Eating back calories
Options
jamezln
Posts: 182 Member
Hey folks, this may seem like an odd question, but another thread has prompted me just to ask the group.
After you exercise do you eat back your calories or some of them? I know people without the surgery eat back some. All things considered, we are already operating on a deficit. Just curious.
After you exercise do you eat back your calories or some of them? I know people without the surgery eat back some. All things considered, we are already operating on a deficit. Just curious.
0
Replies
-
I allow myself 50% of calories burned to eat back, and only up to a maximum of 200 calories per day. I might allow myself more if I were an Olympic level athlete training for competition or something . . . but that is never going to happen!0
-
In my pre-op phase, I did not eat back calories. I was eating about 1500 calories per day and exercising about 1000 calories (according to the machine) 3-4 times per week. I figured that i was wearing a few hundred thousand calories so at that size, eating back didn't seem necessary. I also think that the machines overestimate in general.
Post-surgery, I am doing significantly less cardio, and my size is smaller to the point where the calorie burn is lower as well. My gym cardio burns about 600 calories now per session.
When I get closer to goal, I expect to start figuring out a sensible way to eat back calories, and my initial plan will be to eat back 50% and see how that feels/work with loss/maintenance.
During pre-surgery, there were a few times where I felt weak or light headed after a workout or that evening, and on those days I ate a few hundred more calories in the evening. So read the signs your body is giving you and react. It doesn't have to be a one size fits all program. You can react and adapt.
Rob0 -
While losing, I tried not to, unless I was exceptionally active that day. In maintenance, I do more often than not. Otherwise I'd still lose weight.0
-
While losing, I tried not to, unless I was exceptionally active that day. In maintenance, I do more often than not. Otherwise I'd still lose weight.
I didn't want to get in the habit of eating more calories until I reached maintenance. At maintenance I usually end up eating them back but mine are based exclusively off my fitbit. my zone is 146-149lbs. when I weigh in at 149 I do not eat over 1350 calories no matter if I exercised until I drop back again. My size 4 no elastic slacks are an immediate notification of a 3lb wt gain.0 -
Is there a way for someone to gauge how many cals they should be getting in post-op?
Im 4'2 and the last time I was weighed by the surgeon (1 week out post op) I was 164.
I am now into my 5th week so Im clearly able to get in more cals and protein but I don't know what amount of cals is appropriate for me.
Pre-surgery my surgeon said a healthy weight would be about 100 but that I could go for 90 if I felt ambitious, which I do...whether my body fights me on it or not, that's to be determined as I get closer to the #'s!
Pre-surgery I had myself set on the lowest MFP would allow, 1200 cals.
Post-surgery I don't know where it should be
0 -
Some people simply add a few hundred calories when they get to maintenance. I used the MFP BMR tool. Took my BMR and added the activity from my workout per my fitness tracker, (usually about 400 calories). Typically comes to around 1700. Sometimes I get that, sometimes a few hundred less. Its definitely going to be a learning experience for each individual. Once I entered maintenance I continued to track for about 5 months so I'd understand what I'd eat in a typical day. I'm trying to loosen that up now. I weigh once per week so just as before, if I fluctuate 5 pounds in either direction, I'll know it's time to make a change in my eating.0
-
You can 'look into the future' to figure out a rough maintenance calorie level. Go into the goals section and enter your current weight as your goal weight. It will then show you what your expected BMR rate will be and if you set the settings for maintenance (0 pounds lost per week) it will show you your calorie target for when you want to maintain at your goal weight.
You will need to reset your current weight and any custom goals you have set, but it was useful to me. Also, you may need to delete some status updates if they automatically post that you lost 80 pounds or whatever!
Rob0 -
-
I don't as I'm still losing. Many articles I've read recommend against it as the calorie estimates burned from exercise aren't very reliable. There are some insane estimates out there.0
-
Yeah, I don't estimate. I only eat back the fitbit calories that report into my MFP. usually 260-400 exercise cals. I never guestimate exercise calories, those examples are way off for me. my BMR is 1350 so that is what I aim at per day with 300 extra if I earned the cals. I ate at 900 until I achieved maintenance.0
-
Thanks for all the replies.0
-
My nutritionist said that if I had an extremely physical day, then maybe I could eat extra that day. Then she burst my bubble: if I worked out an hour longer than usual, then 100 more calories would be reasonable. Well. Blah!
Also, MFP is extremely generous in its calorie burned calculation.0
