Exercise calories - do you eat them or do you ignore the dif

ChaosMoosie
ChaosMoosie Posts: 77 Member
edited December 17 in Food and Nutrition
Ok. New to this (30 days in today). I've lost a total of 11 pounds so far (and a tenth or two). Sooooo I'm doing ok at the worst.

But, I've a question. What do you do with exercise calories? I mean, today I went walking and came back with 700 extra calories that I 'could' eat according to MFP.

What I have been trying to do is keep my calorie intake at the BMR-minus-500 calorie level that MFP recommends for a one-pound per week weight loss. I see the calorie differential as being an extra added 'oomph' to increase the speed of weight loss.

I know that it didn't all hop on the train and come with me overnight, but I know I want to make the extra pounds (all @50 of them or so - maybe even 65) disappear a lot faster than they came.

Am I making a mistake in this process? Should I eat the calories and be content with losing the 50-65 pounds in 50-65 weeks, or can I maintain what I am doing, increase the weight loss rate to about 1.5 pounds per week, and succeed in that manner?

Your thoughts and experiences in your journeys are welcome and coveted.

Replies

  • djshain
    djshain Posts: 1
    I consider those calories burned as an added benefit to my weight loss. I do not eat them. I record them. I think it helps to keep track of your exercize. But, I feel as you do that it is an extra oomph towards my weight loss. There is no exact theory to my thinking as on the weekends I tend to veer away a little bit from eating what I should. Since Jan 1, I have lost 9 lbs. My goal is 1 a week but I don't always make it as there have been 13 weeks since Jan 1.

    But anyway, I like to consider those calories an added benefit towards the weight loss. And, I do not figure them into the calories I can consume for that day.

    Donna
  • alexandrahrah
    alexandrahrah Posts: 25 Member
    I like to ignore my exercise calories and stick to the goal, if I do a lot of cardio it usually means I'm a lot hungrier or "snacky" at the end of the day so I use those extra calories to cover a healthy snack, but only when my body tells me I need it and only healthy (fruits and veggies usually because I find them more filling and they're so low-cal). I have lost about 8 pounds in 6-7 weeks so I guess this is working for me.
  • cdnwinter79
    cdnwinter79 Posts: 26
    You can safely lose 2lbs a week. I try to stick with my normal daily limits regardless if I excercise or not. If you need to have something after excercise, go with something high in protein like peanut butter, or even a protein shake. It helps to fill you up and repair your muscles while not going all out on the calories.
  • JMehl135
    JMehl135 Posts: 37 Member
    Hey! If I'm hungry and I have the extra calories, I eat them. Otherwise I let them be an added benefit. At the beginning when I was losing weight faster, I was trying to never go above 1500 no matter the exercise calories I gained. I don't know if I lost faster than because of that or because there were the last pounds I put on thus the easiest to get off. The one rule I always followed though was if I was hungry I ate because I had failed too many times before trying to lose weight by starving myself (1200 calories a day and burning at least 800). The slow and steady path worked better for me - I'm more of a marathoner rather than a sprinter :)
  • barenaud13
    barenaud13 Posts: 31
    Personally, I do NOT eat exercise calories back. I'm busting my *kitten* to make a difference.
  • Lissakaye81
    Lissakaye81 Posts: 224 Member
    If I am gonna do an insane workout, like hike for many hours, workout more than once a day, or do something hard like a huge pylometircs routine I will eat really good that day before and after workout. I found if I dont get enough calories I will feel really sick, which can cut an exercise routine short. If I'm doing something light like going for a little walk or jog on the treadmill I wont eat em back.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    I think if you have a considerable amount to lose that in the beginning it doesn't matter so much , but I now eat my exercise calories. It does mean you lose weight slightly slower but it's a much healthier way of losing the weight and much more doable. I feel that being able to eat more is an advantage and that when I finally meet my weight goal I won't have a problem maintaining as I am already eating a decent amount. This doesn't feel like a diet, it has become a way of life. I still go over my calories sometimes but I try not to stress about it because I have come a long way in the last 9 months ( lost 49lbs), and if it takes another 6 months to get to my ideal weight I am not worried. In the beginning I wanted a quick fix, but I have realised that won't work now! Good luck !
  • marienicoled
    marienicoled Posts: 2
    For me I try not to eat them. But I have had to workout because I went over my calories so in order to get out of the hole that I made I did end up eating my exercise calories.
  • kaypers1
    kaypers1 Posts: 4
    Hi there :) Congratulations on the weight loss! 1lb/wk is recommended because habits change permanently slowly, so if you're trying on a bunch of new habits all at once it's very likely to re-establish them once the weight comes off. It's not unhealthy to go for 1.5 or even 2lbs/wk so long as you're fairly comfortable with the changes. It's the fact that things are changing permanently that makes it wise to take things slowly. Also, if we lose weight too fast, our skin won't have time to shrink back and will hang loosly instead (but I don't think you really have to worry about that). Best of luck to you!
  • fragilegift
    fragilegift Posts: 347 Member
    In stage 1 of losing weight (Aug - Nov) with a 1560cal daily goal, I ate back most of them, and lost weight.

    I'm in stage 2 (Jan - current), with a daily calorie goal of 1400. I ate them back to start with and didn't lose anything. Now I don't and I'm losing weight.

    If I am hungry, (really hungry, not 'ooh gee..what can I do?..ah..eat something!' hungry), then I eat.

    YMMV
  • Vegetablearian
    Vegetablearian Posts: 148 Member
    personally I am trying a new approach as starving myself makes me binge eat which defeats the object really

    I am going to eat above my BMR but below or upto my maintenance and then not eat back exercise cals. Ill never go below 1200 cals on a day doing this as I dont do enough exercise , after exercise my minimum is likely to be 1500 and my max without excercise is 2100 , as a lifestyle change I think eating properly and eating what I want is more likely to work for me than a starvation quick loss diet.
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
    If I eat them back, I normally only lose 100 grams that week, so I don't!
  • Claire594
    Claire594 Posts: 349 Member
    I don't eat mine back at the minute although if I'm particularly hungry one day I would go into them slightly. I may start to eat back my exercise cals if I hit a plateau or if mfp adjusts my cals too low that i know I'd be too hungry if I didn't. A lot if posts about this topic recommend you eat about half them back but the way I see it, I have a lot of weight to lose so they are an added bonus at the minute. As I get smaller and my cal allowance goes down I'll maybe start eating them back.
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
    Eat em. Feel free to creep around my diary. I'm barely 5'1 (half inch hehe) and down to 113 lbs, eating around 1,900 cal per day (including exercise cals).

    Never hungry. Always happy.
  • luv4whtroses
    luv4whtroses Posts: 7
    You don't have to eat those exercise calories. If you want to reward yourself for doing so well, you might use those for a special not to high calorie treat. You don't have to eat them. They are earned. :smile:
  • traceyjolli
    traceyjolli Posts: 60
    I wasnt eating any of them back at all and exercising an additional 500 cals at least a day, and only eating 1200 calories a day, my deficit has been quite low sometimes 600-700 a day. Lost 23lb quite happily like that since January!

    But!!!!...... the last few days I have been eating back at least half of them through additional snacks and... OMG the weight is falling off!!! I have already lost 3lb this week instead of the normal 1-2lb I normally see and thats since Monday!!

    I hope this continues and if it does.... I would advise you to eat back at least half of them!!

    Good luck x
  • ihateroses
    ihateroses Posts: 893 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/539912-why-eating-exercise-calories-is-so-important?error_user_id=18443982&error_username=ihateroses&hl=exercise+calories
  • shellsrenee01
    shellsrenee01 Posts: 357 Member
    Wow...I have been at this almost a month now and this whole time I have been eating back my exercise calories. I have lost about 7 lbs in a little under 4 weeks, but they came off in the first two weeks and I haven't seen the scale move much since (up and down, but on average at the same weight). Reading the above posts have made me consider NOT eating my exercise calories next month to see what happens.
  • jaydubbayu
    jaydubbayu Posts: 456
    If I've burned calories working out, I'm always extra hungry. I have to eat them to fight hunger. I still eat decent, but there are other days that I work out and don't get that hungry, either. It all depends. Don't go around starving or feeling bad, by any means!
  • Natihilator
    Natihilator Posts: 1,778 Member
    I'd say it depends on your original calorie goal, if you're set to a 2lb./week loss, eat most of them back.

    Personally, I try to eat at least half back but never all. I think that eating all of them back is sort of silly, since it's more likely that exercise burn has been over-estimated, and calorie consumption under-estimated, so it leaves a nice buffer to eat half to most of your exercise calories back.
  • jaysonhijinx
    jaysonhijinx Posts: 663 Member
    I do if I'm hungry. If I'm not, I'm not going to force myself. Plain and simple :)
  • hedleyrocks247
    hedleyrocks247 Posts: 185 Member
    I suggest reading the above link that ihateroses posted, as well as searching for more info in the boards on this topic. There is a reason that MFP is set up the way that it is, and if you want to achieve LONG term success then I would use it the way it was meant to be used. If you are just in it for the quick results, then use it however you like :)
  • Jodieh75
    Jodieh75 Posts: 60 Member
    I sometimes eat them, it depends if I feel hungry. I don't eat them if I am not hungry, that doesn't make sense to me.

    ps, this post was edited by me because I actually had not meant to post here, I thought I'd posted on the topic ihateroses had provided a link to! :embarassed:
  • ChaosMoosie
    ChaosMoosie Posts: 77 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/539912-why-eating-exercise-calories-is-so-important?error_user_id=18443982&error_username=ihateroses&hl=exercise+calories

    Great article! Thanks!
  • shellyj40
    shellyj40 Posts: 15
    Last week i didnt eat them back and i only lost 1lb despite working out and doing one exercise class a week, so...this week i`ve been eating half my exercise calories back and will see today if its made any difference!! i only get weighed once a week, so we`ll see!! Will post later and let you know how i get on..
    x shelly
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I don't eat them back. My goal is to lose weight not maintain and IMO if I eat my exercise calories back it's defeating the whole purpose of my exercising. I know there are lots of debates about that on this board but it's up to you. Play around with it. Eat your calories back for a few weeks and see what happens. If you lose more weight by eating them back then do that. It's all about what works for YOU. The only time I'll eat them back or consider it a "reserve" is if I know I'm going to over indulge and when that's the case I really do try to tack on more cardio minutes to counter balance the food/drink intake that day.
  • careyayn22
    careyayn22 Posts: 95
    I eat them back most of the time. I'm only at 1200, so I don't think it's healthy or beneficial in the long term to not eat them back. Slow and steady wins the race. :bigsmile:
  • shellyj40
    shellyj40 Posts: 15
    I lost 2lb this week and 0.7% Body fat...seems to be working, going to do the same for the next week and will see what happens! Eating half exercise cals for me then!
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