Exercise calories to eat or not to eat

l2rell
l2rell Posts: 88
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I now feel physically sick as I only ate approx 800 calories yeturday but burned aprox 1000 and by lastnight I still had 1425 calories remaining due to exercise so just forced myself to eat 400 calories for breakfast but i cant get my head around eating back them calories as im convinced it defeats the object pissed off as scales have been up n dwn since Monday i do a 20-25 cardio workout 4 mornings a week on the xbox kinnect EA sports active 2 im doing a 9 week programme currently on day 4 of week 2 i also go zumba on monday and wednesday evenings for 60 minutes I have an everyday weigh in obsession by the way anyway so I thought I'd make sure I have a rest day from exercise today apart from wLking to pick up my son from nursery also to make sure I eat at least 1200 calories I'm going to eat chicken potatoes veg Yorkshire puddings and gravey and enjoy it lol I just hope this reverse pyschology works...

Any thoughts on eating all or part of exercise calories back
Also does body temperature during the night affect your weight if you weigh first thing

Replies

  • lind3400
    lind3400 Posts: 557 Member
    Eat them! I just upped my calories yesterday from 1200 to 1436 because I was feeling nauseous and lightheaded for many weeks now and I had been at a plateau for a month...and after one day I had already lost a pound.....your body needs the fuel if you don't feed it enough its going to hold on to everything thinking that it needs to store it because it doesn't know the next time it will be fed....EAT YOUR CALORIES
  • CMomma23
    CMomma23 Posts: 132 Member
    I have been researching this all morning. I have found countless arguments to both sides of the fence...
    In particular, this article helped me most.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

    I have decided to up my calorie intake to not create such a large deficit and I'm not logging my workouts (I would like to, to track progress on them, but I don't want to see the surplus in my calorie goal) Hope this helps!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    I'm giving you a 14 year old car with 1/8th tank of gas and a dime of oil in it!

    Now drive 200 miles to the next gas station.

    Good luck!
  • godricshollow
    godricshollow Posts: 274 Member
    I eat back 50-80% of my calories, depending on how hungry I am. If you're hungry - EAT. This is a life long thing you are doing, you don't want to be hungry for the rest of your life, do you? I certainly don't! Try to eat back a bulk of your exercise calories, it will give your body the fuel it needs to survive and it will probably make you feel a lot better. Your workout won't be pointless if you eat your calories, you will still gain the fitness benefits!
  • BLSBoyer
    BLSBoyer Posts: 36 Member
    You shouldn't allow yourself to feel sick or it will be a lot harder to motivate yourself to continue! Eat the calories you need to feel well, but use those calories on GOOD food and not empty calories (food that has no vitamins and such). Make the most of them!

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  • godricshollow
    godricshollow Posts: 274 Member
    I'm giving you a 14 year old car with 1/8th tank of gas and a dime of oil in it!

    Now drive 200 miles to the next gas station.

    Good luck!

    :flowerforyou: Perfect analogy.
  • l2rell
    l2rell Posts: 88
    I'm giving you a 14 year old car with 1/8th tank of gas and a dime of oil in it!

    Now drive 200 miles to the next gas station.

    Good luck!


    Thats great ty
  • needlework
    needlework Posts: 141 Member
    bump
  • l2rell
    l2rell Posts: 88
    Eat them! I just upped my calories yesterday from 1200 to 1436 because I was feeling nauseous and lightheaded for many weeks now and I had been at a plateau for a month...and after one day I had already lost a pound.....your body needs the fuel if you don't feed it enough its going to hold on to everything thinking that it needs to store it because it doesn't know the next time it will be fed....EAT YOUR CALORIES

    I will try it and see how Its worked when I do my official weigh in on Monday
  • claire7090
    claire7090 Posts: 67
    Two things - eat your exercise calories with good food and also only weigh once a week. I was advised to always weigh once a week at the same time of day then you know what your true loss is that week.

    Keep going and remember to enjoy life - this is a lifestyle choice not a quick fix. x
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    Eat them. You'll still be in deficit, but small enough that your body has proper fuel to help you function optimally. With exercise and life in general.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    It's all in how you set up your BMR to begin with................

    I think I have finally figured out the scoop on "to eat your exercise calories back or not"

    First figure out your BMR, now if you entered sedetary but in reality you workout 5 times a week then you do want to eat some of your exercise calories back (perhaps 1/2) but if when you figured our your BMR you chose the option that you work out 5 times a week then don't eat your exercise calories back.

    For instance, my BMR at sedetary is: 1318 x 1.2 for a total calories per day of 1581.60 (If i eat 1200 calories a day I have created a weekly deficiet of approximately 2671 resulting in a little over a 1/2 lb weight loss a week (without any exercise).

    If I am honest upfront with my BMR, and I stated that I do work out 5 times a week, I take my BMR of 1318 x 1.55 for a total calories per day of 2042.9, and I do not eat my exercise calories back because I am already eating them back on a daily basis. If I want to create the same deficiet of 2671 per week, I eat 1660 calories per day.
  • l2rell
    l2rell Posts: 88
    I have been researching this all morning. I have found countless arguments to both sides of the fence...
    In particular, this article helped me most.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

    I have decided to up my calorie intake to not create such a large deficit and I'm not logging my workouts (I would like to, to track progress on them, but I don't want to see the surplus in my calorie goal) Hope this helps!

    Great post ty hun
  • l2rell
    l2rell Posts: 88
    Also not sure if what I'm eating is iChat or not if anyone wants to check out my diary feel free to give any advice or tips on what I should maybe increase decrease etc xx ty all for helping answer a few questions already x great support
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Its been said forever on these boards that MFP has a funny way of giving you numbers.

    I always tell my friends to get the nutrition in first then create a deficit to lose weight.

    Cutting 20% from TDEE is a good thing but cutting appx 1000+ cals from TDEE....you will feel like **** and have no energy and have headaches etc....

    Great bodies are built in the kitchen and bedroom while sleeping!
    Everything else is secondary.

    Research TDEE, know your number and cut from there.
    Youll have a better go at this lifelong thing!
  • naturerunner
    naturerunner Posts: 24
    It looks to me like you could up your protein intake. It will give you some extra calories, keep you feeling full, and give your body the repair tools it needs after a workout. I noticed that when I increased my daily protein to about 100 i don't feel nearly as stiff after a workout and the stiffness doesnt last as long! Remember to eat lots of fruit and veggies too :)
  • lripson28
    lripson28 Posts: 213 Member
    I keep wrestling with that idea too. I know that I have to eat more when I exercise (cuz I know I'll get sick if I don't!). But if I eat back everything I worked off I keep feeling guilty and feeling like what's the use of exercising and burning calories if I'm just gonna eat them back. If I'm hungry still, I'll eat, if not, I'm not going to.
  • cppeace
    cppeace Posts: 764 Member
    you should eat back atleast 50% of your exercise calories and have atleast 70g protein a day I try and aim for 100 or more and I cant see body temp at night causing weight difference unless you sweat a ton while sleeping.
  • l2rell
    l2rell Posts: 88
    Makes sense to mee x

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