Do you guys eat back the calories you have burned exercising?
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I'll eat 100-200 back if I'm really hungry, but usually I don't feel like I need them (5'2", 121lbs). I feel like I've got my 1200 calories pretty much dialed in nutrient wise for me.0
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I try not to eat them back on a regular day--I use them as a "cushion" or "bank" for days that I go over or have no control over the circumstances and have to estimate like work events or going out to dinner where I try to make good choices but it is hard to stay in my allotment. Not sure if that makes sense to you...0
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I use the exercise calories for the food prep condiments, ie. olive & vegetable oils, maple syrups, pad of butter etc.
I try not to be to obsess with my food journal knowing I have an " exercise cushion"0 -
I have been but my weight loss has not been great so I would say it depends on how your body reacts. 1200 calories a day (which is my goal) and a 45 min run do not really work well together for me though.0
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I started with a 1600 per day, burning from 500 to 800 cals a day. I end up eating only my 1600 cals limit, without being hungry and having more calories left. It's slower this way, but safer and a permanent loss.
Now l want to alternate my calorie limit for around 4 weeks, putting it a littler bit down to 1200 cals a day, burning the same (500-800) but, eating carbs only for my workout so l get energy and only protein and fat out of my workout time.
I think calories are very important numbers we should pay attention to, but the most important thing for me are the numbers that represents the nutrients in those calories.
Let's you eat 200 cals after workout in a: spinach, arugula, tomato, balsamic vinager, mushrooms, tuna salad (lots of vitamins). That's awesome. Even lf those calories are part of your burned calories.
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I generally try not to eat back mine, my daily calorie limit is 1650 without exercise so I find it pretty easy to just eat that, in saying that, if I have exercised and I do go over a little bit I don't feel bad for using the calories earned in exercise. The important thing is to not starve or limit yourself too much, if you are hungry, eat, just eat smartly and choose the right options, not eating enough is just a detrimental if not worse for your health as eating too much, I am a recovering anorexic and I know this all too well.0
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I'm on a 1200 calorie restriction. This is just not enough, I would be too hungry! If I'm hungry I eat and if I'm not I don't. Some days I don't hit the 1200 calorie mark other days I eat about 1500 calories. It all depends on how hungry I am if I am going to eat my exercise calories or not.0
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I have a 1200 calorie limit. I try not to eat my exercise calories back, but I have them there as cushion just in case I do go over. On the weekends I can do longer exercise and burn a lot more calories so I can0
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I don't; this is my first time using MFP to maintain my weight. I went about a year without weighing myself, and realized I had lost 14 lbs. With maintenance, my calorie limit is 2,030.
Most days, it's honestly really difficult for me to eat that many calories, especially when I've burned an extra 250. I usually have around 600-700 calories left at the end of the day, so I'll pack in a nighttime snack, maybe 300 calories. I'm at the point that if I lose a little more weight because I've exercised it off, that will be okay with me. But I'm not going to force it either way.0 -
Do u all mean after u work out eat another 600 calories?0
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MFP overestimates the calorie burn. I only figure the burn in when it comes from garmin and based on heart monitor. So I never eat them back unless it's from a long hard bike ride. The temptation to eat a lot after that is so strong.0
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This is a really great question and here is the real problem with myfitnesspal. When you set up your goals it asks you what your activity level is. If you say "very active" because you are exercising a lot (or planning too), then it gives you more calories as your base. If you then log your exercise, it gives you the calories again! So it's very important to put "sedentary" as your activity level in your goals, otherwise you are doubling up those exercise calories.
I suggest trying to not eat those cals either way, but having them there as a security blanket in case of the munchies is great.0 -
I didn't like the calorie amount they set so you can go in and change it.0
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I went to a sports dietitian for advice as I workout hard 5 days a week, he told me to eat more protein, and not waste time counting calories, so now I watch my macro's and try to keep them in balance. I thought that eating more protein would put on the weight but it hasn't. I also now have a protein shake after my gym sessions.0
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I'm currently down 110lbs and in in an active muscle building phase. I'm eating upwards of 1800 calories a day and maintaining my weight without eating my calories back. I baseline with my BMR and then go from there to make sure I'm getting everything I need and then some. Even when I was cutting weight, I was no less than 1350cal and didn't eat back then either ...0
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If I'm hungry, I eat them back. (If I am eating at deficit, I am hungry and need those calories because my goal is 1200. When I go back to maintenance at around 1500-1600, I may not always need them. So I will use hunger as a guide then.)0
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lmaharidge wrote: »I don't eat mine back yet. I don't even log the exercise calories to be honest. I do make my calorie goal 1500 though and I average a 3lb weight loss a week. I'm 11 lb from my goal
Please share your secret- that sounds fabulous!!0 -
I use some of my exercise calories as "slush" for errors (deliberate or otherwise) in calculating both calories I eat, and any miscalculations in exercise. The more I exercise, the more hungry I am, so I will sometimes eat as much as 50% of the exercise calories, depending on the day. If I'm being honest, I should probably increase my activity level, but I'd rather have the exercise calories added (because I'm lazy to my core and sometimes I just don't feel like working out). I also perpetually forget to count calories for things like the olive oil I use when I cook; although, for reasons I cannot explain, I count the coconut oil when I use it.
Honestly, I'm so accustomed to the lower-calorie diet, most of the time I have to make a conscious effort to eat more calories. One of my self-imposed policies is that I don't eat just to use up calories. I want to eat calories that will fill me up and keep me feeling full. Otherwise, I'd just have a cup of ice cream and call it good!0 -
I eat back almost all of mine. I might leave like 50-100 to account for me not burning as much as the calculator said, but not eating back exercise calories makes me feel awful and I just binge.0
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