How many of excercise Cal's should you eat?

ise438
ise438 Posts: 13 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
Evening all - ok so I've lost 2 stone using my fitness pal which allows me 1500 calories - however I do quite a bit of cardio walking, running and cycling but I rarely eat above 1500. Sometimes I am burning 1500 to 2000 Calories some I am wondering if I can eat some of them and still continue to lose weight - I don't eat free sugar only natural I've pretty much cut out bread, pasta and rice - so I'd basically just eat slightly more of what I am already eating - any ideas? I was thinking maybe 300 of the excercise calories

Replies

  • duckforceone
    duckforceone Posts: 121 Member
    of course you can... the amount you eat defines how fast you lose weight.

    so if your total with workouts are 3000 calories a day, you could eat 2500 calories and still be 500 negative.
    but if you only ate 1500 and burned 3000 you would lose weight faster.

    so it's up to you, what can you tolerate and how fast do you want it?
  • ise438
    ise438 Posts: 13 Member
    Ok thank you
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    duckforceone wrote: »
    of course you can... the amount you eat defines how fast you lose weight.

    so if your total with workouts are 3000 calories a day, you could eat 2500 calories and still be 500 negative.
    but if you only ate 1500 and burned 3000 you would lose weight faster.

    so it's up to you, what can you tolerate and how fast do you want it?

    Losing weight quicker isn't always a good idea, especially when the OP is eating the minimum amount of calories. MFP already puts you at a deficit as well, so that difference is on top of what is already given.

    How are you determining your exercise calories? That's quite a large amount. Maybe start with eating back 50% of them. You need to fuel your body, and not eating some of them back can lead to problems in the long run.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Walking, running and cycling are all easy relatively easy to get reasonable estimates for.
    How are you working yours out?

    Suggest you start by eating them all back if you are confident your estimates are reasonable and adjust if you aren't getting expected weight loss results after an extended period of time - a month for example.

    How fast have you lost that 2 stone? (28lbs for our US cousins).
  • ise438
    ise438 Posts: 13 Member
    I've lost the weight quite quickly in about 6 weeks - the thing is I feel fine - never hungry and light headed etc. What problems can occur in the long run?
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Not sure how accurate these are but things I have heard associated with eating too little/losing too fast

    Increased loose skin
    Losing muscle to a greater extent
    Hair loss from not getting enough protein

    How fast are you losing a week? More than 2lb?
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    It depends on the intensity of the exercise. Just remember that an hour of sitting on the couch watching a movie can burn between 60-100+ cals (depending), so counting an hour of walking is a burn, but 2000 cals of low-moderate burn would be a much lower net if you subtract your BMR.

    My personal rule of thumb: eat back if you are hungry, but don't go over 1/2 unless the exercise was in the "intense category".
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    As to the problems with rapid weight loss, it's more that statistically: the faster you lose, the more likely you are to regain everything back.
  • r15972
    r15972 Posts: 5 Member
    When I factored my exercise calories in I get a negative number on my net calories. I am not sure it would be possible to eat back all those calories without feeling sick/eating unhealthy amounts of calorie dense food. Is there a safe minimum amount I would need to eat back?
  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
    edited May 2016
    pixiestick wrote: »
    As to the problems with rapid weight loss, it's more that statistically: the faster you lose, the more likely you are to regain everything back.

    I'm not being snarky. Do you have a study that shows that because all studies I have seen show that regardless of how quick the rate of loss the regain in the sample is the same. However I would love to see the opposite, mostly to prove a point I was arguing myself with a real life friend :s
  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    pixiestick wrote: »
    As to the problems with rapid weight loss, it's more that statistically: the faster you lose, the more likely you are to regain everything back.

    I'm not being snarky. Do you have a study that shows that because all studies I have seen show that regardless of how quick the rate of loss the regain in the sample is the same. However I would love to see the opposite, mostly to prove a point I was arguing myself with a real life friend :s


    Sorry and just going to include a meta analysis that seems to say the opposite. I am not saying losing fast is good I am just saying statistically quicker losers seem to maintain more weight lost. Or so this meta say.

    http://m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/74/5/579.full
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    I never eat back my exercise calories. I've been doing this for six months without any problems; I feel great. Other people do eat back their exercise calories, with results that vary from person to person. Whether you can get away with eating your exercise calories back will depend on how accurately you are counting both your food calories and your exercise calories. You're essentially talking about eating more, which means decreasing your average daily calorie deficit, which inevitably means you'll lose more slowly, though that's not necessarily a bad thing if you're patient. On the other hand, if you mess up and over-count exercise while under-counting food, you can easily demolish your whole deficit and stop losing at all. The only thing to do, as far as I can see, is try eating back a few of your exercise calories and see what effect it has on your loss rate for a week or so, then adjust again as necessary. Or maybe just leave well enough alone if you're happy with your current progress?
  • Myjourney2345
    Myjourney2345 Posts: 116 Member
    edited May 2016
    I eat back 35%-40% of my exercise calories and I've managed to lose .8 pounds this week even while eating way over my calorie range on both Saturday and Sunday. I workout a lot ( 6-7 time a week, with an average of 400-500 calories burned per a 45 to 60 minute session and an average heart rate of 163 for each workout). I track my caloric burn using a great heart rate monitor with a chest strap.

    I am at a healthy weight and height, but I am still looking to lose 15 pounds. I find that if I over exercise and undernourish my body I turn to bingeing. I made the conscious decision to lose weight slowly (.8-1 pound a week) and not starve. On days I workout (and sometimes workout twice a day) and walk over 6,000 steps a day I eat around 1,750-1,850 and even 2,000 calories. On the one day I don't workout and walk 10,000 steps I eat around 1,600 calories a day. I am 5'4.5, 142.4 pounds and 27 years old. It is possible to eat a lot and still lose weight!

    Years ago I lost a lot of weight ( and my sanity) while eating only 1,200 calories a day. For my wedding I lost 25 pounds while only consuming 1,450 calories a day and exercising 4-5 times a week and it left me feeling deprived and irritated. This time around, I decided to do things differently, so I feel good and not deprived.

    I should also add that I use a scale and measure everything I eat, so I am fairly confident that the number of calories I consume is accurate.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    What Are the Risks of Rapid Weight Loss?

    Rapid weight loss creates physical demands on the body. Possible serious risks include:
    • Gallstones, which occur in 12% to 25% of people losing large amounts of weight over several months
    • Dehydration, which can be avoided by drinking plenty of fluids
    • Malnutrition, usually from not eating enough protein for weeks at a time
    • Electrolyte imbalances, which rarely can be life threatening

    Other side effects of rapid weight loss include:
    • Headaches
    • Irritability
    • Fatigue
    • Dizziness
    • Constipation
    • Menstrual irregularities
    • Hair loss
    • Muscle loss
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    WendyLaubach wrote: »
    Whether you can get away with eating your exercise calories back will depend on how accurately you are counting both your food calories and your exercise calories. You're essentially talking about eating more, which means decreasing your average daily calorie deficit, which inevitably means you'll lose more slowly, though that's not necessarily a bad thing if you're patient. On the other hand, if you mess up and over-count exercise while under-counting food, you can easily demolish your whole deficit and stop losing at all.

    On the gripping hand, if you do calculate your food and exercise calories correctly and don't eat back your exercise calories, you run the risk of underfueling your exercise and losing excessive lean mass.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    r15972 wrote: »
    When I factored my exercise calories in I get a negative number on my net calories. I am not sure it would be possible to eat back all those calories without feeling sick/eating unhealthy amounts of calorie dense food. Is there a safe minimum amount I would need to eat back?

    If someone was getting a negative number on their net just from their exercise, I would first want to see how they were determining calories burned -- because that would require you to burn at least 1,200 a day in exercise and that's a lot to do each day. How did you get that number?
  • r15972
    r15972 Posts: 5 Member
    I swim between 5 and 10km every day (approximately between 3 and 6 miles). I also regularly do workout classes on top of this and have just started doing bi-weekly training sessions with a PT.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    r15972 wrote: »
    I swim between 5 and 10km every day (approximately between 3 and 6 miles). I also regularly do workout classes on top of this and have just started doing bi-weekly training sessions with a PT.

    Without knowing your weight and how long it takes you to swim that long, it's hard to tell if those calorie burns are inflated. They do seem really, really high for daily calories burnt through exercise.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    r15972 wrote: »
    When I factored my exercise calories in I get a negative number on my net calories. I am not sure it would be possible to eat back all those calories without feeling sick/eating unhealthy amounts of calorie dense food. Is there a safe minimum amount I would need to eat back?
    r15972 wrote: »
    I swim between 5 and 10km every day (approximately between 3 and 6 miles). I also regularly do workout classes on top of this and have just started doing bi-weekly training sessions with a PT.

    How quickly are you losing weight? If your goal is to lose a pound a week and you are losing two, eat 500 more calories per day. Adjust as needed.
  • r15972
    r15972 Posts: 5 Member
    For me personally, the quicker I lose the weight the better. I am just worried about doing myself damage my net calculated calorie intake gets too low.
    As for the calorie burn, I currently weight 121 kg (266 lb) and a 5km swim takes me 2 1/2 hours.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    ise438 wrote: »
    I've lost the weight quite quickly in about 6 weeks - the thing is I feel fine - never hungry and light headed etc. What problems can occur in the long run?

    Two big ones that I think are common are (1) losing more muscle than you need to (this is a big reason why I slowed down my weight loss, especially as I got to a healthy weight range), and (2) avoiding a crash. It's really common to feel super energetic and motivated at first and then get to a point where you all of a sudden feel it and are starving or exhausted. When I first started I was accidentally eating 900-1000 calories and feeling great and walking a bunch and doing some cycling. That wasn't sustainable. With MFP I realized what I was doing and started eating more and adding back some exercise calories and basically aiming at a 2 lb goal. I think that helped me stay strong and keep it fun and not burdensome through the time it took to lose the weight (transitioning into more exercise, more calories throughout that period).
  • CaptainJoy
    CaptainJoy Posts: 257 Member
    ise438 wrote: »
    Evening all - ok so I've lost 2 stone using my fitness pal which allows me 1500 calories - however I do quite a bit of cardio walking, running and cycling but I rarely eat above 1500. Sometimes I am burning 1500 to 2000 Calories some I am wondering if I can eat some of them and still continue to lose weight - I don't eat free sugar only natural I've pretty much cut out bread, pasta and rice - so I'd basically just eat slightly more of what I am already eating - any ideas? I was thinking maybe 300 of the excercise calories

    Today my calorie intake will be off because I weighed my cube steak after cooking it. That means that there'll be a good one ounce of meat not counted. The USDA gives nutrition information based on uncooked meats but I weighed mine after it was cooked. That's just one logging error. If I make several of these in one day it could account for several hundred extra calories.

    Also, when I set my goals, I put in that I would work-out 30 minutes per day three times per week. If I only work-out one time per week I would be over what I should eat if I eat all the calories MFP factors in since it is included in my deficit calculation. If I work-out 5 times per week, I could eat slightly more.

    There are many factors to eating more and losing weight. I lost fairly quickly at about 10 pounds per month for the first six months with moderate exercise. My hair is healthier than ever as I eat more protein than most people. I do have some loose skin but let's face it, I'm older and don't spring back as quick as I used to.

    I think your idea of eating back 300 of your exercise calories is spot on. Yesterday I ate back 400 of my exercise calories after a 3 mile walk and am still in the green. Good luck on your continued loss and congrats on losing those 2 stone! :)
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