Why do you have to eat exercise calories?

xoalyssaox
xoalyssaox Posts: 318 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I thought the whole point of working out was to burn off your daily intake? I am confused!!!! Please fill me in :)

Replies

  • itsmenatalie
    itsmenatalie Posts: 190 Member
    MFP has already created a calorie deficit for you when you set your goals. I usually eat a good portion of my exercise calories because if not I run out of energy over the next few days.
  • shaleah77
    shaleah77 Posts: 89
    I don't eat mine :P ever! I do have a 'cheat' meal about once a month. It's worked for me so far. Early on I had one week where I didn't lose anything, aside from that I've steadily lost weight and now I have 8lbs to go. Started at 188, currently at 132.9. I will say generally, I think most on here do eat at least half if not all of their exercise calories. Good luck in which ever method you find works best for you :flowerforyou:
  • aabelein
    aabelein Posts: 379 Member
    i usually dont eat mine ever. but recently ive been on a plateau and haven't lost 1 pound in the last two weeks where before i was losing every week. i've decided i should try it since thats what everyone has been saying, so i'm hoping it works. if i see a difference this weekend then i'm going to make sure i eat at least half of them every day. :smile: sorry i dont have any info as to why its good for you to do that. i dont really get it either....:ohwell:
  • greenstar1216
    greenstar1216 Posts: 18
    I don't eat mine :P ever! I do have a 'cheat' meal about once a month. It's worked for me so far. Early on I had one week where I didn't lose anything, aside from that I've steadily lost weight and now I have 8lbs to go. Started at 188, currently at 132.9. I will say generally, I think most on here do eat at least half if not all of their exercise calories. Good luck in which ever method you find works best for you :flowerforyou:

    Wow it looks like that's working for you! Awesome job! I'm not going to eat mine either lol. I didn't before when I was on a weight loss plan and I lost 30 pounds. I started on here and I am eating my extra earned calories but I don't see the same results happening. Usually I am forcing those extra calories anyways because I'm not even very hungry! Good luck on those last 8 pounds!!! :drinker:
  • ShellyLee
    ShellyLee Posts: 293 Member
    Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Some days I'm hungry all day and on those days I'll eat the extra calories. And then on days I'm not so hungry I don't eat them. You should eat your minimum though... your body requires those to complete normal body functions.
  • j_g4ever
    j_g4ever Posts: 1,925 Member
    I talked to my doctor about this and she told me that I'm ok with my calorie intake and that I don't have to eat back my exercise calories until i hit my goal then I should start eating them back.
  • cmurphy04722
    cmurphy04722 Posts: 254
    Here's a great post on why you SHOULD TOTALLY eat your exercise calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    If you want to lose it and keep it off, I'd say the healthiest way is to eat your exercise calories. MFP already calculates your calories at a deficit. When you work out, you increase the deficit and it's not healthy to have only 700 or 800 calories going in.

    For example, I'm set at 1200 calories per day. I hit the gym and burned 450 calories (whoo!). If I didn't eat my exercise calories, 1200-450=750. It'd be like I'm only giving my body 750 calories to work with. I'd be in starvation mode, storing what I could as fat for late. So I ate the extra 450 (well, not quite) for a total of 1650 calories. BUT I burned 450 calories, so that's still only 1200 calories going in to my body.

    Read the article :)
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Exercise calories come in handy for those of us who don't do well on reduced calorie diets- ME. If I'm hungry, it's good knowing they're there for me. If my calories for the day are gone, and I'm hungry, I know I can workout and earn more. I have days where I eat them, and days where I don't. I go by if I'm hungry or not.
  • shaleah77
    shaleah77 Posts: 89
    I don't eat mine :P ever! I do have a 'cheat' meal about once a month. It's worked for me so far. Early on I had one week where I didn't lose anything, aside from that I've steadily lost weight and now I have 8lbs to go. Started at 188, currently at 132.9. I will say generally, I think most on here do eat at least half if not all of their exercise calories. Good luck in which ever method you find works best for you :flowerforyou:

    Wow it looks like that's working for you! Awesome job! I'm not going to eat mine either lol. I didn't before when I was on a weight loss plan and I lost 30 pounds. I started on here and I am eating my extra earned calories but I don't see the same results happening. Usually I am forcing those extra calories anyways because I'm not even very hungry! Good luck on those last 8 pounds!!! :drinker:

    Thank you! I think most anyone making an honest effort to lose weight (barring medical issues), whichever method they choose will find at least some success.

    As far as keeping it off, I suppose if I want to do that as much as I wanted to lose the weight in the first place, then I suppose I will be successful. And the 'fatty' issue, well I am 5ft. 2in, weigh 132.9 lbs. (near the top of my weight range) and wear a size 26 jeans, well....I don't suppose I have a 'fatty body'. Plus, my 13 y/o daughter weighs 98lbs and I can fit into quite a few of her shirts now, providing theres a little wiggle room in chest area LOL

    I don't care if you lost weight with gastric bypass, lap band, running marathons or whatever (of course aside from eating disorders), you made an effort and it paid off in my book. Good for you and you should be proud of yourself!
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
    It's up to you if you want to eat them or not. You have to do what works for you.

    The problem with eating them is that people tend to over-estimate their exercise and under-estimate their food intake. So it's easy to completely negate your calorie deficit, if you aren't careful. Not eating your exercise calories, or at least not eating all of them, can give you a cushion.

    The problem with not eating them is that you may not have enough energy to keep up a good activity level, causing you to feel like crap and/or reduce your activity to a point where you are also negating your calorie deficit.

    For me, I found that not eating them worked the best. I kept up my protein so I didn't lose a lot of lean muscle mass and, as my activty levels increased, I ate more which did cause my calories to go up a bit, but not on a 1-to-1 basis with what I was expending.
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