Do you eat your calories after a work out ?

Runelaineysmom
Runelaineysmom Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Do you eat the calories you burn during exercise? I burnt 500 in my workout i eat that with my 1200 to lose?

Replies

  • kendalslimmer
    kendalslimmer Posts: 579 Member
    edited January 2015
    I try not to eat beforehand but if I do then it's like an hour beforehand - so I don't feel discomfit when working out (otherwise my stomach would still be digesting the bulk of what I ate). But whether it's before or after I try to eat carbs/protein then. I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, because if you don't wear a heart monitor then the likelihood is that MFP is overestimating the amount of calories you've burnt. I usually settle for half and I haven't been hungry so I think that's ok. The one thing you must do is keep yourself hydrated while you're dieting and taking a multivitamin in the morning might be a good idea - some people on MFP swear by them, others dismiss them... But I take one!

    Good luck honey!
  • pineapple_jojo
    pineapple_jojo Posts: 440 Member
    Yup, eat back your exercise kcals :)
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Depends on how they were calculated and what I did. With my Bodymedia, I ate back the calorie adjustments, because it was pretty accurate. If I use my HRM for solid cardio, I'll eat those back. But pretty much anything else that's an estimate, I don't, or I only eat part back.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Yes, that's how MFP works. It gives you the amount of calories to eat without exercise. So when you exercise, you have to eat back your exercise calories and NET 1200 calories. So in your case, you have to eat a TOTAL of 1700 calories, but since you already BURNED 500, then in the end it ends up being a NET of 1200 calories. Notice the math equation on your home page. Right now it might say 1200-500=700 . That's not what you want. You want it to say 1700-500=1200. Hope I explained it well. :flowerforyou:
  • Slasher09
    Slasher09 Posts: 316 Member
    Yes and no. I don't always trust that I burned what MFP says I burned. I have low blood sugar issues so if I have a more intense workout I do eat a large snack before hand to keep from having issues. So I kind of eat them back...I just eat them ahead of time?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,149 Member
    Most people eat half, to account for miscalculations on both overestimating burns and underestimating in logging.
  • AnAbsoluteDiva
    AnAbsoluteDiva Posts: 248 Member
    If I'm hungry.
  • Amitysk
    Amitysk Posts: 705 Member
    It depends on what it was and how hungry I am... MFP notoriously over estimates calorie burns, so caution is a good idea (half is a good rule of thumb)
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
    I'd rather just eat a set amount using this method.
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
    edited January 2015
    For cardio, yes. I eat back up to 700 calories (no more than that and I never eat back more than I burned off) within 30 minutes of the workout. The reason is this window of time is ideal to replenish glycogen stores, and to repair muscle. I'm sure there are people who might debate this, but I will say that not only do I feel a crap ton more recovered after doing this (particularly the next day), but I have seen performance benefits from doing this as well in my future workouts.

    For me it is a combo of gatorade and protein powder. I get 30g protein, and the rest up to that 700 is carbs (dextrose primarily). I am type II diabetic and my 2 hour post-meal blood sugar stays in an acceptable range consuming this amount right after exercise, but if I go over that 700 calories I see elevated blood sugars. Somewhere once I heard that too many calories at once are not really useful, so I guess in my case that number is around 700 calories. My pancreas is still functional too, so that helps. Some folks with type two could never do this and avoid high post-meal blood sugars.

    You'll find what works best for you, just sharing what has worked for me for quite some time.

    Oh, and I use a heart rate monitor to calculate my calories burned from cardio. I do running primarily but after a recent injury I was trying to keep my strength and endurance up by heavy use of cardio equipment at the gym. For whatever that piece of info may be worth.

    Also, if I burned a ton of calories, say 12-14 miles burning around 2300 calories, I start with that 700 calories right at the end, then have another 700 calorie meal two hours later, repeating every two hours until I am caught up. Those meals two hours later and on are not very sugar heavy either, but complex carbs. In my case, since my heart rate is lowered and my body is no longer in "exercise mode", taking in a bunch of sugars WILL spike my blood sugars at that point. Only that first meal right afterwards can be primarily sugars in my case.

    Of course, if you are not diabetic, you are GOLDEN and can do things quite differently.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited January 2015
    I usually eat about half...don't trust MFP's calculations on that.

    However, if I actually figure the calories burned for myself, I'll add them and input them. But those are specific to me: the actual amount of energy expended (I mean you can flop your arms around and hop lackadaisically, or you can do an actual workout, but they'd both be listed as "aerobics," you know? MFP doesn't know if my heart rate was up - only I know that), and for my weight and the exact amount of time spent doing them. If I go through the trouble of all that, then I will usually eat back those calories.
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