Exercising On Fast Days

jfp420
jfp420 Posts: 186 Member
edited 8:48PM in Social Groups
Hello Everyone. If I exercise on a fast day is it recommended to eat back calories burned to meet 500 calories for the day?

Replies

  • jknight001
    jknight001 Posts: 745 Member
    I'll be interested to see what others say. My first thought is no since I believe one of the reasons for a fast is to let the body rest from having to process food. Adding more food is antithetical to that idea. The other thought I had is I believe it is hard to accurately count burned calories therefore it is hard to accurately know how much to eat back. Just my two cents. This forum is all about finding the path that works for you so no harm in trying it to to see if it makes for a better 5:2 experience.
  • Marmitegeoff
    Marmitegeoff Posts: 373 Member
    I never eat back my exercise calories as I take it as a bonus loss. The calorie calculators are so variable that their values are suspect. But do what suites you.
  • Meghan509
    Meghan509 Posts: 2,096 Member
    Good question.
    Nope, I never eat back my exercise calories on Light Day or any day.
    Some day when I get to maintenance, I might "bank" some of those exercise calories to use for cheat meals or be more flexible that way. I believe Weight Watchers lets you bank your exercise calories for special activities, etc...
  • mamainthekitchen
    mamainthekitchen Posts: 929 Member
    Yes I too believe like jknight said... fasting is to let your body rest from constantly digesting food all other days. Also like Geoff... I took it as a super bonus and found I lost weight faster.... I would just watch your protein intake for your fast day, I'm remembering the Mosley update Flossy mentioned months ago that people can still have the physical benefits of fasting at 600/700 cals for men/women.
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
    Yup. I agree with jknight. Normally you don't eat exercise cals back on a fast day. Letting your digestive system rest has other positive effects than weight loss like a stronger immune system.
  • jknight001
    jknight001 Posts: 745 Member
    One other thing about eating calories back is that one can get attached to eating more so if one gets injured and cannot exercise it can be a bit painful to cut back, if you know what I mean.
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