From eating exercise calories to binging?

healthyandthin
healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
This week I started to make sure that my NET calorie is 1200. I burn about 500 calories exercising everyday and I'm trying hard to allow myself to eat those calories back. Unfortunately the past three days have been terrible for me. I'd start eating more food and that turns to a binge of 1000 calories. Gahhh, a part of me regret following this new guideline to eat back my exercise calories because it encourages me to make bad food choices. By attempting to eat more, I've been adding back baked chips and cookies into my diet to fulfill those extra calories. After all how much vegetables and beans can one eat in one day? (I'm vegan by the way.)

Does anyone else have that experience? How do you deal with it?

Replies

  • loganaw
    loganaw Posts: 62 Member
    i never eat back the exercise calories.
  • alikikiay
    alikikiay Posts: 5 Member
    That is the problem I am having right now, I just switched here from spark people and it seems this set up makes me want to eat even more. I still have 500 remaining calories and I'm sitting here thinking that I need to eat something else! UGH
  • Mamapengu
    Mamapengu Posts: 250
    the same thing is happening to me. I was doing well eating 200-250 cal (1200c/day) 5-6 times a day, then started trying to eat back my exercise calories and started adding bad foods to make up the difference. a few days ago I decided to average the exercise calories across the week so that I now try to eat 280 cal (1680c/day) 6 times a day. It seems a little better, but tonight I blew it when a friend took me out to dinner for a treat, and I missed my long workout yesterday due to working late. Hopefully, in a few more days I'll know if this will work for me. I may end up just chalking this week up to a learning experience.
    GOOD LUCK!
  • W0zzie
    W0zzie Posts: 262 Member
    A lot of successful members seem to suggest nuts as fillers - especially almonds but also cashews and/or dried fruit & nut mixes. They are generally fairly high in calories but good nutritionally.
  • AniMarieSt
    AniMarieSt Posts: 119 Member
    I've found that replacing my favorite foods with healthier (lower calorie, lower fat, etc) alternatives helps tremendously.

    Icecream
    I love icecream. But a bowl of ice cream can add up to 300-500 calories or even more fast. Instead I've switched to Dreyers Orange and Creme Bars. Only 80 calories and still surprisingly yummy.

    Pizza
    Pizza is hard to get rid of because, after a long day, its easier sometimes just to throw something in the oven for 20 minutes rather than do actual cooking. Instead of a DiGiorno's Cheese stuffed pizza (over 1,000 calories) my boyfriend and I have switched to Freschetta Brick Oven pizzas for 1/2 the calories

    Sandwiches
    Sandwiches are quick and easy for me to pack and bring with me in the mornings. But the calories with white bread and mayo were a bit much. If you switch to, say, Nature's Own bread it's only 50 calories a slice. Switching to mustard is only 10 calories per teaspoon compared to what mayo carries.

    Chips
    Everyone knows how crazy high chips are in calories. My boyfriend and I recently discovered Sensible Portions Potato Straws, Veggie Chips, etc. You can eat a decent amount for not nearly as many calories as you'll find in Doritos, etc.

    I hope this helps. Just make little switches and you can enjoy you favorite foods or "bad" foods w/o killing your calorie intake.
  • leomentlines
    leomentlines Posts: 440 Member
    As a vegetarian, I also second the nuts suggestion, or even adding in foods with avocado in them.. They have (healthy) fats, and in the case of the nuts you'll be getting in good protein as well
  • twistedshine74
    twistedshine74 Posts: 14
    honestly i dont think that u should eat back the calories that u burn. it defeats the whole purpose of dieting n excercising. calories in vs calories out. 3500 calories = 1lb. so if u cut ur calories back 500 a day and burn 500 a day u just lost a 1000 calories that day. if u eat them back u only lost 500
  • ker0ker0alma
    ker0ker0alma Posts: 2
    Good suggestion about the nuts been meaning to go to store and buy some... how bad is it that in keeping under my calorie intake with excersise, my snacks still consist of the occassional salt and vinegar chips, or meals with pasta, and cheeses, but portion control to stay under. This week I have been flagged not eating enough and I am being totally honest on my intake of food.
  • ker0ker0alma
    ker0ker0alma Posts: 2
    That what I think then you are flagged eating too little, what do u think of that?
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
    Would you care for some homemade lentil soup or other legume based soups? I'm thinking something almost stew like not broth-y.
    With sweet potatoes added and olive oil.
    A nice split pea soup with barley would add heavier calories.
    I like Wasa or Ryvita crispbreads with almond butter and banana for heavier snacks.
    I like smoothies too. I make some with coconut water, banana, kale or spinach, and berries and flaxseed.

    I have to be careful too of not getting carried away with the snacking and for sure I wouldn't be able to handle processed snacks at all. I would just end up binging on those too.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    One thing that may help is planning ahead. You don't have to literally wait until the end of the evening to "eat back" the exercise calories. Just factor that many more calories into your day. Play around by adding foods to "tomorrow's" diary until you have the whole day planned. Guesstimate how much you will burn by exercising and adjust the food accordingly to hit the right ballpark for net calories. If your spreading those "extra" calories throughout small meals throughout the day, it's easy to distribute them.

    edit: i "don't know" why i "used" so many "quotes" above. must be getting tired :smile:
  • AKFatBoy
    AKFatBoy Posts: 14 Member
    I usually eat those exercise calories back; I don't want my body going into starvation mode. I think you need to get those calories in you (ONLY those, don't go crazy) to keep your body fed well enough to continue to lose. It's worked well for me so far. Granted, I'm only 2 weeks in, have a helluva lot more weight to lose, and always at the beginning you're going to see some pretty drastic losses. Go from about 6000 calories a day to 1580 and watch what happens... As with anything, you just need to be flexible and make small adjustments you can track to see how they affect you. Keep what works, toss what doesn't.

    I have found that the easiest way for me to add calories without resorting to junk food is baked sweet potatoes and almonds. I struggle with the monotony of foods at times; I can't imagine how much more of a battle that would be with vegan restrictions, but I think you might just have to get inventive and get find some new ways to utilize the same basic ingredients.

    I think eating the calories is the right thing to do, but again, try it for a while and just hold on to what works for you. Good luck; stay positive.
  • chicabean420
    chicabean420 Posts: 173 Member
    You have to eat SOME of them, because you've gotta make sure your body is still running on enough fuel, especially when adding working out to the mix.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Ok, I'm just going to ignore the "eat your exercise cals" because there are 1000000 posts on this issue and will try to answer your question :)
    I try to plan my eating and exercise so I don't end up with lots of cals left or too few. I usually know what exercise I will do and add in my planned meals so I can see if I need to fit in some extra cals - like a piece of wholegrain bread with peanutbutter or add 1/2 an avocado with chilli sauce for dinner. Nuts and fruit are pretty good ways to get in some cals during the day without feeling too full.
  • W0zzie
    W0zzie Posts: 262 Member
    @taso42 : Agree, I've started to do that a bit over recent weeks to month. I found when I started exercising regularly I "needed" the added fuel and ending up 500cal under goal at 9 or 10pm is not good. So now having a bit of a routine going I eat more over the whole day. It's also a big incentive to do the workouts if you've already eaten the cals.

    @AKFatBoy : also agree. I'm no guru but have done a bit of digging around - I think it's about extremes to a fair degree. *my own thoughts on it* If you go from 3000 to 1500 cals a day you are risking starvation. If you go under 1200 cals a day "anyone" you are risking starvation. But also if you're goal is just 1lb/.5kg a week and you're under by 300/400 then probably no big deal (as long as over 1200). As said above too, once I started "regular & routine" exercise I found I had to eat more - otherwise I would just keep feeling hunger (which I haven't normally in the past) or I'd feel like keeling half-way through a workout.

    Also agree - monitor what works & what doesn't and don't jump to hasty conclusions if something doesn't appear golder after only 1 week.

    Best of luck
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    A lot of successful members seem to suggest nuts as fillers - especially almonds but also cashews and/or dried fruit & nut mixes. They are generally fairly high in calories but good nutritionally.

    I already eat 10-15 unsalted almonds in my regular 1200 c diet. I don't want to eat another 10 almonds, you know?
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    I've found that replacing my favorite foods with healthier (lower calorie, lower fat, etc) alternatives helps tremendously.

    Icecream
    I love icecream. But a bowl of ice cream can add up to 300-500 calories or even more fast. Instead I've switched to Dreyers Orange and Creme Bars. Only 80 calories and still surprisingly yummy.

    Pizza
    Pizza is hard to get rid of because, after a long day, its easier sometimes just to throw something in the oven for 20 minutes rather than do actual cooking. Instead of a DiGiorno's Cheese stuffed pizza (over 1,000 calories) my boyfriend and I have switched to Freschetta Brick Oven pizzas for 1/2 the calories

    Sandwiches
    Sandwiches are quick and easy for me to pack and bring with me in the mornings. But the calories with white bread and mayo were a bit much. If you switch to, say, Nature's Own bread it's only 50 calories a slice. Switching to mustard is only 10 calories per teaspoon compared to what mayo carries.

    Chips
    Everyone knows how crazy high chips are in calories. My boyfriend and I recently discovered Sensible Portions Potato Straws, Veggie Chips, etc. You can eat a decent amount for not nearly as many calories as you'll find in Doritos, etc.

    I hope this helps. Just make little switches and you can enjoy you favorite foods or "bad" foods w/o killing your calorie intake.

    The things is I can't eat ice cream and pizza because of diary and cheese products. I only eat hummus sandwiches and only baked chips. Having said that there is a thing as healthy binge, which is what I'm guilty of.
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    Would you care for some homemade lentil soup or other legume based soups? I'm thinking something almost stew like not broth-y.
    With sweet potatoes added and olive oil.
    A nice split pea soup with barley would add heavier calories.
    I like Wasa or Ryvita crispbreads with almond butter and banana for heavier snacks.
    I like smoothies too. I make some with coconut water, banana, kale or spinach, and berries and flaxseed.

    I have to be careful too of not getting carried away with the snacking and for sure I wouldn't be able to handle processed snacks at all. I would just end up binging on those too.

    I would cook but I'm a college student with no kitchen in the dormitory.
    Yeah aside from the baked chips and cookies I finished last night, I have no more processed food in my room.
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    I usually eat those exercise calories back; I don't want my body going into starvation mode. I think you need to get those calories in you (ONLY those, don't go crazy) to keep your body fed well enough to continue to lose. It's worked well for me so far. Granted, I'm only 2 weeks in, have a helluva lot more weight to lose, and always at the beginning you're going to see some pretty drastic losses. Go from about 6000 calories a day to 1580 and watch what happens... As with anything, you just need to be flexible and make small adjustments you can track to see how they affect you. Keep what works, toss what doesn't.

    I have found that the easiest way for me to add calories without resorting to junk food is baked sweet potatoes and almonds. I struggle with the monotony of foods at times; I can't imagine how much more of a battle that would be with vegan restrictions, but I think you might just have to get inventive and get find some new ways to utilize the same basic ingredients.

    I think eating the calories is the right thing to do, but again, try it for a while and just hold on to what works for you. Good luck; stay positive.

    I'm struggling with the monotony of food as well. :( I think those tight restrictions is partially responsible for my binges.
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    @taso42 : Agree, I've started to do that a bit over recent weeks to month. I found when I started exercising regularly I "needed" the added fuel and ending up 500cal under goal at 9 or 10pm is not good. So now having a bit of a routine going I eat more over the whole day. It's also a big incentive to do the workouts if you've already eaten the cals.

    @AKFatBoy : also agree. I'm no guru but have done a bit of digging around - I think it's about extremes to a fair degree. *my own thoughts on it* If you go from 3000 to 1500 cals a day you are risking starvation. If you go under 1200 cals a day "anyone" you are risking starvation. But also if you're goal is just 1lb/.5kg a week and you're under by 300/400 then probably no big deal (as long as over 1200). As said above too, once I started "regular & routine" exercise I found I had to eat more - otherwise I would just keep feeling hunger (which I haven't normally in the past) or I'd feel like keeling half-way through a workout.

    Also agree - monitor what works & what doesn't and don't jump to hasty conclusions if something doesn't appear golder after only 1 week.

    Best of luck

    Great advice. Moderation is really the key. Thanks!
  • surabhit
    surabhit Posts: 94 Member
    Always aim to eat only 1200 calories a day. Keep that as the goal. Don't eat back what you burn. So don't look at Net calories, look at Gross.
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
    Always aim to eat only 1200 calories a day. Keep that as the goal. Don't eat back what you burn. So don't look at Net calories, look at Gross.

    Yeah I don't think eating back exercise calories is going to work for me. I might eat a healthy snack after gym but definitely not 500 calories. It's too easy for me to binge if I eat too much back.

    Instead I think I'll just eat around 1400 calories gross. That still gives me a 500 calorie deficit with no exercise.
  • zilla
    zilla Posts: 46
    One of the ways I've been told to replace calories are with Sustagen Sport. It's nutritious and it's designed for people who exercise/busy/need to gain weight. The come in 250ml poppers, so having two of those a day wouldn't be too hard. Hope that helps
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