Eating my exercise calories

aub6689
aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
edited December 1 in Health and Weight Loss
I have recently decided to try and eat back some of my exercise calories, because eating at 1500 calories is fine and even feels like too much on inactive days but I found myself getting super hangry (and fatigued) on leg days or when I do long runs or days hiking. I am short - 5'2", 150lb, size 6 female. I do not have any HR monitoring device. I generally eat quite high protein and fiber to keep myself full and because I want to keep as much of my muscle as possible while cutting. MFP has very few of my strength training exercises listed and the generic 'strength training' in cardio is always the same and I know my burn is vastly different on leg day vs. arms day. What is the most reliable way to know how much I am burning? I am hoping to have a better idea so I can choose to eat back the percentage of exercise calories that leaves me feeling content, without eating back the entire extra deficit.

Hope this makes sense. Any help would be great. Thanks!

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    A good way to judge is to figure out how much more you're losing than you expect to lose? What's your goal for weight loss per week and what are you actually losing?
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    I was thinking my daily burn was between 1800-1900, so I thought I was creating a 300-400 calorie deficit a day, making the weight loss .5-.8 lbs a week. However, every time I start the cut at 1500 calories, I feel fine until like 3 days in and then I get headaches, dizziness, and mass fatigue, as well as having prolonged muscle soreness. So to be truthful, I don't think I've made it a full week at 1500 calories to be able to tell. (Respect to those that eat 1200). I have been on calorie deficits before and I lost over 60 lbs before I stayed in maintenance for the last 3 years. I never felt like this previously.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I do a lot of exercise just about every day. I'm a naturally active person and hate being indoors. I've noticed that some types of exercise make me super hangry and fatigued, while others don't. Intense cardio (especially HIIT) means I'm going to be famished the next day. For starters, can you find any patterns between your exercise and hunger? That might be helpful if you can...

    You said you do long runs and day hikes. Do you have a way to measure the time, distance, and elevation for these? Without an HRM you can get in the right ballpark with that information. If your ballpark figures are wrong, your scale will tell you and you can adjust them.
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Generally my gym schedule is
    Chest and HIIT
    Legs and moderate cardio cooldown (15-20 min)
    Rest day
    Shoulders and HIIT
    Back and HIIT
    Arms and HIIT
    Long Cardio day (either 1 hour run or a few hours of hiking with friends)
    and repeat...
    HIIT is stairclimber or treadmill, 5 min warmup, 1:1 or 2:1 fast pace:recovery, then 5 min cooldown=35-40 min.

    I am naturally moderately active otherwise because I live in the city and walk most places and I have a dog.
    Right now I feel fine following shoulders, arms and rest days, but otherwise, not good.

    My priority is not to lose muscle mass or compromise my workouts for fat loss.

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    I always assume my exercise calories are over estimated, so I TRY not to eat them all back. If I do, I don't feel bad about it though.

    My suggestion is to eat back about half. That gives you extra food for the day and gives you a safety net in case the exercise calories is indeed over estimated. It also won't be a problem if you eat back 100% a day or two.

    Of course, you should monitor your actual weight and determine what is going on that way. Just because the numbers on MFP look like you should be losing weight, if the scale doesn't move, it means some numbers of wrong somehow and adjustments need to be made.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    aub6689 wrote: »
    I was thinking my daily burn was between 1800-1900, so I thought I was creating a 300-400 calorie deficit a day, making the weight loss .5-.8 lbs a week. However, every time I start the cut at 1500 calories, I feel fine until like 3 days in and then I get headaches, dizziness, and mass fatigue, as well as having prolonged muscle soreness. So to be truthful, I don't think I've made it a full week at 1500 calories to be able to tell. (Respect to those that eat 1200). I have been on calorie deficits before and I lost over 60 lbs before I stayed in maintenance for the last 3 years. I never felt like this previously.

    If I understand correctly, you calculate your total daily burn to be 1,800-1,900 (including exercise) and you're trying to lose half a pound a week, but you're unable to do so because you get sick when you try to eat at a 500 calorie deficit?

    I think the important thing is to find a calorie level you can reliably hit, see if you have weight loss there, and then attempt to reduce from there (if you want).
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    aub6689 wrote: »
    Generally my gym schedule is
    Chest and HIIT
    Legs and moderate cardio cooldown (15-20 min)
    Rest day
    Shoulders and HIIT
    Back and HIIT
    Arms and HIIT
    Long Cardio day (either 1 hour run or a few hours of hiking with friends)
    and repeat...
    HIIT is stairclimber or treadmill, 5 min warmup, 1:1 or 2:1 fast pace:recovery, then 5 min cooldown=35-40 min.

    I am naturally moderately active otherwise because I live in the city and walk most places and I have a dog.
    Right now I feel fine following shoulders, arms and rest days, but otherwise, not good.

    My priority is not to lose muscle mass or compromise my workouts for fat loss.

    That's a lot of HIIT. I'd be starving too. I tend to feel sore, sluggish, and fatigued after a HIIT session, plus hungry. I do 80 % of my cardio at a moderate exertion level (and longer duration) and the other 20 % is high intensity. Still burn a bunch of calories, I get better fitness gains for it, and it doesn't leave me hungry or sore or fatigued. Maybe try less intensity?
  • chickybuns
    chickybuns Posts: 1,037 Member
    That's a lot of exercise. When I am super active I eat around 2000 and lose slowly...I'd prefer that over feeling like crap and not getting a good workout in. And if you don't want to lose muscle mass, you need to keep your deficit smaller (500 or less)
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Yeah I had been eating close to 1900 at this level of exercise and noticed myself gaining, which is what made me decide I need to cut. Maybe I'll do a bit less HIIT (I just love it so much). I figured my deficit was between 300-400 a day, but maybe I underestimated my daily burn. I thought 1500 calories was a far more moderate cut.
  • Sarah_Shapes_Up
    Sarah_Shapes_Up Posts: 76 Member
    Have you checked out a TDEE calculator? It's always a good place to start! Also, have your food choices been good ones while eating 1500 cal? That's my goal too, and if I make poor, less voluminous food choices, I'm left hungry later. Another idea is cycling your calories. Eat more on more intense workout days, and eat less on rest days. The overall deficit for the week is the same, but you might feel better during the process.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    aub6689 wrote: »
    Yeah I had been eating close to 1900 at this level of exercise and noticed myself gaining, which is what made me decide I need to cut. Maybe I'll do a bit less HIIT (I just love it so much). I figured my deficit was between 300-400 a day, but maybe I underestimated my daily burn. I thought 1500 calories was a far more moderate cut.

    You don't need to do less HIIT if you just eat more. Try eating 50% of your exercise calories to start.
  • aub6689
    aub6689 Posts: 351 Member
    Thanks @kshama2001-that is kind of my dilemma. I am struggling with what my exercise calories are? Do most people just go off of the cardio machine and not count strength training?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Some count strength training and some do not.
  • janetennet
    janetennet Posts: 143 Member
    What are you eating after your workouts?? Protein is best after to assist with the repair of muscle and body.
    I also think you can't go wrong with green veggies (salads, green beans, spinach etc) these provide maximum food for very little calories.

    Don't use the calorie count on a gym machine they can be both an over and under estimation (based on your weight) if you're able to invest in a heart rate monitor as this will give you a more accurate reading.

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