Eating exercise calories...

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sharonlep
sharonlep Posts: 50 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've just read a success story that advised us to eat 95% of exercise calories burned and just to concentrate on a normal calorie déficit.
Just curious about other people's opinions on this.

Replies

  • sharonlep
    sharonlep Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm a bit worried though because I'm on a plan that allows me 1700 calories. Il not using mfp recommendations. It's quite high on protein and fibre if I can fit it in, and 10k steps à day. I'm happy with the higher calories because I'm sick of very low calorie dieting. I'm quite active and usually average 15k steps with the various walking and other exercises I do. 52 yes. 172lbs.5ft2.
    1700 seems a lot of I eat into my exercise cals too.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    Exercise calories are delicious.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,042 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Do what you want. :) Keep good records, adjust as needed in a couple months. Sounds like you have included 10,000 steps as part of your 1700.
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
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    I usually eat about half, unless I'm particularly hungry that day--then I eat 'em all.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,994 Member
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    I ate them all if I wanted them.

    Sometimes I saved them and ate them the next day (I often had a delayed hunger reaction to heavy exercise days), or saved some of them for weekend splurges.

    Since I lost weight faster than MFP predicted for the calories I was consuming and the exercise I was logging, my experience suggested it was OK for me to eat all the exercise calories. YMMV.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
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    But re-reading your follow up -- Is it MFP that gave you the 1700, or another site? Because MFP is one of the few that treats exercise as a bonus calories. So if that 1700 game from another site, it's entirely possible that it already includes your activity.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    I ate them all if I wanted them.

    Sometimes I saved them and ate them the next day (I often had a delayed hunger reaction to heavy exercise days), or saved some of them for weekend splurges.

    Since I lost weight faster than MFP predicted for the calories I was consuming and the exercise I was logging, my experience suggested it was OK for me to eat all the exercise calories. YMMV.

    This is my approach too. Often I eat none or just a few of them, but when I’m hungry I’ll eat all of them. I like having the flexibility to eat somewhat according to my appetite but still stay within my “rules”.
  • sharonlep
    sharonlep Posts: 50 Member
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    Yes It was another site COLLECTINGBLUES.
    That makes sense to me that the calories are already included in the 1700.
    Thanks.im much clearer now. :)
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    Everything about this process is guesswork, rough numbers and estimations. The key is to try and minimise the margins to a manageable level.

    The best way (I've found) to minimise those margins and hone in on what's right for you is through trial and error. Do something, check the results and adjust accordingly.

    With exercise calories this would mean picking a percentage and eating that much back for 4 weeks or so, at the end of the 4 weeks check your progress. If you're losing weight at the expected rate then you've found your level. If however, you're not losing as quickly as expected and can comfortably eat fewer calories then reduce the percentage or accept that the slightly reduced rate of loss is perfectly fine and continue. Conversely if you find that you're losing weight quicker than expected then you can afford to eat a few more of your exercise calories back.

    Try, assess, adjust, try, assess, adjust, rinse and repeat...

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