How do you eat your exercise calories late in the day??
connie96
Posts: 22
Okay. So I need to eat my exercise calories. I get it.
I plan my meals/snacks for my set amount of calories. *IF* I workout, it happens in the evening when I get home from work. So, I'm at the end of my planned calories and I need to add about 200 or so more.
I don't want to "carb up" that late in the day, but I don't want a protein shake either. I want real food that's nutritious and not carb-heavy.
Suggestions??
I plan my meals/snacks for my set amount of calories. *IF* I workout, it happens in the evening when I get home from work. So, I'm at the end of my planned calories and I need to add about 200 or so more.
I don't want to "carb up" that late in the day, but I don't want a protein shake either. I want real food that's nutritious and not carb-heavy.
Suggestions??
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Replies
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You need to plan them throughout the day earlier. If not, eat them the following day. It will all balance out.0
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Eggs! great source of protein after your workout!0
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Bump0
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Okay. So I need to eat my exercise calories. I get it.
why?0 -
I also exercise at night. I usually don't eat all my exercise cals, but will try to eat more during the day, maybe a larger lunch or p.m. snack to pre eat for the exercise coming. This also makes me want to exercise if I know I already over ate. After exercising, I will eat a bowl of cereal with fruit or yogurt and granola either one with a glass of milk. Gotta have milk after a sweaty workout for me! Weird I know!0
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That's one of the things that helps me to workout every day. I plan my calories ahead of time in anticipation of burning 400+ calories at night. That way I've eaten enough to have energy during my workout, and I'm not eating a ton of calories at night. Think of it as a way to keep you on track with your exercise plans so you don't go over your calories.0
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A quarter cup of almonds is a great way to add calories without being carb-heavy.
Like EDestiny said, I try to plan my meals and workouts for the day, and tell myself "If I burn X calories, I can have X with dinner" so that I know I need to work out. But honestly? Somedays I'm just not that hungry, so I only eat 1300 and burn 400... oh well, I carry them over and eat a little more the next day during my 'rest'. Your body isn't *that* smart, it can manage.0 -
I like to have low fat cottage cheese, because I can't stand FAT FREE, with some fruit and veggies. Cottage cheese is a great way to get protein, but it is high in sodium if you are watching sodium. You can also just add it through out the day, go over calorie count, then when you do your exercise and add it in, it will all even out.0
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Yogurt and a piece of fruit? An apple with some peanut butter? A handful of nuts?
All are filling, not a ton of calories.
Kaye0 -
nuts & apple cider0
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Eggs! great source of protein after your workout!
Completly agree. And it's been posted in magazine articles as well!!! Def. eggs!!!0 -
peanut butter .. sometimes I just have a spoonful of that if I am low on calories
... I LOVE when that happens LOL 0 -
Bump0
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You need to plan them throughout the day earlier. If not, eat them the following day. It will all balance out.
I do this exact thing somedays. I try to eat more throughout the day if I know how much exercise I am going to do, but some days I do more than I was planning. I am actually just trying to keep within a net calorie goal each week of 8400-9450. That's an average of 1200-1350 per day. 1350 is what I get per day but I am not always hungry enough, even if I don't exercise, to eat them all. So, try that if you need to. It's called zig zagging calories. Just make sure you don't go below 1200 for more than a couple days a week so your body doesn't think it's going to starve. Good luck!0 -
I've lost over 30 pounds eating late in the evening, often right before bed. It's not the eating before bed that is bad, it's the sitting in bed with a tub of ice cream that is bad. We still burn calories at night, and eating before bed being bad is a myth. Just don't over do it. If you have a couple hundred calories to make up, make it your after dinner/before bed snack. If you are not hungry, just have a hearty breakfast then the next day. There is no really right or wrong way to do it, but rather it's what we take in that is right or wrong. For me, I usually have a small but calorie dense snack such as almonds, or a protein shake.0
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I try to plan out my food intake throughout the day to preemtively account for my exercise calories. I plug in my food for the day first thing in the morning, and if I know I'm going to be working out that evening, I beef up my snacks and meals throughout the day. Right now, for example, my food diary says I'm going to be a bunch over my calories today. But once I add in my exercise, I'll be under.
I've found that this approach really helps me plan my day. Seeing my food diary say I'm over calories also gives me extra motivation to actually go to the gym as planned so that I don't end up being over for the day.0 -
You need to plan them throughout the day earlier. If not, eat them the following day. It will all balance out.
I do this exact thing somedays. I try to eat more throughout the day if I know how much exercise I am going to do, but some days I do more than I was planning. I am actually just trying to keep within a net calorie goal each week of 8400-9450. That's an average of 1200-1350 per day. 1350 is what I get per day but I am not always hungry enough, even if I don't exercise, to eat them all. So, try that if you need to. It's called zig zagging calories. Just make sure you don't go below 1200 for more than a couple days a week so your body doesn't think it's going to starve. Good luck!
I forgot to mention. You can look at my food diary if you want to see how I am tracking it. I may not be doing it the best way, but it might give you an idea on how you want to track it. This is the first week I am officially doing it, but I do have a few days in my notes.0 -
I second the planning ahead with your meals. In the beginning when I wasn't so excited to work out, I'd see that I was over by 200 calories or so, so I had to work out until I burned that many. (Kind of dangerous to play that way but it worked for my mindset.)
Now, I still do the same sort of routine but I enjoy exercising and find that I end up burning too many.. if that happens my go to is almonds. I've also been told that chocolate milk after a workout is a great recovery drink.0 -
Thanks everybody. :-)
Nuts (almonds or walnuts) have been my go-to evening snack for the last couple weeks and I've been enjoying it. I was just wondering what other ideas were out there.
Eggs are a great idea, although I do have an egg with breakfast most mornings, so I probably wouldn't have more in the evening.
I understand that I could bump my calories earlier in the day, but honestly, I just don't trust myself. I know that exercise may or may not happen depending on how my day goes. I used to be *committed* to running three days a week and I loved it, but I'm recovering from an injury and can only do non-impact stuff these days (blah!!).
Anyway... thanks for all of the input. I'll keep checking those suggestions and see what I can use. This process is so different for everybody. Even if your suggestions don't work for me, I'm tickled to pieces that they're working for you. :-)0 -
Okay. So I need to eat my exercise calories. I get it.
why?
www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com0 -
Maybe I'm bad, but I will sneak in a couple of cookies, home made popcorn, chocolate or SkinnyCow icecream. I try to eat healthy throughout the day so by the end of the day the last thing I want to eat is carrots or yogurt. I figure as long as I stay under my calories with sum to spare then I'm ok. I can't give up my snacks, Id be miserable, so I have them but in smaller portions.0
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I usually work out in the evening, right after work. So I time a snack about an hour before I leave work and try to make it protein-heavy. Beef jerky is one of my favorites but lately it's been cold and rainy and dreary, so I've been having a cup of hot chocolate, which I hope (?) is pretty similar to chocolate milk in terms of nutrition, just warmer! I also have nuts sometimes, or whole-grain crackers with or without peanut butter.
By 4PM or so, you might have a sense of whether you're making it to the gym or not....?0 -
Okay. So I need to eat my exercise calories. I get it.
why?
Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo0 -
I don't think its a terrific idea to load up calories late in the day--personal opinion. I find I don't exercise if I don't plan the exercise. So I plan the exercise and eat the calories during the day. Sometimes that backfires, though--life gets in the way and the exercise doesn't happen as planned.
I liked the idea someone posted--saving them for the next day. Are you listening MFP? Can we build that in somehow?0 -
On my workout days I workout to eat dinner. I rarely have calories left at the end of the work day so my exercise calories usually are allotted for my dinner. I would spread out my calories so you can get them in earlier in the day (breakfast, lunch, snacks or if you are doing the 5 meals a day - your first 4 meals - load up w/ healthy foods).0
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