Eating your extra workout calories

danadane67
danadane67 Posts: 8
edited October 4 in Food and Nutrition
Can someone explain to me why we get the extra workout calories and are we suppose to eat the extra calories?.

Replies

  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Search function works quite well :flowerforyou:
  • twynzmom
    twynzmom Posts: 172
    Good question! I've wondered the same thing
  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
    Eat them because your diary is already reduced by 500 calories. See my 'About Me' for my tips.
  • janeinspain
    janeinspain Posts: 173 Member
    You can eat them, but you don't need to. I would recommend to eat some of them, especially if you had an intense workout.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    There's a great page called, SHOULD I EAT MY EXERCISE CALORIES?

    The 2nd page has a series of helpful links at the bottom that will explain all of this for you.

    Blessings.

    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
    Search function works quite well :flowerforyou:
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
    Search function works quite well :flowerforyou:
  • MyCoachNYLA
    MyCoachNYLA Posts: 158 Member
    Can someone explain to me why we get the extra workout calories and are we suppose to eat the extra calories?.

    Thanks for the topic. I see this one often.

    My input is that if you want to maintain the weight you are at now, then eat back the calories, but if you are looking for the fat loss, of course you would not eat back what you just burned off!
  • fitmommy2012
    fitmommy2012 Posts: 451 Member
    YES! ALWAYS EAT YOUR WORKOUT CALORIES! Think about it...the LOWEST amount of calories that your body (as a woman) is supposed to consume it 1200 - if you burn 350 calories - (and you ate all 1200 - which most people dont) then you would have only in all actuality consumed 950 calories! MUCH too low for your body to work off of! :wink: Hope that helps explain it some!

    My calories are set at 1350 - and if I burn 500 calories, that means I should try and eat as close to 1850 calories as I can! It works it really does!:bigsmile:
  • Angel1066
    Angel1066 Posts: 816 Member
    I always eat my workout calories and it's working for me.
  • fitmommy2012
    fitmommy2012 Posts: 451 Member
    Eat them because your diary is already reduced by 500 calories. See my 'About Me' for my tips.

    Totally agree! :bigsmile:
  • jojowack
    jojowack Posts: 17 Member
    You don't have to eat them. For a lot of people it helps having those extra calories to stay at or under their calorie limit. Although I think they recommend eating at least 1200 calories worth of food in a day - regardless of exercise.
  • kedwardspcm
    kedwardspcm Posts: 45 Member
    You get workout calories becuase if you are eating your "minimum" amount of calories that allows for healthy weight loss, and yet you burn 600 calories doing high intensity exercise, then your body may go into starvation mode and store what you eat as fat and slow your metabolism since its thinking its starving - when that happens you will have to eat less and less to lose weight. I have found that if I eat ALL of my workout calories, I lose less but still lose. However, only eating half of what I have earned has led to better/faster success while still resulting in healthy weight loss progress (1-2lbs/wk) :)
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
    I eat back SOME of my workout calories. My Calories are at 1200. I workout everyday and burn 600+. I tend to eat around 1300-1500 on a day that I really eat. and 1100-1300 on a normal day.
  • fitmommy2012
    fitmommy2012 Posts: 451 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/244664-why-1-200-calories-per-day

    Great article that was posted by one of my friend on MFP! Really should read it and the article that is attached! It explains A LOT!
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    Can someone explain to me why we get the extra workout calories and are we suppose to eat the extra calories?.
    IMHO (have to qualify everything is seems). For me, staying within the calorie amount to lose even 1lb / week is difficult. It's easy to go over by 2-3-400 calories.

    If you workout and burn an est. 600 calories, then you get an extra 600 to play with. Now you can have a let's say a 500 calorie meal and still be net 100 calories under you allotment for the day. Or let's say you are over by 100 calories. You can eat a 400 calorie meal and get yourself under your daily goal by 100 calories vs being over by 100 calories.

    that's the way I see it.
  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
    If I don't eat most of my workout calories then pretty soon I stop losing. When I start eating more I start losing again.
  • jojonesnz
    jojonesnz Posts: 107 Member
    There's a great page called, SHOULD I EAT MY EXERCISE CALORIES?

    The 2nd page has a series of helpful links at the bottom that will explain all of this for you.

    Blessings.

    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    thanks for the link, im going to check it out now:) i eat most of my exercise calories as i always thought i would need fuel for my body to recover, im going to read this now and see if i am doing the right thing:tongue:
  • gemswillsucceed
    gemswillsucceed Posts: 13 Member
    What if you've overeaten the weekend before though? I knew I was going out last weekend for a friends birthday so the last 2 days, I have not eaten my 1200 cals I'd earnt back through excercise to make up for last weekend.
    I'm assuming that's right?
    Also, i was telling my doctor about this site and how fab it is, and she told me not to eat back my cals...I completely understand why you should so why is she telling me not to?!
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Can someone explain to me why we get the extra workout calories and are we suppose to eat the extra calories?.

    Thanks for the topic. I see this one often.

    My input is that if you want to maintain the weight you are at now, then eat back the calories, but if you are looking for the fat loss, of course you would not eat back what you just burned off!

    Only if you told MFP that you wanted to maintain your current weight. Otherwise you already have a 250-1000 calorie deficit built in to your daily number.
  • jessicabowman
    jessicabowman Posts: 1
    My husband and I eat our workout calories
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    I eat my exercise calories back. Each and every one of them. And they taste gooooood too!

    MFP already gives you a deficit required to lose weight in your daily calorie allowance, if you then workout and burn a couple of hundred calories, then you're creating too big a deficit - I workout hard, I run hard, I lift heavy, I need to fuel my body and replenish myself.

    But, thats just my opinion!
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Also, i was telling my doctor about this site and how fab it is, and she told me not to eat back my cals...I completely understand why you should so why is she telling me not to?!

    Did you tell her that MFP already builds in your calorie deficit through diet alone? A lot of other sites will give you a calorie goal that already takes into account your "PLANNED" exercise. I use quotes because it's not precise - you might tell the website that you work out 6 days a week, but maybe life happens and you only get to the gym three times this week. The website still thinks you worked out 6 times though - and now you've eaten too much for your ACTUAL activity level. MFP gives you a deficit through diet alone, and THEN credits your ACTUAL exercise when you log it.
  • gemswillsucceed
    gemswillsucceed Posts: 13 Member
    Also, i was telling my doctor about this site and how fab it is, and she told me not to eat back my cals...I completely understand why you should so why is she telling me not to?!

    Did you tell her that MFP already builds in your calorie deficit through diet alone? A lot of other sites will give you a calorie goal that already takes into account your "PLANNED" exercise. I use quotes because it's not precise - you might tell the website that you work out 6 days a week, but maybe life happens and you only get to the gym three times this week. The website still thinks you worked out 6 times though - and now you've eaten too much for your ACTUAL activity level. MFP gives you a deficit through diet alone, and THEN credits your ACTUAL exercise when you log it.

    Thank you - Not i hadnt told her that but I will be this week :-)
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