How many of you eat your "exercise calories"?

DulceDollie
DulceDollie Posts: 115
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
In the past few days I've read some posts that mention not eating exercise calories. Am I one of the few that does? Will I still lose weight effectively on MFP if I eat all or most of my exercise calories? I'm feeling paranoid that doing so will keep me from progressing! Any opinions/insight much appreciated!

Replies

  • TinaS88
    TinaS88 Posts: 817 Member
    I don't make it a purpose to. If I am hungry I will eat some, if not I don't... I am not super loosing the pounds, but the inches are decreasing!!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    you're supposed to. I eat almost 2000 calories a day. You don't have to starve yourself to be thin and healthy. SOme people just don't get that. Glad you do. Keep on doing what you're doing.
  • mrphil86
    mrphil86 Posts: 2,382 Member
    This is a raging debate but you are by far not the only person. It just seems people who don't eat their exercise calories are more public about it. Not sure why.
  • sweetsunlover
    sweetsunlover Posts: 62
    depends how hungary i am . some days i eat all of the other days half and so on . i believe if u speed ya metobism up and burn the weight you shd feed it well too. works well for me :-)
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
    I've always eaten my exercise calories. I've lost 48 lbs. in 6 months. It works for me. Try it for a month or two and see how you feel.
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 983 Member
    I do eat mine.... because it allows me to eat more food... :bigsmile:


    Since I've started doing so, I have consistently lost 1 - 1.5 pounds each week.


    Because I now know how many calories I burn for each exercise that I do - I can plan my meals + snacks for the day accordingly
  • SuzieR
    SuzieR Posts: 127
    I eat most of mine back - usually about half to three quarters. I try not to eat them all as I don't think the MFP calculation for calories burned is all that accurate. I'm losing weight steadily.
    (Sometimes I'll do some exercise just so I can have something else to eat! :blushing: )
  • jennywrens
    jennywrens Posts: 208
    I'll dip in to them if I'm hungry but I don't eat them otherwise! I understand the logic behind eating them though so I just keep and eye on my progress and if what I'm currently doing stops working I'll adjust my outlook!
  • DulceDollie
    DulceDollie Posts: 115
    Thank you all so much. You have no idea how much relief you're giving me! My life will be so much more satisfying this way! And hearing of your successes...it really helps me. Thank you all.
  • xSophia19
    xSophia19 Posts: 1,536 Member
    Sometimes i will eat like half the calories back after a decent workout. I try not to eat all of them back as i feel it was a waste of time excercising if ya get me :) soo i eat half my calories back and i still loose between 1-4lbs a week!! :)
  • taurie
    taurie Posts: 225 Member
    I've noticed I lose when I don't eat them back. When I eat them back I don't lose, but this could be because I only have 10 lbs to lose. I'm 5'1" and 120 lbs.
  • fitnessjch
    fitnessjch Posts: 449 Member
    I eat my exercise calories. Would be too hungry half the time otherise!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I eat them... and you can check out my profile pic to see if it's working for me :smile:
  • trishtrish84
    trishtrish84 Posts: 237 Member
    Like most people it depends. Some days I eat them back if I am hungry or If I want to eat something that goes a little big over my normal calories for the day.... and some days I don't eat them because I am full ..... Some days I don't even exercise :embarassed: I know shame on me.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    i dont so much eat them back, as have generally upped my intake in general to take into account the fact i run a lot.
    I dont always eat extra on the day i run, but will often find im hungrier the next day, and will eat more then.
    Im trying to stay in touch with my own body and listen to it telling me what it needs, when it needs it, and when it doesnt need anything. I will not forcefeed myself over 1000 extra calories in one day just because ive done a good run, but i also wont fret if i fancy an extra portion of something, or a treat, because i know i can get away with it now
  • joanneeee
    joanneeee Posts: 311 Member
    i eat them and love them!
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    I eat them when I'm hungry. I eat them if I want something 'unhealthy' and go exercise and still want it. I try to keep my net between 1200-1500 a day. I'm losing slowly but steadily.

    Sometimes after a big workout I don't see the point of eating all of that effort back. And other times, I am simply ravenous, and can't imagine not eating them. Listen to your body - if you're hungry, eat. If you're not, don't. Nourish your body with the foods it needs. Occasionally splurge on the food your emotions need. Don't beat yourself up over trying to over analyse everything - it's not as simple as 'eat this, exercise this much and you'll lose this much'. It IS as simple as 'eat less, exercise more' but it's just getting the balance right between less and more. And that ratio can change over time as well....
  • Fattack
    Fattack Posts: 666 Member
    you're supposed to. I eat almost 2000 calories a day. You don't have to starve yourself to be thin and healthy. SOme people just don't get that. Glad you do. Keep on doing what you're doing.

    Amen!
  • arkenny
    arkenny Posts: 125
    I eat most of mine back...some days i dont... but i think its important to try and eat them to keep your body fueled up and healthy! you dont want to eat to little and go into starvation mode!
  • MissMaggie3
    MissMaggie3 Posts: 2,464 Member
    I eat my exercise calories. Would be too hungry half the time otherise!

    My sentiments entirely! Also, having a heart rate monitor really helps. :smile:
  • mummum2
    mummum2 Posts: 415 Member
    I never used to eat them all! so stalled for almost 5 weeks! then started zig zagging and these seems to be working! so in reply I eat more on some days, less on others, but don't go below 1200 cals. Must also point out use HRM for cal burned and not numbers given by MFP.
  • maxinethestrange
    maxinethestrange Posts: 146
    i do most of the time , I am already only eatting 1300 cals a day and if I burn about 500 cals a day I will end up not able to do anything , I try to leave abit of a gap just incase the exercise cals arent totally accurate .
    Lets me away with my hot chocolates and coffees without so much guilt
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    I eat most of my exercise calories back but usually not quite all. It's working for me. Have lost 12lbs in my first 3 weeks!
  • claire_xox
    claire_xox Posts: 282 Member
    I find it really hard to eat more than 1200 calories a day (usually) so I don't use all my exercise cals. However my diet is so wrong with about 80% of my calories being dinner! oops!
    I think you should eat your exercise calories if you can, but don't use them for junk. Getting an extra 500 shoudn;t mean chocolate it should go towards protein and fiber and vitamins :)

    IMO anyway :)
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I eat about half of them, occasionally eat them all. I didn't have any plateaus in my weight loss.
  • InspiredByStreisand42
    InspiredByStreisand42 Posts: 29 Member
    I am definitely a minority here! I have never purposely eaten back an exercise calorie and I've lost 40lbs in 21 weeks (15 of those with MFP), going from 234lbs to 194lbs. I don't find it difficult to stay under 1350cals most days (except on days where I have a cheat meal!)

    My main reasons are these
    - It's working so far! 40lbs since February! I've never lost anything like this before!
    - I don't get hungry, and although sometimes I crave bad food that's really not because I'm hungry; it's only boredom... Always was.
    - I feel more energetic and less tired than I used to; I don't feel like I'm running on empty at all.
    - I understand the reasons you should eat them back, but I just can't convince my sub-conscious that it's ok as it seems like a contradiction!
    - I don't have a heart rate monitor and I'm not going to eat back what MFP tells me I've burned! I sometimes do 30mins on the elliptical and do 9.5km, then another day I do 30mins and do 10.7km, but all MFP sees is 30mins! It's not the same amount of calories burned though. I don't know what that calorie burn estimate is based on distance/speed-wise, and I'm not going to risk going over my calories regularly because I didn't know how wrong the estimate was!
  • bbbbb33333
    bbbbb33333 Posts: 1,107 Member
    I wasn't eating any exercise calories and exercising a lot. After a while I stopped loosing weight. Saw info about starvation mode. After exercise, I was netting 900-1000 cal a day. Was told you need to net at least 1200 a day to not go into starvation mode. I now eat most of my exercise calories (1300-1400 calories net) and have started loosing weight again. 6 lbs in the last 2 weeks. So yes I eat most of my exercise calories. Usually ~ 0 - 200 calories left at the end of the day.
  • Black_Swan
    Black_Swan Posts: 770 Member
    I eat them as much as I can, often I eat back between 60-100% of them (or more, haha). I am now in maintenance, but it seems that eating more will now bring me to the point where I actually loose more... I think eating them back helped me have a strong and fast metabolism!
  • BabyDuchess
    BabyDuchess Posts: 353 Member
    I eat 1/2 - 3/4 of mine back. I try not to eat every single calorie back to allow for miscalculations in calories burned. I've lost weight every week since I started in Dec., 2010. I've lost 60 lbs in 6 months. I average eating between 1500-2200 calories daily. I also zigzag my calories every other day. It's all working for me and that's all I have to go by. :flowerforyou:
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