Eating exercise calories...

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bugnsamsmom
bugnsamsmom Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I can't do it tonight. I just don't have it in me to eat my exercise calories. How horrible is it really if you don't get them back? What's an ok number to be left with at the end of the day? I know that not eating them is bad for your muscles and your body can go into starvation mode. But, how bad is it if I skip a day?

I'm new to all of this calorie counting and exercise calories so if you could please explain it to me like I'm a 10 year old I'd appreciate it!

Replies

  • only2bfit
    only2bfit Posts: 44
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    I'm wondering the same thing!!!! My mom keeps telling me not to eat them because I'm having trouble losing weight.. but the reason I'm having trouble is bc I binge eat like twice a week. I'm giving her idea a try though bc nothing else has worked and I'm frustrated, but now I go to bed hungry.. I guess thats not so bad though since I am tryin to lose weight!

    Sorry I didn't answer your question at all :/ haha.
  • Orient_Charm
    Orient_Charm Posts: 385 Member
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    I don't agree with this rule completely ( Partly only ) .........
    I spent more than 2 months of my diet without eating back my exercise calories and you can see my ticker.......so anyway one day wouldn't have bad effect for you.
    maybe I have another clear rule " Don't force yourself to eat".
  • Mizzou91
    Mizzou91 Posts: 249
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    I can't do it tonight. I just don't have it in me to eat my exercise calories. How horrible is it really if you don't get them back? What's an ok number to be left with at the end of the day? I know that not eating them is bad for your muscles and your body can go into starvation mode. But, how bad is it if I skip a day?

    I'm new to all of this calorie counting and exercise calories so if you could please explain it to me like I'm a 10 year old I'd appreciate it!

    One night won't hurt you. Don't worry about it.

    The thing about exercise calories is that when someone has a lot of weight to lose, it's not as important to eat them because the body has plenty of reserves to call upon. It becomes MUCH more important as you get closer to your goal weight. So, eating the calories at the beginning of the journey is important because it creates good habits and a sustainable lifestyle.

    But again, one night won't matter as long it's the exception rather than the rule.
  • krissytee
    krissytee Posts: 5
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    I started with that same problem, but know have felt better about what to do with those extra earned cals. As long as you are still getting your full reommended cals (before exercise), I think you're fine. That's what is going to make the weight come off. Fewer calories and more exercise. When I haven't used up all of my extra cals from exercise I have a glass of chocolate milk or a spoonful of peanut butter. That way you don't feel like your snacking or going to bed on a full stomach, but can get in a few extra healthy calories!
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    If you have one low day it's not the end of the world.

    Just like if you have one high day it's not the end of the world.

    But neither should be a real pattern.
  • MindyG150
    MindyG150 Posts: 1,296 Member
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    I was wondering the same thing tonight. I just got done walking and there is no way I can eat this late.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    The real problem comes when you make it a habit. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function and to support whatever activity you choose to do. It will get these calories whether you eat them or not. When you dont eat enough it goes to your body for them. If that amount is small enough it will mostly come from fat storage. If it is too large it will come from other places like muscles and organs. Im sure we can all agree that is not good. Even if it looks great on the scale.
  • kokaneesailor
    kokaneesailor Posts: 337 Member
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    Eat 6 mini meals a day.

    Wonder why your low on energy? Cranky? Eat your exercise calories.

    Your body will feed off your fat and lean muscle, it doesn't care. I sorta use my lean muscle to protect my internal organs. So I eat my exercise calories back.

    MFP has already set you at a 500 cal def a day, so you think you know better? Eat your calories back.

    Stopped losing weight? Maybe you have hit a plateau. Maybe it's because your eating way under what your suppose to eat. Eat your calories back so your body will have FUEL to burn.

    Study the 1st and 2nd Law of Thermal Dynamics. Eat back your exercise calories.

    Natural peanut butter on crackers. Natural yogurt and homemade granola with honey, Pita and hummus.

    Good luck with your journey

    You can do this

    :smile:
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    The real problem comes when you make it a habit. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function and to support whatever activity you choose to do. It will get these calories whether you eat them or not. When you dont eat enough it goes to your body for them. If that amount is small enough it will mostly come from fat storage. If it is too large it will come from other places like muscles and organs. Im sure we can all agree that is not good. Even if it looks great on the scale.

    One thing you can do is equalize your calories. I dont really know if this works for certain but calculate your calories out for the whole week then divide by 7 and eat that amount of calories everyday. You would be a little under on workout days and a little over on rest days but it would wok out on a weekly basis and you would be eating the same amount everyday instead of trying to overeat on workout days.
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
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    Eat some of them for breakfast the next morning.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    Eat 6 mini meals a day.

    Why?

    Habitually eating at a large deficit can cause your body to start using a lot of lean muscle tissue for energy rather than just fat. Your body will only burn so much fat for energy anyway. ONE day won't hurt your weight loss efforts, it's doing it over time that will start to make a huge difference.

    By the way, twice a week I have days where I only eat 300-500 calories and I am doing quite well. Calorie deficits over a day are not worth paying too much attention to, it's the overall deficit (over days, or a week) that is important.
  • Kidsrn23
    Kidsrn23 Posts: 45 Member
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    I gotta say I never eat back my exercise calories back. On occassion I will eat over my calories but don't work to eat my exercise calories. Remember you have to have a 3500 calorie weekly deficit to lose 1 lb a week. So keep that in mind if you aren't losing weight.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    Eat 6 mini meals a day.

    Why?

    Habitually eating at a large deficit can cause your body to start using a lot of lean muscle tissue for energy rather than just fat. Your body will only burn so much fat for energy anyway. ONE day won't hurt your weight loss efforts, it's doing it over time that will start to make a huge difference.

    By the way, twice a week I have days where I only eat 300-500 calories and I am doing quite well. Calorie deficits over a day are not worth paying too much attention to, it's the overall deficit (over days, or a week) that is important.

    ^^^Exactly. thats what I was trying to say.
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
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    My goal is always to NET at least 1200 on workout days and 1600-1800 on non workout days, works for me 1.5 - 2 lbs a week.
  • sugarandspice27
    sugarandspice27 Posts: 521 Member
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    Ok I'm glad this topic came up. I'm only 3 days into this lifestyle officially but so far, I have not been HUNGRY enough to eat my exercise calories back. And I've felt like I'm literally eating ALL DAY just to get my calories in. I was a binge eater before, eating a really fattening carby breakfast on the road then starving all day, then pigging out by dinner time. Now I've switched to whole foods, unprocessed foods, all things I can prepare at home. I am eating about 5 times a day and by dinner time, I'm not even that hungry. But I'm nervous about cutting my calories TOO drastically since I've been incorporating exercise into my routine. Obviously i don't want to slow my metabolism down any. (All of this is RATHER CONFUSING!)

    ALSO... I read that it's healthy to lose 1% of your body fat per week. Since I am currently over 300 lbs, it should be ok for me to lose 3lbs/week at first. Since MFP only allows for a 2lb per week loss, if I end up leaving 500 calories a day that should make up my extra lb per week. Is this acceptable?
  • Kidsrn23
    Kidsrn23 Posts: 45 Member
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    You all need to remember that MFP is a guide to help you in your journey. If you are really having trouble figuring out how many calories to eat then maybe a nutritionist might be able to help you out. I am a registered nurse and used to think that eating less than 1200 calories would send you into starvation mode but that has been proven by many to be a falsehood. You need to have an extremely low body fat percentage before you body starts using muscle instead of fat for energy. So for those of us using this site to help lose weight I wouldn't be too concerned with going into starvation mode.

    I currently try to keep my calories around 1000-1200 a day. That being said, I eat 2-3 meals a day and some days use Eat stop Eat to do intermittent fasting. If you look at you calories for the week and not necessarily for the day you will have much better success with sticking to your eating plan. Again you need to have a 3500 calorie weekly deficit to lose 1 pound a week. So if one day you are way over your calories you can compensate by eating slightly under another day. There are no hard and fast rules to eating healthy. Good luck to everyone in there quest to be healthy.

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