Eating your exercise calories

afleming22710
afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been cleaning ALL day. So far, I've burned over 1000 calories. I've already ate breakfast, lunch, and one snack, and it says I STILL have 2000 calories left.

Am I REALLY suppose to eat ALL of those? I can't do it.
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Replies

  • husker_gal
    husker_gal Posts: 462 Member
    eat so that you get up to a net of 1200 calories at a minimum.
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    There are veried opinions on this but eating low on 1 day will not hurt you so don't freak out.
  • tcrawford13
    tcrawford13 Posts: 5
    I wouldnt eat them all back. Make sure in your goals that you have an account account of how many calories on average you are burning in a week. That may help. Good luck!
  • anolan807
    anolan807 Posts: 273 Member
    I only do once in awhile.. So I wouldn't stress over it.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    The way that MFP works is that you must eat what you are given to eat in calories each day or else you don't loose the weight. It's just like weight watchers. There's been a lot of talk in the forums about this and you can search for other conversations (you'll find them very helpful). It's only 2:14pm where I am and depending on where you are in the world there's still time left to your day to eat some healthy foods. For example, if I was in your shoes and decided to stop eating at 2:14pm I would never loose weight because my body would not get the fuel it needed to survive and I would be storing fat.
  • obifatkanobi
    obifatkanobi Posts: 190
    You should eat them, but when it's a huge loss, there just isn't any way your going to eat that much. I recommend just eating till your satisfied, the same as any other time. However, keep in mind that with a large deficit today, you may find you are more hungry tomorrow.
  • SassyStef
    SassyStef Posts: 413
    That estimate seems a little high...but I dont know how hard you worked....I never count cleaning as exercising because I do it every day lol

    I would just eat back you Net as well. It is ok to fluctuate with you cals :smile:
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
    I would suggest not burning that many calories... because yes you have to eat them back


    If you plan on burning that many calories I would suggest eating more through out the day so that you don't have such a balance right before dinner.

    Might take some planning, or you should not do so much cardio..

    if you don't eat them today it wont kill you tho. Just don't do it very often...
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
    I never eat them ...

    read this for your own opinion or see a Doctor

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/218981-personal-trainer-s-advice-eat-all-exercise-calories
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    1 day- no but try to eat most of them if you cna

    Most days- yes- going forward try to plan out your meals ahead of time to compensate for expected burn- Your body doesnt care what the reason you don't get cals, if it doesn't get, sooner or later it slows your metabolism down and throws off the estimates MFP gives you.
  • Gossamer5
    Gossamer5 Posts: 12 Member
    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    I would eat a little extra protein and carbs (maybe 200-300 calories worth). Don't forget to deduct your normal calories from those "extra" calories. For me, I burn 72 calories a minute, doing absolutely nothing ((1730 total daily burn / 24 hours) / 60 minutes). So, in 8 hours, I would have burned 576 calories. Deduct the 576 from the 1000 you say you burned cleaning, and you have an excess of only 424 calories. A handful of almonds ought to cover it.
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    That estimate seems a little high...but I dont know how hard you worked....I never count cleaning as exercising because I do it every day lol

    I would just eat back you Net as well. It is ok to fluctuate with you cals :smile:


    I've been cleaning since 8am. I don't normally count cleaning either, because I too do it everyday, but today, I've been cleaning so hard that I broke a sweat, so I figured I should add it! lol
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
    I eat when I am hungry. There is no way I can physically eat back all my calories unless I make bad food decisions. If you feel hungry then you should eat, if you are full do not eat.
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    Are you using a HRM? If not you may not have accually burn that amount, and if you eat all the calories you maybe eating to many.



    2639362.png
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    I would suggest not burning that many calories... because yes you have to eat them back


    If you plan on burning that many calories I would suggest eating more through out the day so that you don't have such a balance right before dinner.

    Might take some planning, or you should not do so much cardio..

    if you don't eat them today it wont kill you tho. Just don't do it very often...

    I normally don't count my cleaning. The only reason why I did today is because I've been cleaning since 8am, and it actually caused me to break a sweat. I didn't realize that cleaning burnt so many calories.
  • Sierrasmommy
    Sierrasmommy Posts: 90
    Ok I have been at a loss as well about the exercise calories, and i was just kinda staring blankly at the monitor with a dumbfounded look on my face teh other day when it clicked, or at least i think it did.

    K so MFP says my daily goal is 1780 at the start of the day.

    Then I go and eat 600 calories by noon.

    So now MFP says well you should still eat 1180 calories more...

    THEN... I go and work out and burn 680 calories.

    MFP says hey, well now technically you didnt eat anything cuz you just sat there and exercised the 600 away you did have and now your sitting at -80 calories.

    So now, I still have to eat enough to hit my original calorie goal of 1780, otherwise I will have only eaten 1100 calories for the day, which isnt enough to fuel my basic needs...

    THEREFORE... I have to eat my exercise calories!!!!

    The best way i can suggest to do it is to go to your home page and look at your net calories, if you hit 1200 for the day net, then you should be ok. Dont read too much into eating the exercise calories, it will baffle you because its not to be taken literally.
    Hope this helps!
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    Are you using a HRM? If not you may not have accually burn that amount, and if you eat all the calories you maybe eating to many.



    2639362.png

    Sorry if this sounds dumb, but what's a HRM? I'm just going by what MFP says.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    That estimate seems a little high...but I dont know how hard you worked....I never count cleaning as exercising because I do it every day lol

    I would just eat back you Net as well. It is ok to fluctuate with you cals :smile:


    I've been cleaning since 8am. I don't normally count cleaning either, because I too do it everyday, but today, I've been cleaning so hard that I broke a sweat, so I figured I should add it! lol

    Long periods of low intesity working out will not give an accurate amount of calories. Part of those 1000 calories you burned is actually your BMR, so I wouldn't worry about eating them all back.
  • Tryin2findme
    Tryin2findme Posts: 42
    I eat when I am hungry. There is no way I can physically eat back all my calories unless I make bad food decisions. If you feel hungry then you should eat, if you are full do not eat.


    I agree :)
  • iverayna
    iverayna Posts: 48 Member
    I have been so skiddish about eating burned calories but the simple fact is, That its not working. I am losing really really slow.. Tho i am down 26 pounds, I am eating 1460 every day and burning 1000+ everyday so thats only 460 calories for the WHOLE DAY! Simply not enough. Hello starvation mode.. So afraid to gain weight. But i get it now.. FINALLY.. Stubborn me. We have to add fuel to the fire or we wont run correctly. Making right choicees (hard as it is) on the foods you eat to make up those calories in replacement for the exercise, is up to us. We can eat sweet and salty things but it will sabbotage us in the end by making sugar go strait to fat and salt into water retention. We are already given an auntomatic 1000 calories defecit built into MFP so going beyond that will be too much of a risk. Cleaning however unless your really cleaning getting into it (which i do). I still dont burn 1000 cals. And i have a heart rate monitor.. Just my opinion.. Absolute best of luck to you.
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
    Cleaning is not exercise, only exercise is exercise! The reasoning is you clean regularlly so your body is used to it, just like work, shopping and other household chores.

    If it was a special cleaning that is not part of the regular routine I would take a portion of it especially if it meant I was not gonna exercise that day.

    You don't want to overeat because you ate calories that are already taken into account when you set up your profile.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.

    The point is to keep your metabolism functioning safely. It is something you need to be aware of - its a difference between how MFP accounts for calories vs how other programs account for them. Most programs use exercise to create deficit, MFP works deficit in before you exercise. Check out the links below to better understand. MFP's goal for you is in NET calories:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    Other helpful links
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    Cleaning is not exercise, only exercise is exercise! The reasoning is you clean regularlly so your body is used to it, just like work, shopping and other household chores.

    If it was a special cleaning that is not part of the regular routine I would take a portion of it especially if it meant I was not gonna exercise that day.

    You don't want to overeat because you ate calories that are already taken into account when you set up your profile.

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for maybe an hour to eat lunch and get online. So yes, I am going to count some of it.
  • LovelySnugs
    LovelySnugs Posts: 389
    okay, so you're not using a heart rate monitor (that's what HRM stands for, by the way). one thing you should know is that the MFP estimates are often VERY high, especially for things that don't happen in controlled environments (like on an elliptical or whatever).

    i've found that you get the most accurate calorie count for exercise by accounting for only half your time (so i think you said 8 hours you've been cleaning, only count 4). eat back anywhere from 50% to 100%, depending on your preferences and needs.

    for more information, go to www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.

    hope that helps!

    ETA: i just read where you said you'd started at 8, not that you'd been cleaning for 8 hours. but my statements still apply - count half your time, check out the website, eat back half or most.

    oh, and get a decent heart rate monitor when you get a chance. it will change your fitness plan in ways you never could've imagined.
  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    Oh, and just so everyone is aware, I never said I was going to eat an additional 1000 calories! I have a hard enough time eating my 1850 that I'm suppose to have daily. In my original post, I said I COULDN'T eat that much. I just wanted to know how the whole eating your exercise calories worked.
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.
  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.

    I just read back my post and it sounded a tad harsh... I just think MFP is way off there on that count :)
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.

    I just read back my post and it sounded a tad harsh... I just think MFP is way off there on that count :)

    I just recently joined MFP so I'm not exactly sure how the whole thing works yet. I'm definitely not going to eat an extra 1000 calories, lol.
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