Extreme exercise day - do you eat back the calories

I do not have an answer, but as a competition dancer I am really struggling with the same problem! Even when I eat above average for myself, I often do not eat back the calories on a competition day because it would require consuming mass amounts of food!

I try not to eat back my calories unless I burn more than a couple hundred. And i usually only do that if I'm really hungry. So here's my advice : if you worked out and you're hungry afterwards EAT, you earned those calories, its kind of like reward. Just don't over do it

I don't think you need to feel pressured to eat that many calories back. You're not maintaining that level of deficit every day.

If I did that much physical activity, though, I would be STARVING, and glad to have at least some of those extra cals to play with.

There are times when I do double or triple workouts because of my job and my athletic lifestyle...There is no way I can eat back all of those calories in one day...and the next day I am normally craving a bit more so have no regrets eating a bit more than usual.

It's whatever works best for the person

It's unsafe if your net calories are zero everyday...if this isn't your normal day then I wouldn't worry about it. I try as best I can to eat back my calories since I'm maintaining and building lean muscle mass...

I burn about 1200 calories 5 days a week and do not eat back the calories. Everyone says I will send my body into "starvation mode" but I have been doing it for 4 months now and have successfully lost weight. If I am hungry I eat. If im not then I don't eat. I wouldn't worry about it.

I'm not much for extreme exercise (600 calories on the elliptical is as extreme as I get) but I generally try to eat a little bit less so I have some green to make up for the days when I overeat. I would judge how you feel - if you're light headed or dizzy, definitely eat what you need to feel better; if you have lots of energy and feel great and not hungry, don't feel compelled to max it out (imo).

if i'm hungry, yes.

i don't force myself to eat if i'm not hungry.

I had a "head slap" aha moment on this subject. I was filling in my daily in take on MFP. I entered the Hammer Nutrition bar I eat before my work out and the protein shake I drink right after and thought "wow it's a good thing I have my exercise calories or I wouldn't have enough calories left for supper and it hit me. Fuel up appropriately for the work out and have something for muscle recovery afterwards, viola, you've used your exercise calories...appropriately. My opinion. For what it's worth.

I usually eat back about half my calroies on hard exercise day over 1000 I eat back about 500... usually satifies my hunger

Connie

My experience is that on a normal day I try to get within 50 calories of my goal plus or minus but on days where I play in tournaments and my HRM says I have burned HUGE numbers of calories I eat back about half of my extreme calories. The few times I ate them all I wound up gaining and spending the next week loosing what I had already lost. Eating half of them doesn't seem to hurt me and satisfies my hunger.

If you eat back all your exercise calories you won't lose any weight ,you'll stay even. It's a matter of equalization. If you're hungry eat (within reason). I'd have more water. then see what your body says. i do have a Fitness and Nutrition educational background. but this is still only my opinion really.

I can't say what's safe and what's not but I know when I have long runs and I burn over 1000 calories, I usually end up eating back about 50-75% of them on that day, and the rest I will eat the day after. I usually feel ravenous the day after an intense workout. If I weren't hungry though I probably wouldn't be force feeding them to myself.

This! If i have a big brick workout (bike/run) I can (and have) burn over 2000 calories in one day. Can't eat more than half those back usually so if I go over by even 500 the following day its okay. What i've been doing lately is looking at the weekly net instead. It's clearest on the mobile app.

I have never eaten back my exercise calories but have recently been stuck for over a month at a plateau so have decided to eat back my exercise calories for the next few weeks to see if it kick starts my weight loss again. Fingers crossed it works.

I burned 4 lbs of weight away on a 3hr bike ride Sunday - 2000 calories.

Drank plenty of water and not really that hot, so hardly was all sweat.

What did I lose? Glucose stores, easily 2-3 lbs worth.

700 of those calories already handled by normal eating level and expected deficit, so 1300 was totally extra to eat back.

Do I want to go into my next workouts with depleted glucose stores? Not hardly, sure recipe for burning muscle as converted glucose to make up for it not being there.
Normal meal level wouldn't have begun to hit refilling half the tank.

Was I hungry? Once I got my appetite back.

Wasn't hard. 2 chocolate milks post ride recovery. 2 snack bars on the ride.
Slightly bigger lunch.
Bigger Snack with protein shake and 16 oz mixed fruit container.

Made it up in one day, of course rode in the morning too, so easier. Normally would have finished eating it the next day for the next workout.

Never go into next workout carb depleted - greatly increases chances you'll start burning muscle for glucose on these big exercise days.

You won't go into starvation mode. But your body is starving for carbs at that point, if you count those tanks being wiped out.