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Do you eat exercise calories on keto?

CarolynRSB
CarolynRSB Posts: 84 Member
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Hey, just a few weeks in to keto, and feeling pretty good overall, though not dropping the pounds as fast as others seem to (I'm now paying closer attention to caloric intake). I love that I'm noticably not as hungry as I usually am! I use ketostix to assess whether I'm in ketosis, and they regularly show I am (I drink a lot of water, so don't worry about how dark the strip gets, so much as ensuring there us some sign or color change).

Question... do people recommend eating their exercise calories when doing keto? So far I haven't been, and have not logged my workouts to avoid adding to my counts (Muay Thai and HIIT workouts, so the focus is on strength and sweating hard).

I want to ensure I keep my body fueled enough to optimize burning. My macros has me at 1500 calories a day (30 net carbs a day, though I'm good about keeping under), and I'm looking to lose another 35 pounds.

Thanks!

Replies

  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I don't use the MFP target calorie calculations, but yes.

    I don't eat exercise calories that I key in, I always override them to 1 calorie so MFP doesn't mess up my target numbers for the day.

    However, when I did the calorie goal calculations I included my exercise in the form of a specified "activity level", so those exercises are already accounted for in my daily calorie goals.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    I do not eat back very many of the exercise calories. The nice thing about keto is I am not terribly hungry, so I can work out a LOT and not feel like I need to eat! But if you can eat them and still lose, go for it!
  • xrsize4dad
    xrsize4dad Posts: 29 Member
    Running_and_Coffee wrote: »
    I do not eat back very many of the exercise calories. The nice thing about keto is I am not terribly hungry, so I can work out a LOT and not feel like I need to eat! But if you can eat them and still lose, go for it!

    I've been wondering about this too. I finally got a ketone / glucos meter to make sure that I'm in ketosis and I am. I'm sure its different for everyone but when I workout seems like I am starving even if i eat back like 90% of my calories. I'm still dropping weight but I'm hoping the hunger goes away!
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
    Quick answer, No.

    I have never been one to purposely eat back a set calorie burn that I did during my workouts.

    However, there are definitely days where I work out hard and am more hungry on those days. On those days I will eat a little more if I am starving.
  • qweck3
    qweck3 Posts: 346 Member
    I only do it on heavy lifting days. Those calories are protein focused.
  • Farrell73
    Farrell73 Posts: 94 Member
    I don't!
  • AgaeCan
    AgaeCan Posts: 5 Member
    I don't either. In the past, when I did, it stalled my weight loss. For whatever reason, there are days that I'm more hungry after a workout than others. On those days, I eat a little extra to ease the hunger.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,628 Member
    I don't eat them back. I also don't exercise much.
  • poli22
    poli22 Posts: 170 Member
    Since eating Keto does not focus on calories, I just try to keep my carbs in check. It really matters little how many calories one eats if the other macros are in balance.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I usually drink my exercise calories.
  • iceneyes
    iceneyes Posts: 12 Member
    I haven't been eating my exercise calories and have been loosing 2-3 lbs per week. In the past, I did eat (or drink) those calories and had zero success with that plan.

    I would actually mow the lawn when it wasn't needed so I could have a beer! That didn't work out for the waistline!
  • kimmydear
    kimmydear Posts: 298 Member
    Every once in a while I do when I'm abnormally hungry, but mostly no. I don't always log my exercise either because it doesn't matter to me how many more calories MFP gives me.
  • PaulaKro
    PaulaKro Posts: 5,775 Member
    I have a hard time eating the 1,000 calories MFP wants you to have, much less exercise calories. :laugh:
  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
    Depends how much exercise I’m doing and on the day how hungry I am.

    I’ve recently changed my activity level/weight loss speed to more reflect my (surprisingly to me) fairly active lifestyle and went from target calories of 1200/day (sedentary/lightly active and 1kg/2lb a week) to 1750/day (moderately active and 1/2kg/1lb a week) as a pre exercise target and eat somewhere between those numbers most days regardless of exercise - usually eating more on heavy workout days/if I’m hungry/occasionally for an event (I’m trying to use hunger/satiety as a gauge for eating not just numbers).

    Yesterday I did an hour and a half at the gym (heavy weights and a run) and ate none of those calories back and ate at minimum calories for the day (just shy of 1200 I think - (partly due to working night shift and trying not to eat much after midnight so inadvertently intermittent fasting).

    However some days I eat all of my 1750 plus some of my exercise calories if I’m starving. I don’t however eat additionally calculated ‘step’/passive exercise calories (housework, walking dog etc) only ever ‘proper’ (in my mind) workout calories as the higher activity level accounts for those anyway. My steps range from about 8000-25,000 depending on various factors and that’s accounted for with being moderately active on mfp if that makes sense?


  • CarolynRSB
    CarolynRSB Posts: 84 Member
    Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts! I've taken to logging my workouts, but setting calories burned to 5 so it doesn't affect my macros (MFP won't save workouts with 0 calories burned, so had to go with a real number). If I go a little over my regular calories those days, I don't worry.
  • dangerousdashie
    dangerousdashie Posts: 119 Member
    I do but I eat them back at a deficit. For example, when I’m on a 20% caloric deficit I eat back 80% of my exercise calories. That was I’m eating at a 20% deficit from my TDEE.

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