Do you eat your execise calories?

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  • This thread can be ironic for those who snub the HCG diet, but eat like they are on it.



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  • Psufilmgirl
    Psufilmgirl Posts: 93 Member
    I eat 50-90% of them back. I have tried not to but I platued. I had to up my intake from 1200 to 1250 plus eat most of my excercise calories. I wear a Heart rate monitor that gives me my exact calorie count. I can feel assured when I am eating those extra calories, that I actually earned them. BTW what my HRM says compared to what a machine or MFP says I burned is usually way less. Makes a huge difference

    Same! I have one of those chest straps with the watch and even what the elliptical machine says is higher. But I like that it tells me when I'm in the fat burning zone. I just used it yesterday doing weights and I burned more than when I do cardio!
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
    yes, I'm hungry
  • I do...you need to have the extra calories so your body doesn't go into starvation mode (then you will lose less), that's why when you sign up for the site it asks how much exercise you do and what your job is because if you regularly burn more calories then you need more throughout the day (same goes for breastfeeding etc). In saying that though it doesn't mean you can have a big mac meal after your work out, the best thing to eat after a work out is protein (personally I usually have a protein bar, but I've also heard good things about chocolate milk)
  • I dont excercise at all...so no problem for me yet.. Going to start exercise next month and probably not going to eat my extra calories. Shold lose wieght quicker..i guess and keep fit !!
  • AZDizzy
    AZDizzy Posts: 434 Member
    I eat most of my exercise calories back, but I have a cheap HRM and a fitbit and take the lowest of the two. I also don't eat quite all of them back, in case I've made miscalculations in my food or exercise logging. But for me, if I don't eat at least half back, my weight loss, measurements and BF% stalls.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    I dont excercise at all...so no problem for me yet.. Going to start exercise next month and probably not going to eat my extra calories. Shold lose wieght quicker..i guess and keep fit !!

    And probably trash your metabolism so you will have to eat less calories to maintain your weight loss. Ever hear of yo-yo dieters? This is usually what helps create them. Personally, I think that would suck
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
    I was eating back all my exercise calories, but I have been stuck at about the same weight for months and months now. So I am trying to exercise more and eat back only half of the calories or so. MFP has me set at 1270 calories a day and I usually burn about 450 calories doing personal training with cardio 3 days a week, and between 200 and 300 calories on the treadmill another 2 days a week. I have no idea what the "right" answer is, but eating back my calories was resulting in no weight loss. So I'm trying this new approach.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to eat more food. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    HAHA, so? What if that is true? What is wrong with exercising so I can "shovel" more food into my mouth? I do not have a bad relationship with food and enjoy it, very much. Its way better than "shoveling" food into my mouth and sitting on my behind all day.

    I feel bad for you, the notion that feeding yourself is bad is very sad, and this opinion is directed totally to you.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to eat more food. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    HAHA, so? What if that is true? What is wrong with exercising so I can "shovel" more food into my mouth? I do not have a bad relationship with food and enjoy it, very much. Its way better than "shoveling" food into my mouth and sitting on my behind all day.

    I feel bad for you, the notion that feeding yourself is bad is very sad, and this opinion is directed totally to you.

    :love: :drinker:
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to eat more food. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    HAHA, so? What if that is true? What is wrong with exercising so I can "shovel" more food into my mouth? I do not have a bad relationship with food and enjoy it, very much. Its way better than "shoveling" food into my mouth and sitting on my behind all day.

    I feel bad for you, the notion that feeding yourself is bad is very sad, and this opinion is directed totally to you.

    :love: :drinker:
    eatit-1.jpg
    Food is fuel. If you are burning more than what your body needs, you run out of fuel.
  • qtiekiki
    qtiekiki Posts: 1,490 Member
    I exercise so I can eat more foods sometimes. What can I say, I LOVE foods.
  • No. But I also figured out my maintenance calories and set my own calorie and macro numbers.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    I eat them if I am hungry. If I am not I dont.
  • MrsWife2011
    MrsWife2011 Posts: 28 Member
    If I am hungry I eat, If I use my exercise calories then great, if I go over by a little then I guess I just need more that day. If I go over by a lot then I know I will need to keep it in check for next time I feel that way.

    I am only human and can't be perfect everyday, I take one day at a time.

    Anytime I have gone on crazy restricted diets I fail, I am trying to make a life style change and it changes everyday.

    My point is, everyone is different and I will do what is best for me.
  • tanias001
    tanias001 Posts: 41 Member
    Sometims i use mine but not all the time. It depends on how hungry i am and how much exercise i do.
    I know I should but most days i just don't feel like using them.
  • Maybe if i go out to dinner i dip into my exercise calories once every fortnight or monthly. But on a normal day or week i never dip into my exercise calories. If you stick to a 1200 calorie diet and push for 600 + calories in exercise each day there is no reason you should not be shreading the weight. Its all in the head, until that is in order you will never succeed.
  • Some, but not all of them. :)
  • You actually need to increase calories when exercising , that's why when you enter your information for bmr it asks your activity level ,it increases your calories if you are active,your body needs these calories ,but it also depends on if youve been eating to lose weight ,if you haven't and you are just exercising then no you do not need to adjust calories ...this explains a little more

    http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/nutrition/adjusting-caloric-intake-for-exercise/
  • always....as close as I can w/o going over....
    at first I didn't and I got a warning when I completed my diary that I was under eating which would likely cause me to store calories...
    yikes!!!
    :noway:
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    I eat about 60% of them personally, although not always on the same day (went over on 2 days and have been under on 3 days)

    Although I saw this earlier today which I found interesting:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • nbordner27
    nbordner27 Posts: 3 Member
    the site calculates your metabolic rate based on your day to day lifestyle,weight, and age. then you chose how many pounds you would like to lose per week. your calorie limit per day is based on zero exercise. by adding exercise you add calories you must intake in order for you to build muscle. by building muscle you are able burn more calories per hour. for every 5 lbs of muscle you burn 50 calories and hour at rest. not enough nutrition and too much exercise you will burn muscle and fat at the same time leaving you with skin and bones.
  • Jarnard
    Jarnard Posts: 497 Member
    I eat most of mine back or at least try to. Everyone's different. I like to utilize the fact that if I stick to the MFP plan to lose 1 lb a week, I can work out to eat more. I always try to keep my net calories at least 1200 or greater.

    J
  • jnelk
    jnelk Posts: 4
    I don't usually, but my calorie deficient isn't huge so I don't feel like I should.
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    I'm sure some, if not most, have watched the biggest loser. Remember a few seasons ago with the Father/Son combo (Brown Team....the year Tara won almost all of the events)? Mike (I think that was his name) wasn't losing a lot of weight, but Jillian found out he wasn't eating all of his calories. Well once he started eating all of his calories, the weight came off.

    I'm sure a lot of you have been successful not eating most of your exercise calories back, but I bet you'd be more successful if you did.
  • peachNpunkin
    peachNpunkin Posts: 1,010 Member
    Only if I'm hungry or if I go over my alotted calories.
  • Yes. I do. Most of them. I've been trying to lose weight soooo many times. And I thought ( like most of us, i guess) that losing weight has two main rules: the more you exercise AND the lessyou eat,the more kilograms/pounds you lose. But some time ago I gave up. It just doesn't work like that. If you exercise too much and don't give your body enough fuel to support such activities. And it goes into starvation mode. It means that it starts to store calories you eat as FAT. Our bodies ar e not "perpetum mobile": they need fuel. I'm at 1200 kcal netto. I exercise and burn approx 400-500 kcal/day. I eat more than 1200 kcal. Usually 1600. And I'm losing weight. And I'm never hungry. It helps me to stay motivated, because when I don't eat enough, i get stressed. Then it is very easy to lose momentum.
  • I haven't been eating my Calories Back but I also have not been losing any weight ! Although I am losing inches , I am wondering if running on 1300 Calories a Day and not Eating my Calories back has my body not running at my Full Potential and that's why I am not losing weight ?
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Yes, I eat them back. I cared more about losing fat than losing pounds.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/exercise-calories-explained-206876
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to eat more food. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    HAHA, so? What if that is true? What is wrong with exercising so I can "shovel" more food into my mouth? I do not have a bad relationship with food and enjoy it, very much. Its way better than "shoveling" food into my mouth and sitting on my behind all day.

    I feel bad for you, the notion that feeding yourself is bad is very sad, and this opinion is directed totally to you.

    Good thing YOUR opinion means squat to me.
This discussion has been closed.