Exercise calories

bubbex2
bubbex2 Posts: 51 Member
edited November 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone here compensate for the calories they burn up while exercising? I just can't eat as many calories as I use to work out. It's too much food. It is added into the total I need for the day and results in too much of a deficit. What do others do about this?

Replies

  • shelby5711
    shelby5711 Posts: 45 Member
    Sometimes I do, if I'm hungry enough....but the best thing is to NOT EAT THE EXTRA CALORIES. Just be sure you're getting enough protein and good carbs with a little bit of good fats each day and you'll be fine!

    The number that is added is not what you NEED for the day. The base number is your daily need to reach the goal you have set for yourself. ...the added exercise calories are a bonus :)
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    shelby5711 wrote: »
    Sometimes I do, if I'm hungry enough....but the best thing is to NOT EAT THE EXTRA CALORIES. Just be sure you're getting enough protein and good carbs with a little bit of good fats each day and you'll be fine!

    The number that is added is not what you NEED for the day. The base number is your daily need to reach the goal you have set for yourself. ...the added exercise calories are a bonus :)

    This is wrong ^^.

    The "original" number you get from MFP already has a healthy deficit built in. As you exercise, your body needs more calories so MFP adds them. This is to properly fuel your workouts and keep your deficit from being to large.

    Assuming all your numbers are correct (calories in and calories out) then yes, you should be eating your calories back.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited September 2015
    bubbex2 wrote: »
    Does anyone here compensate for the calories they burn up while exercising? I just can't eat as many calories as I use to work out. It's too much food. It is added into the total I need for the day and results in too much of a deficit. What do others do about this?

    This question gets asked 100+ times a day. MFP as designed expects you to eat those calories back. HOWEVER, calorie burns are estimates. Often fairly generous. Most people eat back a portion 50-75%

    As for Shelby's (incorrect answer)............Really large deficits make it hard for your body to support existing lean muscle. The more weight you have to lose, the less you need to worry about this.

    I'm not obese (and older) so I eat calories back to hang onto as much muscle as I can. I want a lower body fat percentage. Fast weight loss often just looks great on the scale.
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    What @Hornsby said.

    I let my hunger be my guide when eating back exercise calories and that usually means eating 75% of them or so. Sometimes if I still have a LOT of calories leftover, I'll eat them on my rest days. Yesterday I had nearly 1200 calories left over on TOP of the 500 calorie deficit set up with MFP. I'll take credit for those on Wednesday when I take my son to a baseball game and eat ballpark food and drink beer.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Shelby is wrong, the others are correct. And if you make some calorie dense choices, you won't have to eat a ton of food.
  • bubbex2
    bubbex2 Posts: 51 Member
    The big problem is that I'm never really hungry. Is this typical of a low carb diet?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited September 2015
    bubbex2 wrote: »
    The big problem is that I'm never really hungry. Is this typical of a low carb diet?

    Calorie dense foods..........small portion sizes. Nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, full fat dairy, eggs.

    Took a peek at your diary.....under 1,000 gross calories for several days. Unless you have medical issues with regards to carbs, you can lose weight while eating them.

    MFP's lowest DEFAULT minimum is 1200 before exercise due to nutritional requirements. Unless you are extremely petite less than 1,000 calories (before exercise) on a regular basis is dangerous. Your body will use existing lean muscle for fuel if it needs to.
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