Extra Calories

lol its abt to go down! Everyone here has a diff opinion on this. I personally never eat back the calories I've burned off...seems like a waste.

I eat them if I'm hungry, but not necessarily all of them.

I try to leave the deficit from calories burned because I know that my food calories are usually estimates, and a lot of times I probably underestimate and am actually consuming more calories than I think. But, if I burn a LOT of calories one day (like a spin class where I burn like 500+) I will usually treat myself to a little extra something. :-)

I eat them because they are needed for muscle recovery, and tissue growth. Not eating them will lead to all kinds of troubles; exhaustion, tissue degeneration, etc etc..

I think your comment is true only if people are burning a seriously huge amount of calories each day and then not eating enough to fuel their bodies. If someone burns, say 500 extra calories one day, I don't think it'll hurt them to leave that extra calorie deficit, especially since a lot of times the calories consumed is an estimate which is often lower than the actual total calories.

The calorie goal myfitnesspal gives you is a "net calorie" goal, meaning food PLUS exercise. Therefore, if you eat that calorie amount, and then exercise and do not eat those exercise calories, you will be under your calorie goal. While many people aim for this in hopes of a more rapid weight loss, it actually leads to losing lean body mass instead of fat (and who wants that!), and can also lead to your weight loss hitting a standstill as your body goes into starvation mode.

So always eat your extra exercise calories

I eat them because they are needed for muscle recovery, and tissue growth. Not eating them will lead to all kinds of troubles; exhaustion, tissue degeneration, etc etc..

I eat them because I LOVE FOOD. Exercising allows me to eat more food.

I love food. Food is good.

I only eat my 1200 calories and don't touch what I have burned in a workout. Have been doing this since May and am losting about 1 1/2 - 2 pounds a week. (Typically workout with a trainer 3 days a week for an hour 15, and one day alone for about an hour)

why must i always click on these threads...*slaps forehead*

eat your exercise calories people, take it from someone who effed their metabolism by netting 800 calories a day...i've been fixing that for nearly a year!


and i also thought i was losing weight and was all happy and everything till i realized i was CONSUMING MY OWN MUSCLE because i was depriving my body of nutrients it needed...don't be fooled!

Thanks for the post! I am still fairly new here with MFP and was wondering the same thing. So far I have been sticking with the calories allocated and not using the amount "earned" from the workout.

Have a great night,
Brendon

I'm usually starving after I work out, I usually eat pb toast, boiled egg or pistachios. I just think about how my muscles are worked so hard that they deserve a little protein to help repair for the next days exertion. I don't eat if I'm not hungry though, but I will try to have a little snack after a work out.

You have to feed the body to work the body!

I only eat mine back on weekends. I did 2 months of eating them back every day and didn't lose a pound. I only lose when I don't eat them back most days of the week; but I know of people that only lose when they eat them back. Everyone is different.

I think there is a bigger question with "eating your exercise calories back" than I usually see addressed. It depends on your calorie goals. (And I'm not an expert so this is just my thought on the subject.)

I'm female. My calorie goal is set to about 1460/day to lose .5 lb/week. I usually eat (at least) 1460/day.

If I exercise more than 260 calories worth, I eat my exercise calories back so that I at least net 1200/day. If I do that some days a week, I might lose up to an extra .5 lb. If I'm hungry, I eat them all to net my 1460 net goal. (And usually, after exercising a lot, I'm hungry.)

If I set my weight loss goal to 1 lb a week, MFP sets my calorie goal at 1200/day. If I set my calorie goal at 2lbs/week, MFP says "No way." and sets my goal at 1200/day. Setting aside the whole "starvation mode" thing, it is really hard to give yourself the nutrients needed on less than 1200 calories a day, and it's really hard to have energy to exercise well on less than 1200 calories a day.

So I think the answer to "should I eat my exercise calories" should be something like, "Yes, if you need them to net 1200 calories a day, and yes if you are hungry. You can skip them if you will still net over 1200 calories a day and still have energy to exercise tomorrow." (And for most men and very active or larger women, the minimum calories is higher. Damn you.)