Eating earnt calories from excercise

JulesRich73
JulesRich73 Posts: 3 Member
edited January 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi - ive just started (again) and my PT has set me at 1700 calories 120g protein but told me not to eat back running calories - just wondered what others do? I can burn in excess of 1000 calories some days x ta - oh only looking to loose about half a stone xx

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited January 2018
    You need to eat back your running calories especially when you don't have much weight to lose. I sometimes wonder where these PT's get their ideas from!
    if you didn't eat them back your body would be running on 700 cals (1700-1000), that wouldn't be enough for your body to function or give you enough energy to fuel your day. Its not a good idea to eat under our BMR.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    JulesRich73 wrote: »
    Hi - ive just started (again) and my PT has set me at 1700 calories 120g protein but told me not to eat back running calories - just wondered what others do? I can burn in excess of 1000 calories some days x ta - oh only looking to loose about half a stone xx

    What are you doing/how long to burn 1000 calories in a session?
  • Colombini1X
    Colombini1X Posts: 3 Member
    That advice sounds a little off to me - how often do you run? Personally my approach with exercise calories is to maintain my calorie deficit (currently 500 calories) so I end up eating about 80% of my exercise calories back, but those calories are skewed more towards protein than my usual macro breakdown.

    If you're running multiple times per week then options to consider are eating back your calories on exercise days, or increasing your daily calorie intake a bit higher - sounds like that's what your PT was doing but I'm not sure 1700 is enough if you're burning that many calories through exercise!
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
    you need to understand where the 1700 has come from to understand whether or not to eat back your exercise calories. If your PT has taken your running into consideration when calculating the daily calories and deficit then you can't eat them back. If he has based the 1700 on you being sedentary then you should eat back exercise calories.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I want to know how you are burning a thousand calories.
  • JulesRich73
    JulesRich73 Posts: 3 Member
    I'm marathon training so often run for about 2 hours or longer on a long run - prob average 600 but long runs can be over 1000 cals x
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    You absolutely want to eat back some of those calories, especially if you're training for a marathon, you'll need to fuel your body when you're running long distance like that.
  • JulesRich73
    JulesRich73 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks x im off to see him now - will clarify - only been tracking properly for a week so its all a bit new to me x ta
  • robinrows
    robinrows Posts: 57 Member
    It depends on your goals. If the marathon is the key focus you need to make sure you eat to fuel your training. If weight loss is the goal then perhaps eat back some but not all of the calories. I am heavy, but I also do a lot of rowing so my main goal is weight loss. However, I also do regular half marathons on the rower (the amount varies but up to 25 a month). When I've tried to really reduce calorie intake it really affected the rowing, making me feel really tired and times plummeted. It also made me more likely to binge eat I think. I've found if I eat back all the calories I will tend to lose around 1lb or just maintain, if I eat back half, I will lose 4-5lb a week.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    JulesRich73 wrote: »
    Hi - ive just started (again) and my PT has set me at 1700 calories 120g protein but told me not to eat back running calories - just wondered what others do? I can burn in excess of 1000 calories some days x ta - oh only looking to loose about half a stone xx

    If that 1700 is based on TDEE then I can see the logic. That said, I don't see TDEE as an appropriate model for someone in a marathon cycle, as your energy demands increase steadily with your mileage increasing.

    It may be that you find a balance whereby your short runs are included in your TDEE but you eat back your longs.

    Personally my midweeks are pretty consistent, about 1600-2000 cals every week, but my longs can range from 2000-6000 over a weekend, so much more difficult to forecast using a TDEE model.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    JulesRich73 wrote: »
    I'm marathon training so often run for about 2 hours or longer on a long run - prob average 600 but long runs can be over 1000 cals x

    The MyFitnessPal way of accounting for exercise calories would seem to be far more appropriate for you - with high and variable calorie counts that will need fuelling/recovery on the day using the TDEE method (if that's what your PT is doing - ask them) really isn't the best choice IMHO.

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