Eating workout calories back -- 1200 calorie edition

Christine_72 wrote: »

Dvdgzz wrote: »

stephenellis79 wrote: »

The more muscle you have the more calories you can consume without gaining weight.

Not by much. What is it 3-4 calories extra per lb of muscle? So 80 calories per day extra for a heavily muscled individual at the most. Big deal. Fat also takes energy to maintain so the difference between 2 people of the same weight would be negligible no matter the fat percentage.

Why do those huge body builders eat insane amounts of calories to maintain their physiques. Is it their muscle or body weight?

Their muscle has a lot to do with their bodyweight, so you cannot separate the twp.

AndrewMartin3 wrote: »

You work out to burn calories why eat them back thats just crazy imo

Not everyone works out to burn calories. Some people work out to improve health.

Eileen_S wrote: »

AndrewMartin3 wrote: »

You work out to burn calories why eat them back thats just crazy imo

I workout because exercise is something that I like doing. For me, it has nothing to do with burning extra calories.

Yes, I was going to say that it depends on why you exercise. I exercise because I have various goals unrelated to dieting.

If one is merely exercising to diet, one should still consider that in determining what a sensible cut is, of course, which is why the MFP method adds back calories from exercise.

AndrewMartin3 wrote: »

You work out to burn calories why eat them back thats just crazy imo

You eat them back because your deficit is already included in your base calories using MFP. Eating exercise calories makes no difference to the goal one sets.

Not eating them back means there is a chance of being under the daily recommended calorie allowance for men 1500, women 1200.
There is a greater chance of various health problems, extra LBM loss, being too tired to fulfil normal everyday expectations, and being bad tempered and fuzzy headed when under nourished.

Why would one want to reach their goal skinny and sick when using MFP as intended will take just a little longer with a healthier outcome?

Exercise is to improve ones health, and in some cases ones body composition.

Cheers, h.

I don't eat back my weekly gym sessions as I factored these in my allowances, but when I cycle I use some of the calories to fuel the ride. Today we did 2 and a half hours cycling, earning 1468 calories. I ate about 300 extra than normal. Some was a bagel at breakfast to fuel the ride, and an energy gel halfway through.

brownb65 wrote: »

The Dietician told me I should be eating 1600 calories a day, but I can't even eat 1200.. If I'm not eating enough calories, does that mean I'm not going to lose weight?...

Why cant you eat 1600 calories? And yes, you will lose weight eating 1200 calories, but it is unnecessarily low..

I tend to "eat back" 50% or less of what I burn through exercise. I'm training for some endurance events, so a ~1500 calorie burn is not uncommon for me (as measured via a Garmin HRM). However, when I "eat back" all the calories, I usually gain weight. My theory is that I'm losing electrolytes, so I crave salty foods post-workout, which then leads to water retention. I've been trying to consume more electrolyte-rich sports drinks and more closely watching what I eat, although it is occasionally amusing to eat a bunch of pizza and a few beers and have MFP tell me I'm under my calorie goal for the day...