extra calories from excercise???

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Koozy81
Koozy81 Posts: 250 Member
in Food and Nutrition
whenever i excercise it adds calories to what my daily intake should be....but thats alot of food!! i dont want to eat those extra calories....so my question is, do i have to use those calories they add from my excercising? or can i just eat the original goal and ignore what they add to my 'free calories'

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  • Koozy81
    Koozy81 Posts: 250 Member
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    whenever i excercise it adds calories to what my daily intake should be....but thats alot of food!! i dont want to eat those extra calories....so my question is, do i have to use those calories they add from my excercising? or can i just eat the original goal and ignore what they add to my 'free calories'
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    i asked this same question once.
    The site already accounts for you calorie deficit.
    It ads the calories on that you exercised away to keep your body out of starvation mode, which eventually would halt your losing.
    I've been told many times to eat those calories!!
    Someone else may want to elaborate on why.
  • mel_loomans
    mel_loomans Posts: 12
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    I was talking to a trainer at my gym the other night and he told me that as a rule of thumb. Anything you eat for up to 2 hours after you go to the gym gets used up by your muscles anyway- they are pretty much considered zero calories.

    I would suggest eatting healthy after the gym though and try to make out exercising before 7 because you shouldnt be eatting after 7:30 as your body doesnt have the time to break it all down before you go to bed.
  • eyescatchfire
    eyescatchfire Posts: 257 Member
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    There's a lot of great info from this post, including why you should eat all of your exercise calories. :)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Good luck!:flowerforyou:
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    I was JUST about to ask this same question, thanks! The concensus seems to be that you should eat them, since having your body go into starvation mode isn't good either since it will actually keep you from losing. My plan is to use those extra calories for stuff that is still good for you, like fruit and veggies or pretzles, but not chips and cookies and stuff.
  • ladydi
    ladydi Posts: 88 Member
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    I asked a doctor aabout this and he said that if you are trying to lose weight you wouldnt eat those extra cal. That you would eat those if you were trying to maintain the weight that you are at. You might want to check with you doctor. I normally do not eat the extra cslories that have been given and Im losing weight just fine.:smile:
  • REB89
    REB89 Posts: 493 Member
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    I asked a doctor aabout this and he said that if you are trying to lose weight you wouldnt eat those extra cal. That you would eat those if you were trying to maintain the weight that you are at. You might want to check with you doctor. I normally do not eat the extra cslories that have been given and Im losing weight just fine.:smile:

    This would be true BUT MFP already calculates a 500 calorie deficit into your daily allowance (for 1lb a week weight loss) so you should eat them to stop your body going into starvation mode!
  • sr2000
    sr2000 Posts: 230 Member
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    I asked a doctor aabout this and he said that if you are trying to lose weight you wouldnt eat those extra cal. That you would eat those if you were trying to maintain the weight that you are at. You might want to check with you doctor. I normally do not eat the extra cslories that have been given and Im losing weight just fine.:smile:

    This would be true BUT MFP already calculates a 500 calorie deficit into your daily allowance (for 1lb a week weight loss) so you should eat them to stop your body going into starvation mode!
    Exactly, MFP has already put you at a reduced calorie diet. I'm pretty sure most doctors would not want you to be on a 800 calorie diet. If you eat 1200 and burn 400, then you are only eating a NET of 800, and that is just not healthy and your body does not function well in that starvation mode.
    However you can take into consideration the the "calories burned" info can be and often is off by 30%, so if you want to make sure you don't overeat those "earned" calories, then only eat back about 70% of what it says you burned. At any rate, please so eat some extra calories on exercise days, your body needs it.
  • ladydi
    ladydi Posts: 88 Member
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    Oh ok I customized my calorie deficit per my doctors instructions. I also put that I was very active so it may not work the same for you guys.
  • sr2000
    sr2000 Posts: 230 Member
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    Oh ok I customized my calorie deficit per my doctors instructions. I also put that I was very active so it may not work the same for you guys.
    Yep, good point. That is another important thing to take into consideration.
  • ladydi
    ladydi Posts: 88 Member
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    Well I use this as a tool to track my calories not a diet plan as with everything that you do that has something to do with your body consult a doctor. That's what I did and I was told to customize my diet plan with certain numbers and %. I guess the majority wins but I would advise you to speak to a professional because every weight loss plan is different. For example weight watchers you earn points when you exercise but you don’t have to use them. Body for life you eat a certain amount of meals a day and workout and it doesn’t even track calories so I guess it depends on what plan you are using.:smile:
  • KrisKabob
    KrisKabob Posts: 1,250 Member
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    I don't have confirmation from a doctor or a trainer, etc but I would say they add the calories so you can eat them. You definitely don't want your body to go into starvation mode b/c then your metabolism slows down. But I also wouldn't suggest that you stuff yourself just to get the calories down. You mentioned that it is "a lot" of extra cals which tells me that you might workout pretty hard. But if the extra cals are too much - if you feel too full when you eat them - then eat until you feel full and then stop! I would just do what feels comfortable to you - everyone is different. Good luck! :smooched:
  • amajeakris
    amajeakris Posts: 1
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    http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/28742.html

    Some information about starvation mode, and according to the website you would be better off not eating the extra calories
  • SGFlyinHi
    SGFlyinHi Posts: 469 Member
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    Well I use this as a tool to track my calories not a diet plan as with everything that you do that has something to do with your body consult a doctor. That's what I did and I was told to customize my diet plan with certain numbers and %. I guess the majority wins but I would advise you to speak to a professional because every weight loss plan is different. For example weight watchers you earn points when you exercise but you don’t have to use them. Body for life you eat a certain amount of meals a day and workout and it doesn’t even track calories so I guess it depends on what plan you are using.:smile:

    I'm with you LadyDi. I also use this site just to track my cals. I do not go off of their calorie recomendation as I am working with a trainer & am going off of her meal plan (which is a lot more calories than this site would have me do to lose). My exercise is definitley taken into account in my meal plan, and I am constantly losing. I don't log my exercises on this site until the end of the day after I've logged all of my food to make sure my porportions are correct.

    If you are going off of this sites reccomendations then definitely eat the extra calories.

    Good luck all.
  • JulieB21
    JulieB21 Posts: 492
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    http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/28742.html

    Some information about starvation mode, and according to the website you would be better off not eating the extra calories

    I read this article and don't see anywhere where it mentions not increasing your daily caloric intake if you exercise? I do see where it talks about regaining weight lost if you decrease your daily calories too much...and lots of typos.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    i just wanted to bring to attention some thoughts. The aforementioned article states:

    "A starvation diet does not mean the absence of food. It means cutting the total caloric intake to less than 50% of what the body requires"

    This sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.Your BMR is what your body would be burning if you were doing no kind of physical activity. Cut that in half on top of simple activity like getting up and showering, driving, cleaning or anything really, is going to reduce your calories to the point of exhaustion which can NOT be the healthy way to do it.
    For example, My personal BMR is 1560. Cut that in half like this particular 'diet' says to, and I would be consuming 780 cals per day. Ad ANY activity and you find yourself with a Net Calorie number of 500 or less! Seems sketchy to me!

    PS if you read the article, be sure to read it entirely, as it mentions toward the end that it is not the way to go!
  • cajunforfun
    cajunforfun Posts: 8
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    There are definitely two schools of thought on this topic. One believes that you will lose weight faster by reducing more calories than initially planned by exercising more. The other appears to be concerned that the body would go into starvation mode.

    A major point not considered for the more active people is the available energy issue. If you exercise for extended periods (over 1.5 - 2 hours) or VERY intensely (such as intervals or over-under for LT), you will reduce the energy (the blood sugars) available within the cells (and the liver) for the body to converted into ready energy; therefore, you feel drained if you do not eat sufficiently. It is recommended that you consume a low fat high energy drink within 30 minutes of the completion of a cario program and include additional protein if you are weight lifting. During the first 30 minutes after intense exercise (known as the glucose window) the body will move the extra energy back into the muscle cells rather than to fat cells. This is common ofr cyclist.

    It should therefore be a compromise. You may chose to eat only some of the additional calories but if you are feeling more tired, eat more but try to do it immediately after your exercise. Then follow that drink with a light meal such as a lean turkey breast sandwich on whole wheat within the next hour. This should leave your energy replenished and fill you up. Remember to eat breakfast!

    Continued weight loss goes to the steady.
  • GIGINATOR
    GIGINATOR Posts: 355 Member
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    Eat your exercise calories, you should not go below a net caloric intake of 1200. Otherwise---- starvation mode WILL occur. Trust me, I know it sounds crazy but it works. I've lost 36lbs in 15 weeks by following MFP as the site recommends. Your body neeeds extra fuel when you exercise.
    Banks, are you out there to elaborate?

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