Do I eat exercise calories?

I always eat half my exercise calories.

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YES EAT ALL YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES haha i am tired of people asking this! its in the faqs of mfp!

Hi All,

I need some advice... Do you eat your exercise calories when zig zagging? My set calorie intake for weight loss is 1200 calories.

So here's what zig zagging will look like for me-

Monday- 1000
Tuesday- 1400
Wednesday-1000

And so on... BUT... Do I eat my exercise calories? Usually I do. Is it the same when zig zagging? So for example-

Monday- 1000 (+100 calories from exercising)= 1100
Tuesday- 1400 (+200 calories from exercising)= 1600

Any advice would be appreciated!

If you don't eat them than your intake should be set higher i.e. 1400 on low days, 1800 on your high day. But where you are set low for your zig zag, I would definitely eat them (or most of them) back.

If your minimum calories per day is 1200, you should not go under that when zig zagging. Also, when you exercise, your body needs those calories in order to function properly. You will find that the greater deficiency in calories you eat under your minimum, the slower you will lose weight. When I exercise, I eat about half of the exercise calories I earn and I have consistently lost 1 pound per week.

I rarely eat mine back and I average 1200 calories a day.

The only problem with eating back your exercise calories is that those numbers might be off. I don't think it's a good idea to zig-zag with only 1000 calories, but that's mho. If you are already losing weight and have a good idea that your work out calories are pretty accurate, then I'd eat back those calories or at least half of them. You will be able to tell after a week if what you are doing is working. If you are set to lose 1 pound a week then your average daily caloric deficit will be around 500. Of course, I'm not a zig-zagger so this info might not be relevant.

"K, 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.flowerforyou"

Good points!!!! Thankss!