Exercise = Eat More Food?

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  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
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    I've been a gym rat for about 10 years. During those 10 years I've managed to make the following observations:

    On days where I workout, I am a lot hungrier than I am on days I don't workout. Your body will tell you when it needs extra calories, and that will happen if you workout.

    When I started to watch what I eat and how much, I absolutely needed to eat back most of my calories. I would get too hungry otherwise ... and not the "my stomach is empty" kind of hungry, but the "I'm starting to get the shakes and feel light headed" kind of hungry. My body is telling me it needs more fuel because I used up so much during my workout.

    I've lost a total of 20 pounds (14 since joining MFP) and I usually fall withing 200 calories (up or down) of what MFP tells me I should eat. Before I changed my goal to 1/2 pound per week from 1 pound per week, I was losing about 1.5 pounds per week.

    EDIT: to be clear I eat back my calories BECAUSE I work out. I do not workout so I can eat more ... accept when I know I'm going to blow it like on Super Bowl Sunday where I worked out even more!
  • GolfChickPDX
    GolfChickPDX Posts: 12
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    Think of your body like a car for a minute. If you're just running errands around town, you need a small amount of gas (food). If you're on an all day drive through steep mountains, you need more gas. While it shouldn't be a calorie in-calorie out amount, your body may need a bit more fuel so that it is burning fat (gas) instead of burning muscle (engine). I'd focus on adding protein if possible.
  • Hyoderrn
    Hyoderrn Posts: 54 Member
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    If you are one who eats more food because you earned it, are you still losing weight?
    [/quote]


    I do and I am. I have been losing pretty consistently. Since Dec 17, 2011 I have lost 15 lbs.
  • grinch031
    grinch031 Posts: 1,679
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    I think eating back *all* of them can endanger your weight loss efforts. The reason being that calories burned through exercise tends to be exaggerated. Most people just don't know what they are burning because they might rely on machines which we know are often inaccurate *cough* elliptical *cough*. Or they assume their level of intensity was higher than it really was, etc. I don't know how credible MFP's exercise estimates are, but underestimating calories burned is always better than overestimating it.
  • okerachel
    okerachel Posts: 45 Member
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    Hell yes I eat all my calories. This girl's gotta eat :tongue: Not to mention, me without a sufficient amount of food is an evil uber-beast not fit to roam among mortals. I exercise because sticking to 1200 calories a day is an exercise in will-power to which I am not equal.
  • lucythinmint
    lucythinmint Posts: 239
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    Man, I eat them all and sometimes more.

    *BUT* I put in the full kick *kitten* effort during workout. I don't do girly cardio only. I run and then lift the heavy weights and they keep getting heavier.

    Profile picture shows the results. I fuel my body to give me what I want. :D

    Everyone is different though.

    Edit- to the post above me, I too am also the devil incarnate when I am not fed.
  • stward9280
    stward9280 Posts: 8
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    Yes, it is critical to eat back some of your exercise calories (like some have said, I do not think it is critical to eat them all back, just listen to your body).

    Please note: eating back exercise calories does not mean going to McDs and having a Big Mac. What you eat still matters.
  • lemonadem
    lemonadem Posts: 398 Member
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    I love food! I eat my exercise calories back and enjoy every single one of them.

    I hit my goal of 35 pounds down, and I eat well over 2000 calories a day when I lift.

    I do have a HRM though that takes the guesswork out of how many calories I burn at the gym.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    You are allowed to use your exercise calories on Big Macs. Or chocolate. Or alcohol. You'll still lose weight.

    Wanna see Proof?......................................... VVVVVVVVVVVVV
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
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    Yup, I eat mine back, still losing weight.
  • MaggiePuccini
    MaggiePuccini Posts: 248 Member
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    I don't eat them all back, maybe about a third of them. I'm not losing weight at all. I don't mean to discourage anybody. But I'm not sure I can lose anymore. I'm hoping I can still improve my shape and my tone and lose a few millimetres here and there.
    I've stuck to the 1200 cals every day for about 15 days now AND NOT LOST A GRAM. sO, yesterday I upped my calories to 1300. I'll see how I go with that. There's just no point eating so little when I'm not seeing ANY results.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Do most people actually eat more food by the end of the day "because" they exercised and earned more, or do most people just accumulate more calories but don't necessarily eat more food?

    I ate them. Not necessarily at the end of the day, but I knew about what I'd burn and how much I'd need to eat to keep the same calorie deficit. I didn't want a larger deficit because I wanted to keep muscle and burn fat.
    If you are one who eats more food because you earned it, are you still losing weight?

    I'm maintaining now, but I lost as promised eating most of my calories. An average of one pound a week for the first 25 pounds.
  • claire7090
    claire7090 Posts: 67
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    I have been eating them back and have lost 28lbs in 6 months. Am now at my goal weight and so have increased my calories to a maintainance level so am not eating back all my exercise calories now as I can't cope with eating that much food!
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
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    Yes, I use my Polar HRM, and I do enjoy eating my exercise calories. Yes, I'm losing just fine.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Yes, I use my Polar HRM, and I do enjoy eating my exercise calories. Yes, I'm losing just fine.
    Yes, I use a Garmin HRM and feel confident that I am getting pretty accurate numbers.
  • olliepbone
    olliepbone Posts: 1
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    can i eat back the calories burnt from doing weights? or just cardio?
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
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    Hell yes Exercise = Eat more food/drink more beer. In my books anyways. Works for me :drinker:
  • katscoots
    katscoots Posts: 255 Member
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    <
    May I present Exhibit A?

    - Size 24W to Size 6 jeans
    - 56% body fat to 22% body fat
    - 45.5" waist to 26.25" waist
    - Eats her exercise calories


    LOVE IT - I too eat mine back and have from the beginning of my "journey" and have steadily lost
  • jpinge
    jpinge Posts: 71 Member
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    lost 105 pounds that way....seems to be working for me. I do have a HRM so my calories burned is more accurate than MFPS but yes....you can eat your exercise calories back
  • SPBROOKS68
    SPBROOKS68 Posts: 561 Member
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    I am always not hungry after working out so I tend to eat less on days I work out and try to seldom eat my calories back.

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