2 really important questions?

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LeLoveHandles
LeLoveHandles Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, all. :)
Now, I have been exercising for a few months now. And yesterday while on the treadmill; 2 questions came to mind. I researched about them, but they were all advertisements. You can't trust those, y'know.

So, I was hoping you guys could help me find the correct answer. I would really appreciate it!(:

-Should I eat before I exercise in the morning?
I get up at 7:35 a.m, and brisk walk for 30 minutes, and cycle for 30 as well. Burning a little over 220 calories (4 or 5 times a week). So, I was wondering if that saying about burning more fat in the morning was true.

-If I exercise in the morning, am I allowed more calories?
So, At 5'7 and 148 pounds (last 8 pounds!), my BMR is 1550, I eat 1500 a day. Now, I exercise in the morning, does that mean I can eat more calories, like 1700 to make up for the ones I burned in the morning? May I add, I don't eat breakfast. Or do I stick with my 1500?

I really would like the answers to these, it would be a shame to be working so hard and it turns out I'm doing it all wrong.
Much luck to all of you! :)

Replies

  • pleasepleaseno
    pleasepleaseno Posts: 166 Member
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    I read in some fitness magazine that the benefit of exercising in the morning before breakfast is because it can help you control insulin levels. But otherwise, I think it's the same as exercising whenever. Calorie-wise I mean.
  • Corby86
    Corby86 Posts: 43 Member
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    Hello LeLoveHandles,

    Well done for staying so active!! You are definately on the right track.

    Should you eat before you exercise in the morning?
    The short answer is YES, your body will require fuel to perform the exercise. You should have breakfast if possible. If it's not possible then have your breakfast very soon after training.

    If you exercise in the morning, are you allowed more calories?
    The short answer again is YES. Although you only have a 50 calories / day deficit which means that weight loss will be very slow. . .but you will lose weight nonetheless. If you wanted to speed up your weight loss you could probably eat about 1600 / day on days that you exercised.

    Is it true that you burn more fat in the morning?
    NO. Our bodies will burn fat for fuel, this only happens when other fuel (glucose & protein from our diets) is not available to be used up for fuel. This could be at 5am, 12pm or 8pm. . .it will depend on each person's diet & activity levels at different times of the day.
    (For you it could be in the mornings, this depends on what time you had dinner the night before).
  • pleasepleaseno
    pleasepleaseno Posts: 166 Member
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    But you should eat breakfast or your blood sugar may go all wacky :) Even just something small, like a fruit or something.
  • 388gigi
    388gigi Posts: 485 Member
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    My one advise from all of that, EAT BREAKFAST!!! :-)

    It's most important meal of the day! And if you want to eat more calories, I think its better in the morning....but i'm not an expert!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    -Should I eat before I exercise in the morning?
    I get up at 7:35 a.m, and brisk walk for 30 minutes, and cycle for 30 as well. Burning a little over 220 calories (4 or 5 times a week). So, I was wondering if that saying about burning more fat in the morning was true.

    It is said that if you exercise first thing in the morning then you do burn a bit more fat, and the reason is that when you wake up, your glycogen stores are low or depleted, so the body has to dip into your fat stores to get the energy. If you're comfortable doing it this way, go for it. I'd recommending eating afterwards though.
    -If I exercise in the morning, am I allowed more calories?
    So, At 5'7 and 148 pounds (last 8 pounds!), my BMR is 1550, I eat 1500 a day. Now, I exercise in the morning, does that mean I can eat more calories, like 1700 to make up for the ones I burned in the morning? May I add, I don't eat breakfast. Or do I stick with my 1500?

    The way MFP works is it gives you a calorie target that you should aim for before exercise enters into the picture. When you exercise and enter it in MFP, it compensates for that exercise and gives you more calories to eat. Assuming that your burned calorie count is accurate, then yes, absolutely eat those calories. You will soon see that this question comes up just about once an hour. :)
  • Corby86
    Corby86 Posts: 43 Member
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    AGREED!
  • RagtimeLady
    RagtimeLady Posts: 172 Member
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    You have to know what your daily TDEE is (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Then you have to figure out how much of a calorie deficit you need per day and/or per week to determine how quickly you will lose the weight. You might want to play around with the calculators on this website:

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/

    To lose a pound of weight per week, you need to have a calorie deficit of 500 per day, which means you eat 500 calories less than your body used just living + exercise.

    Keep in mind that people's bodies are very different - your RMR and TDEE may be very different from what the formulas say - that's my problem.
  • snoopybing
    snoopybing Posts: 19 Member
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    I don't really know in terms of burning fat but I always eat something before I exercise first thing in the morning. I don't know about anyone else but I couldn't stand doing any form of exercise running on an empty stomach. Normally a small smoothie or a handful of berries is enough, anything heavier and I would feel sluggish during my workout.

    From personal experience I reckon you do burn off more first thing in the morning, as taso42 said you have less food milling about your system and are more likely burn off fat. Also I feel my morning workout does a great job of waking me up!

    But remember its not about getting the fat off as quickly as possible, its about getting it off as healthily as possible!
  • LeLoveHandles
    LeLoveHandles Posts: 4
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    Thank you all for taking the time to answer. I've always had that question in mind.

    So, it IS okay to eat under my BMR?
  • LeLoveHandles
    LeLoveHandles Posts: 4
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    Also, since my goal is 1500 calories, does that mean that's what it's supposed to say under NET CALORIES? or FOOD CALORIES.
    Gosh, this is really confusing.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    You should never be eating below your BMR.

    You need to eat a 20-40% deficit from what your TDEE is which is BMR + Activity Level in a 24 hour period, not just in the gym.
  • LeLoveHandles
    LeLoveHandles Posts: 4
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    You should never be eating below your BMR.

    You need to eat a 20-40% deficit from what your TDEE is which is BMR + Activity Level in a 24 hour period, not just in the gym.

    Never? Hm. Well, thank you.

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