My (hopefully interesting) experience with Exercise Calories

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  • amsparky
    amsparky Posts: 825 Member
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    Congrats on your success and thanks for breaking it down so nicely!
  • Getting_Fit_4_Life
    Getting_Fit_4_Life Posts: 404 Member
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    Great post.
  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
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    excellent post! :drinker: Cheers to eating back those exercise calories!

    I am close to goal and at a healthy BMI, and I cannot imagine not eating them, but perhaps I would have been fine not eating them when I weighed 220. I'm not sure, since I only recently found MFP!
  • Ilovedrinkingtea
    Ilovedrinkingtea Posts: 597 Member
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    AMAZING post, well done, you've said many of the things I wanted to say on here!!! xx
  • kynichol21
    kynichol21 Posts: 87
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    Bump!! Great advice.
  • wonrob
    wonrob Posts: 66 Member
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    I've been waiting for this post! Awesome


    But exercise cals never really mattered for me because my burn isn't that huge and my intake really depends on what we have at home.
  • sahalcomb
    sahalcomb Posts: 86 Member
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    I've been a off & on dieter most of my adult life. I'm new to MFP this month so the "eat your exercise calories" was strange to me (first time I'd ever thought about it). Eating in excess is what got me to the point I'm at now...again!!! I lost a lot of weight many years ago and can totally relate to your post. I needed less calories to lose, but more to support my new lifestyle when I lost it! Back at it again... at my heaviest I can't wrap my brain around eating, just to be eating. But WHEN I lose the weight, my body will NEED the extra calories because of increased metabolism, increased exercise, etc. Great post & great success! Congrats!:smile:
  • xoticlady
    xoticlady Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for posting this Mike! I did a search for exercise calories and am glad I found your posting first. I haven't had a great deal to lose and am exercising rigorously, but I found the concept of eating that back on just proposertous! Why would someone want to eat back on what they spent all that time working on?!?! But I took it on blind faith about 2 weeks ago..I figured there must be a logical reason why they have this in the software program. I've started to finally see real results.

    Now don't get me wrong...I have been seeing tremendous results in my body from the routine exercise, particularly the weight training. Why just today I was sitting at my desk unconsciously rubbing my arm and I was like "Holy cow I can feel real muscles back there!!!!" That was on top of this mornings pleasant surprise of FINALLY getting under a certain weight that I've been struggling with for many months now (since I joined MFP).

    I post this to say that - for those of us near goal - it does work! Follow the plan! But be sure to make good, healthy choices in what you eat to put it back on. I'm a very happy camper!
  • mandeiko
    mandeiko Posts: 1,657 Member
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    Good to know :) Thanks for sharing!
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
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    Great post - just started eating back my calories as I was seeing a slowdown in my weekly loss...... after 2 weeks the results looks pretty positive - I promissed I would give myself two weeks regardless of up or down....

    I am going to keep eating them for sure :-)
  • tushiness
    tushiness Posts: 29
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    I love this post!

    I had been plateauing for the last few weeks and tried to cut my cals even more. Not that I was starving my self I was averaging a total of approximately 1200/day and maybe a net of 800-900 a day after excercise. I start eating most of my exercise cal back in the last week and I've seen a half lb drop wooo!
  • struong12
    struong12 Posts: 7 Member
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    Bump... Good post. Thanks!
  • cheshirechic
    cheshirechic Posts: 489 Member
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    Very informative and clearly written! I'll be referring other users to this in the future.

    Thanks for posting! :D
  • missy_1975
    missy_1975 Posts: 244 Member
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    I loved this post!
  • jillcwhite
    jillcwhite Posts: 181 Member
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    I really struggle with knowing the right amount of calories to eat. I am at the stage where I am working out a lot but feeling worn out a lot also. Thanks for your story.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Put into words perfectly.

    I asked my dietician if im getting a healthy deficit, does it really matter atm where those calories come from. She basically said that as this point in my weight loss, no, not really. Im a bit high on the fat/sugar count, but at my current weight its fine. The closer i get to my goal, the more important fat/sugar content becomes.

    Im worried about that time though, as part of the reason ive been able to keep to this so far is that the sort of food i eat hasnt change that much really, just the amounts have. When i have to start cutting the fat/sugar, im gonna struggle! =/
  • LesleyNeedsToLoseIt
    LesleyNeedsToLoseIt Posts: 8 Member
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    Good post and good info to squirrel away for future reference.
  • kseltzer
    kseltzer Posts: 214 Member
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    Thanks for sharing! Great post! Keep up the good work!! I've been struggling with the eat exercise calories debate in my head for quite some time. Your explanation of being near goal weight/BMI is just the info I need to give it a try!! Thanks again!
  • Wmn1120
    Wmn1120 Posts: 14
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    Awesome post. I am glad to hear you didn't eat your calories back. I was always concerned. My trainer said not to and It made sense as I had (and still have) a lot of weight to lose. Thanks for posting!!!
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
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    Yes, I think that you are right about all of that, but I think that if we keep our calories up (eat our exercise cal) that we won't lose as much muscle as we lose weight, even if it is slower. Too many people cut their calories too much and change their body composition too more fat and less muscle...then the fall all the wagon and gain weight but this time they have even less muscle to feed so they need less calories all the time...best to keep your calories up so that you are losing more slowing and hopefully less muscle loss.

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