...listen to what your body tries to tell you. :wink:
    You don't have to come right to the net-calorie goal...it is even fine if you are a little bit beneath.
    It is still just an advice :wink:
  • sincitylulu
    sincitylulu Posts: 22
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    That is a good point you make. I too don't eat back my exercise calories. If I do I gain weight. I consider exercise a bonus and more for my psychological state and over well being.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    First off, we need to debunk the starvation mode myth. There is no such thing as "starvation mode", it is merely a decrease in metabolic levels causing your body to need to burn less food to "survive".

    People on here GROSSLY overestimate their exercise calorie burn, then use that as an excuse to overeat.

    Should you eat more when you're exercising? YES, you need more fuel to build muscle. [General not directed at OP personally] Should you be eating 1,000 calories extra a day because your treadmill tells you that you burned that? NO, and that is when the questions like "Why am I GAINING weight when eating my exercise calories?" come flying in at all angles.

    Bottom line people, use common sense, unless you're running a marathon would you need to eat a substantial amount more (and even then! nothing like 1000 calories!)
    1 hour on the stationary bike with moderate effort: ~600kcal
    --> 8 hours of exercising to burn 4600kcal.
    I would fall from the bike after 4hours, because of undernutrition...

    And if people are exercising 8 hours a day, it is clearly too much :wink:
  • jane77
    jane77 Posts: 489
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    Just a thought if your not measuring EVerything by grams, if you don't compair 3 to 5 different calorie burned web sites, HRM. than it's all just numbers. Some guess high, some guess low it may not be about exercise calories but about the way you look and measure things.
  • spaboleo
    spaboleo Posts: 172
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    First off, we need to debunk the starvation mode myth. There is no such thing as "starvation mode", it is merely a decrease in metabolic levels causing your body to need to burn less food to "survive".

    People on here GROSSLY overestimate their exercise calorie burn, then use that as an excuse to overeat.

    Should you eat more when you're exercising? YES, you need more fuel to build muscle. [General not directed at OP personally] Should you be eating 1,000 calories extra a day because your treadmill tells you that you burned that? NO, and that is when the questions like "Why am I GAINING weight when eating my exercise calories?" come flying in at all angles.

    Bottom line people, use common sense, unless you're running a marathon would you need to eat a substantial amount more (and even then! nothing like 1000 calories!)
    [...]

    You miss the point...

    Burned calories must not be eaten back generally.
    For example: A healthy human, who is at his ideal weight, without ambitions to lose much weight shouldn't eat every burned calorie back

    But the danger is that most people here already are on a drastically decimised diet with a low calorie-intake! (I guess 98% of the users here set "-2lbs/week" as their goalsetting...)
    If I take me as an example: BMR 2300kcal, MFP's dieting goal 1300kcal.
    Which means my calorie intak is reduced to only ~56% of what my body needs on a daily basis to just sustain.

    Most of the users here are in addition very eager to do sports and workout. As I can see in my News-Stream on the startpage of MFP a lot users burn around ~600 additional kcals a day! Not eating a good part of that back makes it get very dangerous.

    This is why I highly recommend eating your calories back! As long as you don't overeat...stop if you are no longer hungry.



    And Starvation mode is not a myth.
    I commited this mistake by myself and now have to bear the consequences.
    I put myself on a very strict diet the last year and exercised eagerly (burned additional 3500kcal/week) and I fasted at least two complete days every week, too. As a result I starved myself with an average calorie intake of only about 700kcal a day (only 30% of my BMR).

    I gained about 9kg (~20lbs) with eating only healthy (but way too less) on my diet and working out at least 10 hours a week and fasting two days. Feeling tired and weak all the time and being unhappy with seeing no results (e.g. muscle growth) or lost weight on my scale.
    Don't do that to yourself. Get to reason and content yourself with the still pretty healthy advised ~2lbs/week.
  • tessjordan88
    tessjordan88 Posts: 201 Member
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    Still missing my point. I never said I doubted that starvation mode exists. It does exist, in extreme cases, HOWEVER, it is extremely rare and has not happened to ME.

    I also said, if eating back the exercise calories works for you, by all means do it! It does NOT work for me, so I will stop eating when I am full. I am getting proper nutrition in what I eat, I feel satisfied and full, but not over-full, and having some success in losing weight. Therefore, I will ignore the advice that does not apply to me. It doesn't matter if someone says I "WILL STARVE!" I know my body and just because someone says something threatening or scary doesn't make it so!
  • aecryan
    aecryan Posts: 89
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    yeah, i am having a difficult time eating all the extra calories added by my exercise and it will only get worse... i am training for a half marathon, so in about a month I will be burning over 1200 cal a workout. sounds like i should just listen to my belly. :)
  • Retiree409
    Retiree409 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks for your comments on the exercise calories. I understand your point of vew. I am new to myfitnesspal and was confused about the exercise calories. It didn't make sense to me to eat calories I work hard to lose.
  • spaboleo
    spaboleo Posts: 172
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    Spaboleo, do you mean you gained 9kgs while eating 700cals a day, fasting 2 days a week and and burning 3500cals a week through exercise? Or that you gained the 9kgs after you stopped doing that?

    I gained the 9kg while doing that!


    Now that I have stopped that madness and since I am watching my calorie intake with MFP I have already lost 2kg again. (Working out even a little less and eating really twice as much. I just try to decree the net-calorie goal.)

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