to eat or not to eat your exercise calories

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sammijojo1
sammijojo1 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just wondering...is it okay to not eat your workout calories? i try to hit my goal calories every day ,but i feel like when you work out it seems pointless to eat them back again. I mean, the point of work out is to burn right? any thoughts?

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  • iKapuniai
    iKapuniai Posts: 594 Member
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    I've read so many of these threads and I've researched so much and MY personal conclusion is this: If your NET calories are less than 1200-1300, eat back at least some of your exercise calories, enough to reach that 1200/1300 minimum. If your net calories are already over that, I wouldn't worry too much about it, DEPENDING on how much you burn throughout your day and workout. If you're pretty active during the day PLUS working out moderate/intensely, I'd eat back just about all of your calories, depending on how much you burn. The more active you are, the more fuel your body needs to keep your metabolism going and such. However, if you're like me and eat 2000 or so calories and only burn about 400 through workout and not much else, I don't feel that it's necessary to eat it back.

    Contrary to what people say, I really don't believe you MUST eat back all your calories, unless you're an avid athlete, gym rat, in training for something intense, or bodybuilding. If you're doing moderate workouts and you're not super active throughout the rest of your day, I'd leave the calorie deficit as is.

    That's just my opinion. Everybody is different, it really on depends on you, how your body works, how much you work out, how active you are, etc. Do what you think is right for you, just keep in mind that the body needs fuel.

    Love and Alohas,
    Ihilani Kapuniai
  • sammijojo1
    sammijojo1 Posts: 5 Member
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    that makes alot of sense. Thank you!
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    MFP is set up with the intention that you eat your calories back. This is not an opinion.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I think that people who have more weight left to lose have more 'wiggle room' to not eat execise calories if they're not hungry, but smaller people in general may really need to eat at least part of them. For example my net goal is 1350 (BMR 1343) so if I eat that and then exercise 450 calories, that gives my body only 900 to run on for the day. I don't think that's enough on a daily basis. But if someone else is at a different point on their weightloss journey and has a 2000 calorie goal, if they burn off 450 and don't eat them back that still leaves their body 1550 to run on. So maybe not really a big deal if they're not feeling hungry and decide not to eat them back. Bigger calorie goal, more wiggle room to decide or follow their hunger cues. That's my take on it. Looking at your ticker in your profil, OP, I'd say shoot for your MFP given calorie goal and then if you ARE hungry, don't be afraid to eat some of your exercise calories, but if you're not, don't stress over it. Or maybe even alternate and plan to eat them some days and plan to not eat them others. Just to mix things up so your body doesn't get too accustomed to doing things one particular way. I'm not an expert, that's just my opinion. :-)
  • astrodog
    astrodog Posts: 6
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    I usually stick to my calorie goal, 1600-1800, and don't add back the calories. i have been steadily losing weight at a good rate: 25 pounds since August 1. However: I don't worry about the few days (birthday, Thanksgiving, a special dinner out) that I do splurge and go over my 1800 calories: those days I try to stay within the range of the added calories.
  • sammijojo1
    sammijojo1 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the input everyone. I think worrying about the exercise calories later when i lose more and have less calories to work with makes alot of sense. And judging to from everyone's awesome weight loss numbers, you guys know what you're talking about. :) Thanks again guys!
  • martinkristyk
    martinkristyk Posts: 26 Member
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    I don't know that there's a perfect answer for everyone, but I try not to dip into my exercise calories unless its a special occasion. (This gives me that extra "buffer " I need for a night out, a holiday ,etc.) Sometimes, I'll end up dipping into 50 calories or so of my exercise, just based on how things work out with what I eat and drink that day, but I try not to use them as the norm.

    I stick to 1200 calories a day most days, whether or not I exercise. However, I don't do intense workouts like some people-- most of my workouts are between 200 and 300 calories burned. If I were burning more than 300 calories, I would probably need to eat some of my exercise calories; otherwise I'd be pretty low overall.

    Good luck on your journey.
  • julie204
    julie204 Posts: 130
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    well said thanks
    I've read so many of these threads and I've researched so much and MY personal conclusion is this: If your NET calories are less than 1200-1300, eat back at least some of your exercise calories, enough to reach that 1200/1300 minimum. If your net calories are already over that, I wouldn't worry too much about it, DEPENDING on how much you burn throughout your day and workout. If you're pretty active during the day PLUS working out moderate/intensely, I'd eat back just about all of your calories, depending on how much you burn. The more active you are, the more fuel your body needs to keep your metabolism going and such. However, if you're like me and eat 2000 or so calories and only burn about 400 through workout and not much else, I don't feel that it's necessary to eat it back.

    Contrary to what people say, I really don't believe you MUST eat back all your calories, unless you're an avid athlete, gym rat, in training for something intense, or bodybuilding. If you're doing moderate workouts and you're not super active throughout the rest of your day, I'd leave the calorie deficit as is.

    That's just my opinion. Everybody is different, it really on depends on you, how your body works, how much you work out, how active you are, etc. Do what you think is right for you, just keep in mind that the body needs fuel.

    Love and Alohas,
    Ihilani Kapuniai
  • gashinshotan
    gashinshotan Posts: 753 Member
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    I lost 23 lbs in 1.5 months eating most of my exercise calories so it is possible to lose significant amounts of weight if you do. I'm still averaging 0.4 lbs a day so I think it has allowed me to maintain a high bmr compared to if I didn't eat them.
  • terra_angelica
    terra_angelica Posts: 59
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    I am not ever hungry enough to eat my exercise calories. I eat around 1200 a day and exercise daily (burning anywhere from 250 to 550). From what I have read, if you eat more calories from healthy foods such as those from veggies and fruits, lean meats, legumes, whole grains, etc you will lose much more weight compared to someone who is eating the same amount of calories eating junk food.
  • wonca
    wonca Posts: 81
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    You've gotten plenty of good information from people.. the only thing I would add is that if you find your work outs dragging or you're just hitting the wall, you'll want to start looking at eating back some of your exercise calories.

    Personally.. when I don't eat back at least some of my exercise calories, my work outs suffer which kinda makes the whole purpose of working out kinda pointless.
  • jecka31
    jecka31 Posts: 284
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    I am close to my goal weight (after today's weigh in I am within 3 lbs!) so I have less "wiggle" room with my calorie intake. I eat the majority of my calories back because otherwise I end up with an net intake of around 800. I feel sluggish and cranky when I eat that little. Some days I have a super high burn (the days I run 3 miles and do 30DS) and I have a hard time eating them ALL back so I try to not have more than 200 calories left on these days. I would say that if you feel fine (have good level of energy and not cranky), then don't worry about eating them back. If you start to feel sluggish then eat some of them back. I don't think there is a steadfast rule that applies to everyone. Do what feels right for you as you are the only one that knows your body. Good luck in your journey!
  • sammijojo1
    sammijojo1 Posts: 5 Member
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    Congrats on your accomplishment!:happy:
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    i just wanna toss this out there
    Here is how it works, in a simplified manner:

    You tell MFP: I want to lose 1lb per week.

    MFP says: Okay, you need to eat X calories per day in order to lose 1lb/week, without exercise.

    You do what MFP says, but then you decide to exercise and you burn an additional 400 calories. MFP then says "Hey, I told you to eat X per day to lose 1lb/week without exercise. You exercised, now you're going to lose it too fast and that's not ideal. Now I want you to eat X+400".
  • crux
    crux Posts: 454 Member
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    I'm willing to bet that 'most' of the people on MFP that have lost their weight and maintained thier goals for the long term, eat back their exerscise calories.
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
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    MFP has it set up like this for a reason. Eat them back.
    This topic is asked like 10 times a day.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    I always ate them back, and I'm thrilled with my results.

    I'm also thrilled that the entire time I was losing weight, I never felt deprived, hungry or frustrated with my progress. If I wasn't satisfied with the amount of food I was eating, I'd have quit long ago. That's what happened every time I "dieted" before. I cut calories too much because looked at it as a short term situation, rather than a sustainable lifestyle.

    This time, I looked ahead at what maintenance would mean for me, and I didn't want to screw up my metabolism so much that my body couldn't handle eating a normal amount of food. I didn't want to be the person afraid to go out with friends for fear of going over on calories, or cussing out my coworkers for baking Christmas cookies. I wanted to be able to live a normal life with a healthy relationship with food.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I always ate them back, and I'm thrilled with my results.

    I'm also thrilled that the entire time I was losing weight, I never felt deprived, hungry or frustrated with my progress. If I wasn't satisfied with the amount of food I was eating, I'd have quit long ago. That's what happened every time I "dieted" before. I cut calories too much because looked at it as a short term situation, rather than a sustainable lifestyle.

    This time, I looked ahead at what maintenance would mean for me, and I didn't want to screw up my metabolism so much that my body couldn't handle eating a normal amount of food. I didn't want to be the person afraid to go out with friends for fear of going over on calories, or cussing out my coworkers for baking Christmas cookies. I wanted to be able to live a normal life with a healthy relationship with food.

    I would be thrilled with your results too - you look amazing!

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