Should I eat my calories gained through exercise?

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charpat58
charpat58 Posts: 13 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone help me with this? In order to lose 2 pounds per week, MFP calculated I should eat 1350 calories per day. Lately I have been walking 7 to 8 km 3 or 4 days a week. Today I walked 7km in 49 minutes and basically I could eat an extra 1000 calories. I know that this is probably way more calories than I burned but even if I reduce that by half, should I eat those calories. I don’t want to lose more than 2 pounds a week but I also want my body to not go into starvation mode and thwart my weight loss goals.
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Replies

  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
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    First of all great pace! 7km in 49 mins is ~ 5.2 mph is much faster than my average 3mph pace.

    How are you tracking calories because even at that pace myfitnesspal for jogging at a 5.2 mph pace for 49 mins says it burns 435 calories. However I am not sure if it takes my age or weight into consideration when calculating because all it ask for is times spent exercising.

    1000 does seem like alot so I would first double check that number for accuracy, by comparing it to other online walking calculators that use weight and height and age to see if you get the same number.

    Either way eating back some exercise calories is definitely a good idea! Many people recommend about 50-70% given that you are accurately logging exercise, but really you should find a balance on what amount of food keeps you happy and energized for your next workout but still in a deficit.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,737 Member
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    kballsocc wrote: »
    First of all great pace! 7km in 49 mins is ~ 5.2 mph is much faster than my average 3mph pace.

    How are you tracking calories because even at that pace myfitnesspal for jogging at a 5.2 mph pace for 49 mins says it burns 435 calories. However I am not sure if it takes my age or weight into consideration when calculating because all it ask for is times spent exercising.

    1000 does seem like alot so I would first double check that number for accuracy, by comparing it to other online walking calculators that use weight and height and age to see if you get the same number.

    Either way eating back some exercise calories is definitely a good idea! Many people recommend about 50-70% given that you are accurately logging exercise, but really you should find a balance on what amount of food keeps you happy and energized for your next workout but still in a deficit.

    MFP uses the weight and age in your MFP profile settings when it estimates exercise calories. The more weight I lost :) , the fewer calories I got for the same exercise :( .)
  • sunderland_mich93
    sunderland_mich93 Posts: 57 Member
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    Does anyone else feel like a piggy trying to eat the calories back?! It is definitely a matter of me retraining my way of thinking. I was wondering why I have been so tired lately. I just started using this app, but didn’t realize how much I actively burned just at work. That’s not even counting my workouts. I usually earn an additional 1,500-2,000 on a work and gym day. Now, what do I do if I feel so full and feel like I can’t eat anymore, but it tells me I can???
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Actually in order to lose 2 pounds per week, MFP calculated you should eat 1350 + exercise calories per day.

    But that calorie burn sounds dreadfully exaggerated, how did you come by that estimate?

    Starvation mode isn't a genuine thing in the sense you are using it.
  • sunderland_mich93
    sunderland_mich93 Posts: 57 Member
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    @AnnPT77, do you mean like...m&ms?!
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Going by your profile which says you weigh about 250. and 7 km as 4.3 miles(roughly)

    1. That's really brisk walking... Good on you. At that pace you're burning a bit more than the calculator below will give you.
    2. 1000 is probably too high Use this instead https://www.runnersworld.com/peak-performance/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn
    3. CALORIES/MILE .57 x wt in lbs =600ish calories.... at the pace you're walking you can safely eat all 600 of those calories.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,992 Member
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    sunderland_mich93 wrote: »
    Does anyone else feel like a piggy trying to eat the calories back?! It is definitely a matter of me retraining my way of thinking. I was wondering why I have been so tired lately. I just started using this app, but didn’t realize how much I actively burned just at work. That’s not even counting my workouts. I usually earn an additional 1,500-2,000 on a work and gym day. Now, what do I do if I feel so full and feel like I can’t eat anymore, but it tells me I can???

    Instead of doing the "up and down" in calories based on what I did that day I instead average my workouts and calories over the week. I calculated the numbers in a different calculator and set my own goals rather than using the default MFP calculations. That way I don't feel like I'm starving on days I don't workout, and meals tend to be pretty similar, meaning I can meal plan a little better.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    HoneyBadger155 wrote: »
    sunderland_mich93 wrote: »
    Does anyone else feel like a piggy trying to eat the calories back?! It is definitely a matter of me retraining my way of thinking. I was wondering why I have been so tired lately. I just started using this app, but didn’t realize how much I actively burned just at work. That’s not even counting my workouts. I usually earn an additional 1,500-2,000 on a work and gym day. Now, what do I do if I feel so full and feel like I can’t eat anymore, but it tells me I can???

    Instead of doing the "up and down" in calories based on what I did that day I instead average my workouts and calories over the week. I calculated the numbers in a different calculator and set my own goals rather than using the default MFP calculations. That way I don't feel like I'm starving on days I don't workout, and meals tend to be pretty similar, meaning I can meal plan a little better.

    I basically do this. Most days I eat within about 200 calories above MFP, but on training days, I end up with a few hundred extra. I end up rungry, so I'll often eat a bit more after a run than on a non-training day, but I"ll still try to have that little buffer.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    sunderland_mich93 wrote: »
    Does anyone else feel like a piggy trying to eat the calories back?! It is definitely a matter of me retraining my way of thinking. I was wondering why I have been so tired lately. I just started using this app, but didn’t realize how much I actively burned just at work. That’s not even counting my workouts. I usually earn an additional 1,500-2,000 on a work and gym day. Now, what do I do if I feel so full and feel like I can’t eat anymore, but it tells me I can???

    No....a calorie is just a unit of energy and I understand that my body needs a lot of energy just to perform basic bodily functions, never mind going about my day to day and exercise.

    I'm an active guy...I require a lot of energy, even if I'm trying to cut weight.
  • charpat58
    charpat58 Posts: 13 Member
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    I have been using Map My Walk and syncing to MFP to track calories. I was 254 when I started in October and have lost 33 pounds. I was losing steadily until I started walking a few weeks ago. During the winter I was doing 30 to 60 minutes 5 days a week of cardio/ strength training at home using Jessica Smith tv. Now that I have started walking longer distances (Nordic walking) and sticking to my MFP calorie suggestion/ no eating of earned calories, I seem to have stalled. I don’t always make the 7km in 49 minutes....but I do enjoy walking briskly
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
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    Personally, I think it depends on if you feel you need those extra calories.

    I try not to eat back my calories because
    a) I knew the amount given was usually over estimated by lots
    b) I wanted a buffer against under estimating my daily calories.
    c) it helps me to know I have some calories in reserve for when "life" happens ie; going out for supper, special occasions, et.

    Some days I need the extra fuel but most days I don't use them.

    However I'm not in maintenance yet and am still in deficit mode. I'm looking forward to them once I hit goal.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    bikecheryl wrote: »
    Personally, I think it depends on if you feel you need those extra calories.

    I try not to eat back my calories because
    a) I knew the amount given was usually over estimated by lots
    b) I wanted a buffer against under estimating my daily calories.
    c) it helps me to know I have some calories in reserve for when "life" happens ie; going out for supper, special occasions, et.

    Some days I need the extra fuel but most days I don't use them.

    However I'm not in maintenance yet and am still in deficit mode. I'm looking forward to them once I hit goal.

    I think the answer is somewhat nuanced. If one's workout is a brisk walk or a 30-minute Zumba class, it's not a huge calorie burn anyway (and often overestimated), and recovery/refueling concerns are pretty minimal, so eating those calories back or not is no big deal.

    For somebody with an intense workout regimen which burns significant calories and imposes significant recovery demands, eating at least part of those calories back becomes more relevant. Somebody who's lifting hard in the gym 4-6 days a week or running 25-30 miles (or more) per week isn't going to sustain that for long on a deep deficit without crashing and burning.
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    bikecheryl wrote: »
    Personally, I think it depends on if you feel you need those extra calories.

    I try not to eat back my calories because
    a) I knew the amount given was usually over estimated by lots
    b) I wanted a buffer against under estimating my daily calories.
    c) it helps me to know I have some calories in reserve for when "life" happens ie; going out for supper, special occasions, et.

    Some days I need the extra fuel but most days I don't use them.

    However I'm not in maintenance yet and am still in deficit mode. I'm looking forward to them once I hit goal.

    I think the answer is somewhat nuanced. If one's workout is a brisk walk or a 30-minute Zumba class, it's not a huge calorie burn anyway (and often overestimated), and recovery/refueling concerns are pretty minimal, so eating those calories back or not is no big deal.

    For somebody with an intense workout regimen which burns significant calories and imposes significant recovery demands, eating at least part of those calories back becomes more relevant. Somebody who's lifting hard in the gym 4-6 days a week or running 25-30 miles (or more) per week isn't going to sustain that for long on a deep deficit without crashing and burning.

    Exactly. That's why I asked if she felt she needed to eat those calories after her walk.

    Or at least that's what I meant to ask. :)
  • Trichell27
    Trichell27 Posts: 2 Member
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    I eat a portion of calories lost during exercise. Like maybe half?
  • charpat58
    charpat58 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for your reply. I don’t feel like I need to eat the extra calories but I eat the 1350 allotted to me based on my stats and aim at 1.5to 2 pounds a week. My last walk clocked me in at 1000 calories which I know is way more than Incould have burned, but say it was just 500, thatnhas my body running on only 850 calories. That got me wondering if I was eating enough. I had a great balance of food in/calories burned in the winter months but now that I am walker longer and faster, I am trying to get a feel for my balance. I think I will eat a hundred more a day and see what happens.

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