Exercise Calories

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kmj712004
kmj712004 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you eat your exercise calories? It seems like alot of calories when you include them.
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  • Kitiara47
    Kitiara47 Posts: 235
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    My take is if I need them, I'll eat them. I usually go to the gym at the end of the day, so eating my exercise calories depends on how bad I did during the day! :laugh:
    So that's me. If I'm not hungry, I won't eat them. No use force feeding yourself....
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    Yes, read this

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • KSfitgal
    KSfitgal Posts: 59 Member
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    NO! I worked hard to earn them, and it defeats the purpose of why I did them, which was to burn calories. Now, if there is a really special occasion or unavoidable reason to eat them back then maybe, but those reasons are very rare. I prefer to end my day with as many calories left over as possible and still feel satisfied and have gotten my minimum in!
    Do you eat your exercise calories? It seems like alot of calories when you include them.
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    My opinion... eat em.
  • Improvised
    Improvised Posts: 925 Member
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    I eat them if I need them, otherwise, no.
  • LovingMe19
    LovingMe19 Posts: 380 Member
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    NO! I worked hard to earn them, and it defeats the purpose of why I did them, which was to burn calories. Now, if there is a really special occasion or unavoidable reason to eat them back then maybe, but those reasons are very rare. I prefer to end my day with as many calories left over as possible and still feel satisfied and have gotten my minimum in!
    Do you eat your exercise calories? It seems like alot of calories when you include them.


    Nice to see someone who thinks as I do on this subject. We're not exercising so we can gorge ourselves with more food! Calories in, calories out people!
  • honu18
    honu18 Posts: 294 Member
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    I eat them if my calorie deficit for that day was over 1,000. I'm set up to cut out about 550 per day just by counting calories, so if I burn more than about 450 in exercise I'll eat whatever is left so I'm not at a deficit greater than 1,000 a day. Total deficit should be between 500-1000 if you want to lose 1-2 lbs a week.
  • Licacorona
    Licacorona Posts: 118 Member
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    I work out a lot some days and I'm still nursing. So my exercise calories PLUS nursing gives me from 500 calories on an easy day to 1500 exercise calories on the days I work out hard. There is now way I can work that hard without feeling I need more food. So I plan my days to consume an average of 1500-1800 calories so that once I'm done with my day I have a deficit of no more than 700 calories. I started out with the mentality that I was busting my butt for nothing if I ate my calories back, but then I noticed halfway into the week or by the end of the week I was weak and starving. That lead me to believe that it is healthier and better for long term weight loss to start eating more calories. At least half of what I burn, I eat. Some days I'm hungry and I come close to eating them all.
  • kristinabb
    kristinabb Posts: 18
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    Absolutely disagree with consuming exercise calories on purpose. I recently hit my goal weight of 140. I decided I want to lose ten pounds more. I burn 1600 cals a day working out 6 days a week and 2k more a day probably exisiting walking around etc. so im burning like 3600 a day and taking in about 2000 now so 6 days a week I have a 1600 cal deficit = 2.5 pounds a week loss (and its on target I lost 5 more in 2 weeks) It depends on your resting metabolic rate, how much you burn when you work out, how much you eat etc but I BELIEVE in calories in / calories out and so yea I am taking in SOME of those calories because my burn is so much but no i wont eat 1200 + 1600 , I wont eat ALL of them and I dont do it purposefully for sure.
  • AmeChops
    AmeChops Posts: 744 Member
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    If I'm hungry - yes
    If I'm not hungry - no

    :happy:
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    NO! I worked hard to earn them, and it defeats the purpose of why I did them, which was to burn calories. Now, if there is a really special occasion or unavoidable reason to eat them back then maybe, but those reasons are very rare. I prefer to end my day with as many calories left over as possible and still feel satisfied and have gotten my minimum in!
    Do you eat your exercise calories? It seems like alot of calories when you include them.

    Actually that's not why one eats them back...or shouldn't be at least. MFP basically is based on you NOT exercising. There is already a 500 calorie deficit built in. So if you burn 500 calories, that's a 1000 calorie deficit for the day. Basically the rules go...net 1200 minimum. always. That may mean eating some calories back. Usually if you have a lot to lose you can have a pretty big deficit. BUT once you are closer to your goal, your metabolism will need more calories or the weight loss will slow. I don't eat all of mine back, but if I don't eat most I either stall or gain weight. The body will cling on to everything you give. So it's a balance. But if I didn't eat back my calories from exercise I'd be a mess. My body would be completely starved.


    Nice to see someone who thinks as I do on this subject. We're not exercising so we can gorge ourselves with more food! Calories in, calories out people!
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Yes, and it is a lot and I enjoy it. If a diet is too hard, you'll never stick with it. And really, given the options of eating more and losing weight or eating less and losing weight, which would you chose?
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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    "OK, this will be long. Please read it if you are confused. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or a doctor, just a successful loser and maintainer, who has consulted both doctors and dieticians.

    Question #1:

    Should I eat all my calories?

    Yes. MFP is already figuring a deficit for you to lose weight. This deficit is based on what you need to eat based on your everyday activity, not counting exercise. In the end, it's all about "net calories" (you can view yours under reports)

    Example: you need to eat 2,000 calories to maintain your current weight (random number)
    MFP will tell you to eat 1,500 to lose one pound per week (500x7=3500=one pound loss).

    Let's say you exercise, and burn 500 additional calories.
    UH-OH, now you are at a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. You need 2,000 calories to maintian, are already restricted to 1500, so now your net calories are a 1,000 a day. This is starvation central. Your body, which is very good at keeping you alive, will store and save calories. You WILL stop losing weight. You WILL want to throw your scale out the window.

    Eat your exercise calories. At least eat most of them.

    Question #2:
    I'm eating 1200 calories, I feel like crap and I'm not losing weight. What gives?

    Answer:
    Run, don't walk, to "tools" and use the BMR calculator. Please, please, please, eat at least your BMR calories every day. You might lose weight more slowly, but you will still lose, and you will not longer feel a sudden urge to fall over every time you do, well, anything.

    Question #3:
    I'm doing "everything right" and the scale won't move.

    Answer #1: The scale is the devil. Step away from the scale. Buy a tape measure, notice how your clothes are (probably) fitting better. Muscle is more dense than fat, and takes up less space on your body. More muscle on your body will make the scale freeze or (gasp) move upward.

    Answer #2: You're not being honest. In order for this to work, you must record every morsel of food that goes in your body. Also, if you ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes and barely break a sweat and can still chatter on your cell phone (OK, that's my personal gym pet peeve) then you're probably not working "vigorously". Don't overestimate your exercise calories. (this was a big mistake I made in the past.)

    Answer #3: Your body might be re-adjusting. How you feel is the most important mark of progress. It's very easy to fixate on numbers, but feeling better really should be its own reward.

    Question #4:
    So, if I'm eating my exercise calories, what's the point of exercise?

    Answer: (warning: extremely opinionated answer ahead)
    You don't. You can lose weight through diet alone. But, then you will be skinny and flabby. Is a model skinnier than me? OH, YES! Is she healthier than me? probably NOT. She couldn't survive the hour-long spin class that I take three times a week. Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person. (this is a generalization. I don't hate models, but this is their lifestyle. . .I used to be a "dresser" at shows, and I saw a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff.

    Does that help? Please say it does"
  • kapeluza
    kapeluza Posts: 3,434 Member
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    "Mon 02/14/11 09:40 AM
    One issue that seems to be related to MFP more than any other forum I post on is the question of "to eat or not to eat" the calories one expends exercising. I'm assuming it has something to do with the logging and calculations used on MFP, which I am admittedly unfamiliar with. However, suffice it to say that I get this question in my inbox a few times each week, so it's obviously worth mentioning on the forum.

    First, let it be known that there are no universally accepted rules regarding eating them back or not. The reason being is because there's no magic to it - it comes down to energy balance. Nothing more. Let me explain...

    Let's try to make this real simple:

    Maintenance calorie intake is where calories in = calories out, right?

    We know that a calorie deficit is required if fat is to be lost, so calories in < calories out.

    Large deficits can have negative effects such as increased cravings, muscle loss, irritability, unsustainability (I made that word up), etc.

    So we want a moderate deficit, which I'd label as 20-35% off of your maintenance. There's latitude here, mind you.

    So if your maintenance is 2000 calories, anywhere from 1300 to 1600 calories would be realistic for fat loss.

    That's a deficit of 400-700 calories per day.

    Said deficit, in theory, could come from a number of combinations.

    On one end of the spectrum you could simply eat 400-700 calories less per day. This assumes the energy out side of the equation stays reasonably static.

    On the other end of the spectrum you could keep eating 2000 calories but increase calories expended via exercise to 400-700 calories per day.

    If you went with this latter scenario, you wouldn't have to eat back your exercise calories because the expended calories from exercise put you in the sweet spot, calorically speaking.

    Now if you cut calories by 400-700 AND increased activity by 400-700, then you'd be running too large a deficit unless you ate back your exercise calories. I can't express how general this is, but it's something many should listen to. Obese folks, on the contrary, can run much larger deficits than thinner folks for reasons we won't get into here today. But all of these relatively thin folks who are trying to "beat their bodies into submission" by blitzing it full force with calorie deprivation and massive amounts of exercise should probably heed this advice.

    In real terms, most people establish their deficits partly by cutting calories and partly by increasing activity. But for those of you wondering whether you should be eating back your calories expended exercising, you need to look at your calories in net terms. Where does your deficit stand without eating back your exercise calories?

    I'll note that personally I don't worry about any of this with my own training or my clients. I set what I consider sane and productive volumes of various exercise (strength training, energy system development, conditioning for fat loss, etc.). From there, there's really not a lot of variability in energy expenditure since I know, by and large, what volume of exercise is required to drive the adaptations I'm shooting for.

    Therefore, the only thing to really manipulate is calorie intake. It's a much cleaner approach but to each his own. Do what you're happy with and what makes the most sense for you.
    Edited by stroutman81 on Mon 02/14/11 10:03 AM
    - Steve


    "
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    I follow MFP the way it is designed (caloric deficit for weight loss with no exercise) so I eat my exercise calories. Plus I honestly care more about losing fat over just losing weight. I would rather not lose muscle so therefore don't starve my body when I do intense workouts to the point that my body starts consuming lean body mass.
  • wan2b_fatfree
    wan2b_fatfree Posts: 22
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    lol... I just noticed MFP adds the exercise calories back to your daily intake. That is really not correct. I mean if you had a hard workout, 1000 calories burned, etc. ...if you ate it back, you wasted your time. The point of losing weight is to burn more than you take in...I don't like that feature. You should maintain the original calorie count, I would NOT eat them. You are just balancing if you do and will never lose the weight. Just remember to eat something like an hour before/after your workout and you will not be hungry. WATER WATER WATER is key!
  • LadyPHX
    LadyPHX Posts: 52
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    Can't co-sign on more replies. I wouldn't eat them. You worked too hard. If you are extremely hungry, I could see doing it once or twice in a rare cycle (every couple of months, you went to an event, ate a little too much, etc), but NOT every day. You earned that sweat, don't eat it.
  • Countrymade
    Countrymade Posts: 183 Member
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    NO! I worked hard to earn them, and it defeats the purpose of why I did them, which was to burn calories. Now, if there is a really special occasion or unavoidable reason to eat them back then maybe, but those reasons are very rare. I prefer to end my day with as many calories left over as possible and still feel satisfied and have gotten my minimum in!
    Do you eat your exercise calories? It seems like alot of calories when you include them.


    Nice to see someone who thinks as I do on this subject. We're not exercising so we can gorge ourselves with more food! Calories in, calories out people!

    I agree with you too. I actually asked one of the trainers at the gym I go to this morning and he said I didn't have to eat them back. I explained how MFP works. He didn't seem to agree with that.
    I always get my 1200 calories in but not the 1200 NET calories.
  • Hodar
    Hodar Posts: 338 Member
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    NO! I worked hard to earn them, and it defeats the purpose of why I did them, which was to burn calories. Now, if there is a really special occasion or unavoidable reason to eat them back then maybe, but those reasons are very rare. I prefer to end my day with as many calories left over as possible and still feel satisfied and have gotten my minimum in!
    MFP already has you operating at a calorie deficit, this is based upon your desire to lose (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0) lbs per week. If you do not eat those calories back - you are going to regret it, in a very horrific way. You see, your body WILL find those calories it needs - it will do it be digesting connective tissue, muscle and even your internal organs. Want you have nice floppy and saggy section of skin in your mid-section? One way to get it is to digest your connective tissue. That's why the contest winners in "Biggest Loser" get to get plastic surgery and spend 6 weeks in bed - getting that extra skin removed from all around their body.

    If you eat your exercise calories back, you will lose weight at the pre-set level; and the exercise will BUILD muscle, and keepy your connective tissue. But, what you do is entirely up to you.
  • vibrant80
    vibrant80 Posts: 42 Member
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    lol... I just noticed MFP adds the exercise calories back to your daily intake. That is really not correct. I mean if you had a hard workout, 1000 calories burned, etc. ...if you ate it back, you wasted your time. The point of losing weight is to burn more than you take in...I don't like that feature. You should maintain the original calorie count, I would NOT eat them. You are just balancing if you do and will never lose the weight. Just remember to eat something like an hour before/after your workout and you will not be hungry. WATER WATER WATER is key!

    If you believe this, then you don't really understand how this website/program works.

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