Do you eat your workout calories?

torpina
torpina Posts: 24 Member
edited 5:18AM in Health and Weight Loss
Do you eat your workout calories? What if you don't? Will that impact weight loss?
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Replies

  • corsetqueen09
    corsetqueen09 Posts: 16
    i used to eat my workout calories and i didn't lose a pound. I would suggest maybe eating a little bit of your workout calories but don't take full advantage
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    Yes, I do, usually all or most of them.
    As you can see from my profile picture, it doesn't seem to cause any issues :)
  • luchien
    luchien Posts: 15
    i used to eat my workout calories and i didn't lose a pound. I would suggest maybe eating a little bit of your workout calories but don't take full advantage

    ^^ same for me. I don't eat all of them anymore, it really just wasn't working for me and the scale. I usually eat about half back.
  • MCSCarney
    MCSCarney Posts: 45 Member
    Ultimately it is always calories in, calories out that determine weight loss. Working out should increase muscle and therefore metabolism so you'll burn calories anyway. But don't eat all the ones you've worked off if you want to really lose.
  • ocukor1
    ocukor1 Posts: 66
    I don't. I have my energy expenditure set up manually which includes the exercise for the week, and I stick to a similar routine from week to week. I don't feel like tracking exercises each day. I like to keep it simple.
  • camrunner
    camrunner Posts: 363
    I only eat some of them. Most of my workouts are runs that burn well over 1000 calories, and there's just no way, after most of a decade of being on a "diet" that I could force myself to eat the 4000 calories or so that I'd need to break even.
  • spdoman7
    spdoman7 Posts: 121 Member
    Never...and I have found it to have zero impact on my short and long term performance and mental capacities
  • cbevan1229
    cbevan1229 Posts: 326 Member
    I eat most of them - try to leave 100 or so.
  • fairc3jam
    fairc3jam Posts: 136 Member
    Do you eat your workout calories? What if you don't? Will that impact weight loss?

    I work out to keep within calorie goal, hopefully with some left over
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    You will definitely need to eat back enough so that your net is not below 1200 calories. So enjoy them!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I eat them all. Every day. If I don't, my weight loss slows immediately.
  • Shepink
    Shepink Posts: 39 Member
    I don't. My goal is to tone and lose weight, eating those calories would defeat the purpose.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I ate them from the beginning, lost the weight as predicted, and have kept it off for over a year now, all the while eating way more than I ever thought possible while "dieting."

    On the other hand, what happened when I didn't eat enough: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I don't. My goal is to tone and lose weight, eating those calories would defeat the purpose.

    That's only true if you are set to your maintenance calories. Otherwise, you might be giving yourself a deficit that is too large.
  • Agator82
    Agator82 Posts: 249 Member
    I don't, but I will use them as flex calories which means that some days I will not eat any of them and others I might eat up to 80%. Generally speaking if I eat any I will eat 20% or less.
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member
    I eat them back... every single one. I'm still losing weight.
  • ocukor1
    ocukor1 Posts: 66
    There is nothing wrong with eating the calories back to maintenance level, but I have to warn you to not over estimate the work out you're doing. I've seen people putting things like "cleaning the kitchen - moderate cardio 800 calories" and stuff like that. Don't over estimate that, or your next thread is going to be about how you work out so hard but you didn't lose any weight. A good cardio is at least 20 minutes of sweating and heart pumping, and most likely you will burn maybe 200-300 calories at that. The calories do not get burned as easy as some people think. Unless you do real cardio, do not add it. Light or moderate cleaning is not cardio! Running, cycling, rope jumping, skating, swimming is cardio.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    I'm in maintenance now but even when I was losing I would not eat my work-out calories during the week but then eat them in bulk at weekends. Suited my lifestyle and did no harm to my weight loss and maintenance. So I guess in a roundabout way - I do eat my exercise cals back! : ) x
  • dianasmith6
    dianasmith6 Posts: 12 Member
    I eat my workout calories ,but my net goal is 600 . Once I start excersicing more I will probably change that.
  • sarahbeane2000
    sarahbeane2000 Posts: 6 Member
    thank you for whoever posted this and the responses. its been 2 weeks and i have stopped seeing changes, i am NOT going to be eating my workout calories.!
  • ChaoticMiNd
    ChaoticMiNd Posts: 247 Member
    i used to eat my workout calories and i didn't lose a pound. I would suggest maybe eating a little bit of your workout calories but don't take full advantage
    This exactly...I don't trust the numbers to be honest...so to stay safe eating my workout cal's (or some of them ) is a cheat day for me.
  • siwelh
    siwelh Posts: 50 Member
    My net is set lower than recommended(1050), so I do eat my exercise. Also, I think it is very important to have an accurate number of calories burned- I use the Polar FT40 HRM, which is really good for calories. If I use a regular HRM, the machines at the gym or what mfp says, it is not accurate.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    I do, because I'm trying to build muscle.
  • TexanThom
    TexanThom Posts: 778
    Eat SOME....Leave SOME.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    I eat them all. Every day. If I don't, my weight loss slows immediately.
    ^^^^This, this is the way the site is set up. You never have to be hungry.......don't make it harder than it is!
  • MtnKat
    MtnKat Posts: 714
    Nope. At least not most of the time. I do make sure that I net 1200 cals regardless of my exercise calories.


    I use my TDEE - 20% so my exercise calories are already included in my daily calorie intake (as of today, 1922). I have been losing an average of half to a pound and a half a week pretty steadily. I just make sure my lifestyle is active (work out) so that I can maintain that calorie level.
  • meglynne1987
    meglynne1987 Posts: 382 Member
    Nope.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    thank you for whoever posted this and the responses. its been 2 weeks and i have stopped seeing changes, i am NOT going to be eating my workout calories.!
    And you will keep plateauing because you aren't eating enough and slowing down your metabolism. Have fun.
  • erikblock
    erikblock Posts: 230 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • veduffey
    veduffey Posts: 73
    I usually eat my workout calories. Seems like I get to hungry if I don't.
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