Newbie...What do you do with the "earned calories, etc." fro

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ImRadical4Jesus
ImRadical4Jesus Posts: 144 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
If this has been posted and answered before, sorry, I am new to MFP and was wanting to know what we are to do with the "earned calories, carbs, fat, and protein" from exercising. It is added back to my "goal". So do I used them back up and why if so, or not?

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  • NateDad
    NateDad Posts: 55
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    There's a bunch of threads on here about that. The long and the short of it is, yes, definitely do eat back the calories from your exercise. MFP is already configured to give you a calorie deficit, so you don't really want to go below that by very much (I try to stay within a couple hundred calories of my daily goal). If you eat much less than the target, your body will go into starvation mode, you'll actually lose less fat, and you'll lose muscle, too.

    Sometimes it can be hard to eat back the calories for a big workout, so you may have to plan ahead. When I am going to do a long workout that I know is going to be like 600+ calories, I make sure to eat more all day... because when I exercise in the evening, there's no way I can stuff an extra 600 calories into my diet after that (well, I suppose I could eat a couple giant cookies, but that's no way to get healthier).
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
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    I know it says "earned calories" but don't think of it as "treats" think of it as regular meal calories that increase if you work out.
  • richelliott1
    richelliott1 Posts: 27 Member
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    It all depends really.

    I don't usually eat back my calories. Like NateDad said you can lose muscle rather than fat if you don't eat enough although if you do the right mix of exercise then you can counter that.

    I have 1600 cals per day and don't eat back any but I do have a protein shake on training days to help with hunger and muscle repair. Workout wise I do 60 Cardio and 40 Weights and Kettlebells.

    What you'll find is different things work for different people, and remember its good to change things up and shock your body!
  • mamabear272
    mamabear272 Posts: 268 Member
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    I always eat them. I find that when I work out, I am ravenous! You need to eat them because you need the calories to fuel your body from what you burned during exercise. It is best to make healthy choices but if you want to indulge once in a while, do so.
  • dianacannon89
    dianacannon89 Posts: 235 Member
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    Eat them!! NOM NOM NOM! hahaha I eat back 1/3 of my exercise calories and I havent stopped loosing yet ...although I did just start it was reccomended to me by a VERY skinny MFP BFF!
  • ImRadical4Jesus
    ImRadical4Jesus Posts: 144 Member
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    Thank you for the responses. I just started Tuesday this week and have already lost 3.8 pounds. I'm learning to plan out my meals in advanced and eat healthier. So I will plan on adding more for those earned back calories. I have many pounds to lose but do not want to lose the muscle. I am set to lose 1 pound a week, but losing more. I have cut out all unhealthy sweets like candy bars, cookies, Dairy Queen and such. And could just be losing water weight. I was eating way too many calories a day. Very thankful my Dr told me about MFP!

    I do find it hard to eat up my calories and not go over on fat and protein, any healthy foods that are higher in colories, carbs, but not in fat or protein? I figure going over on protein isn't so bad, but the others I want to stay within my goal.
  • Gazjam_1985
    Gazjam_1985 Posts: 20
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    You can research this forever and not really know the best answer. I dont bother considering I am eating them back or not, if Im hungry I eat good calories if Im not hungry I certainly dont eat back my calories just for the sake of it.

    Dont worry about starvation mode unless you are truly obsessive - it isnt entirely a myth but the idea your body will go into starvation mode in 1 or 2 days or even weeks is a joke.

    Listen to your body, if your hungry then eat, just try to differentiate between hunger and cravings for your fave foods.

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