Eating Exercise calories?

Nattiejean57
Nattiejean57 Posts: 217 Member
edited October 6 in Food and Nutrition
Do you guys eat your exercise calories? I am contemplating whether or not I should. I have like 60 pounds to lose. it just seems kind of pointless to workout if you are just going to eat those calories? What is everyone's thoughts?
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Replies

  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    I eat mine. I work out so I will have enough calories to eat so I'm not a rampaging, hungry b*tch. Plus, when this fat finally goes, I want to have some muscle under it, muscle I can use, and muscle that continues to burn calories, and hey, muscle that also looks pretty darn good.
  • dewybuttercup
    dewybuttercup Posts: 22
    ... I work out so I will have enough calories to eat so I'm not a rampaging, hungry b*tch. ...

    I just wanted to say that a- I agree with your entire post and b- that quote totally made my day, thank you!!
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    ... I work out so I will have enough calories to eat so I'm not a rampaging, hungry b*tch. ...

    I just wanted to say that a- I agree with your entire post and b- that quote totally made my day, thank you!!

    :smile:
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    I don't eat all of them back, but my calorie setting is at 1450 instead of 1200. I don't recommend it because what if your exercise calories are incorrect. It's like a big flashing neon sign saying "weight gain, weight gain". Too scary of a thought for me.
  • Nattiejean57
    Nattiejean57 Posts: 217 Member
    I don't eat all of them back, but my calorie setting is at 1450 instead of 1200. I don't recommend it because what if your exercise calories are incorrect. It's like a big flashing neon sign saying "weight gain, weight gain". Too scary of a thought for me.

    this is what I was thinking too, My calorie intake that they recommend is a little high too
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    You could always try it.. and see what works for you. When I started here, that is what a lot of people recommended, "eat your exercise calories". I did that.. I maintained my weight-no loss. I decided to stop doing that and I've been losing ever since (as long as I eat properly).

    I encourage you to try it. Try it for a week of eating them back, then one week of not eating them back. But still workout ;) Working out is great for your body and other health reasons! Good Luck :)
    I don't eat all of them back, but my calorie setting is at 1450 instead of 1200. I don't recommend it because what if your exercise calories are incorrect. It's like a big flashing neon sign saying "weight gain, weight gain". Too scary of a thought for me.

    this is what I was thinking too, My calorie intake that they recommend is a little high too
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    I do NOT eat back burned calories. Seems pointless to me-no offense to anyone who does.:wink:
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    MFP is set up for you to eat back most, if not all your exercise calories

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390145-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories
  • sunleigh
    sunleigh Posts: 84 Member
    i eat them back if my calorie intake for the day gets really low, it should never drop they say below 1200. i also set mfp at 1450 for the day 1200 was not working for me and it is very rare that i eat all the calories back into my day, i take back in maybe a 100-300, so usually half of them.
  • Jessyrabbit
    Jessyrabbit Posts: 24 Member
    I only have 1220 calories a day. On days I DO NOT workout I do NOT go over that! but on a day I work out i give myself a 50- 100 calorie window cause you need to replenish the energy you burned. I don't think you should eat back ALL your calories or use it as an excuse to splurge on somehting bad for you. But If you want a extra tbsp of cheese or a few extra chips as a snack I let myself if I worked out.
  • smileeangel
    smileeangel Posts: 8
    I've read other posts on this. I didn't use to eat my exercise calories back, but now I will eat some of them back. One person put it like this: If you take in 1200 calories and burn 600 calories, that only leaves your body with 600 calories for fuel to get you through the day. For whatever reason that made sense to me. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    i do it because i'm logical
  • Nattiejean57
    Nattiejean57 Posts: 217 Member
    smileeangel i think that is what I am going to try, I obviously don't want to be going under 1200 calories so I am going to try to stay in that area and see if i need to eat my workout calories or not
  • ilovemyhorse
    ilovemyhorse Posts: 87
    This is a huge debate on here. MFP suggests you DO eat your exercise calories back. I did and lost 30 pounds.
    Second time around on MFP & I think I will eat about 50-60% of them back. But not all of them
  • Nattiejean57
    Nattiejean57 Posts: 217 Member
    GuruMeditatio Is this an answer or an insult. This place is for help and support not snyde comments. Take them elsewhere
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I eat mine and its working out quite nicely. But I also have my activity level set to 'sedentary' and I use a HRM during workouts so I have a really good estimate of my actual calorie burn.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    The point of working out is to get fit and healthy and preserve what muscle mass you can while losing weight. If your calorie allotment is 1200, it's likely you have your goals set to 2lb/wk which means that MFP has already given you the highest calorie deficit that is considered safe, and theoretically you should be able to lose around 2 lbs/wk (really depends on your size). When you exercise, you are creating a larger deficit and that deficit may be larger than is healthy. MFP gave you calories to fuel your basic daily activities while still losing weight, if you take away that energy by exercising not only are you not fueling your body for exercising, you aren't fueling your body properly for your normal activities. So, the point of exercising is not to create a larger deficit - on MFP you can eat your given calories without exercise and should be able to lose weight - it's to get, or keep, your body healthy and strong and looking better than a flabby body.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    the fat lady ( the nutritionist ) who turned me on to mfp suggested I didn't record my exercise.... should I get the energy to do any...when I'm feeling ambitious and want to do a report i self add for 1 cal just so I can tell how often I actually get off my back side.
  • astrodog
    astrodog Posts: 6
    I don't eat the "added" calories BUT I am eating 1800 calories a day: 5'6", 45 minutes of aerobics 5X a week and still losing weight steadily, 25 pounds lost since August 1. If I ate the calories I burned I would be eating an additional 5-600 a day, seems like I would maintain and not lose.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo

    Stop the madness....



    Seriously


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  • AriannaTiyen42
    AriannaTiyen42 Posts: 86 Member
    :laugh:
    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo

    Stop the madness....



    Seriously


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  • AriannaTiyen42
    AriannaTiyen42 Posts: 86 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
  • Psychomasokism
    Psychomasokism Posts: 46 Member
    ... I work out so I will have enough calories to eat so I'm not a rampaging, hungry b*tch. ...

    I just wanted to say that a- I agree with your entire post and b- that quote totally made my day, thank you!!

    i second that! LOL. Short & simple. Couldn't have said it better myself xD
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    I don't eat the "added" calories BUT I am eating 1800 calories a day: 5'6", 45 minutes of aerobics 5X a week and still losing weight steadily, 25 pounds lost since August 1. If I ate the calories I burned I would be eating an additional 5-600 a day, seems like I would maintain and not lose.

    No you wouldn't maintain.. and you would prob. still lose.

    1800-500=1300.. which is prob. enough for your body to function on safely. The point of eating exercise calories is to refuel your body after a workout, so your not starving... cause I know that when I workout, I'm always looking for food after.

    To OP:
    Do what works for you... I've gone both ways.

    Think about this though, if you weren't logging, wouldn't you eat your exercise calories without knowing it? You wouldn't say oh I need to eat X, and I burned X so I'm going to make sure I don't eat burned X. You'd prob. eat those(and then some extra) without even a second thought.. and still lose weight.
  • sister_bear
    sister_bear Posts: 529 Member
    Eat them.
  • SDkitty
    SDkitty Posts: 446 Member
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  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    GuruMeditatio Is this an answer or an insult. This place is for help and support not snyde comments. Take them elsewhere

    I beg your pardon? It was an answer.

    Forgive me for not replying in great detail to a question which is asked several times a day, every single day.

    More elaboration here.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390145-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
    More exercise = faster general metabolism = weight loss
    More exercise = get to eat more = don't go out of your brain
  • Nattiejean57
    Nattiejean57 Posts: 217 Member
    More exercise = faster general metabolism = weight loss
    More exercise = get to eat more = don't go out of your brain
    .
    I think this is good constructive advice. I think its going to take me some experimenting to see what works best for me but I am thinking I will be eating some but not all of my burn calories
  • katierrt
    katierrt Posts: 113 Member
    what I regret not doing initially was logging everything I eat for a whole month...then, just taper down from there...if I was eating 3000+ calories before then knocking it down to 2000 would have helped a bit...now, I'm just playing with the numbers here....I lost 12 lbs initially, and for the last month, I've not lost anything...and that is on 1390 calories....I don't know what I'm doing wrong here, eat back the calories, not eat back the calories...either way, I'm not losing anything currently...keep playing with the monthly 5 lbs on/off....I think I'm going to go see a dietitian or something, because what I'm doing isn't working...everyday, elliptical x 1 hr, I should be burning something right? I give...but at least I'm not gaining the 12 lbs back...
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