Exercise calories

[MrsT]

Hi,

Just starting out and using MFP to count calories as I like the phone app.

I am managing to exercise four times a week and have a lot of weight to lose (currently 258lbs with a goal of 154lbs). I am unsure if I should be using my exercise calories or just forgetting them? Also what about other calories I don't eat?! I am ending up with an excess at the end of the week and not sure if that is a good thing or not.

I am waking up starving on mornings after a workout and also at weekend I would like to be able to relax a little if we end up eating out (don't want to reward with food though as that's how I ended up this big!)

Any advice welcome, I might be over thinking it I know.

X

 

[HellieCopter]

Hello

It's a tricky one. Some people do, some don't. There have been some interesting threads on here about it and useful info...the upshot of which is...try it out and see what works for you!

There's no doubt that exercise is brilliant for you and will help you lose weight. Some people think that if you exercise and don't eat the cals you burn, you'll lose faster. Some think that you need to eat them back to re-fuel and encourage your body to shift the fat. Some people eat a proportion (say, half) their exercise cals back.

With some people exercise can initially stall weight loss until the body adjusts. Some attribute this to water retention, muscle (huge debates about this!) and other stuff. But being fitter ultimately is good news You might find yourself getting more hungry because your body is using more of its energy reserves and wanting you to replace it.

My suggestion would be (quite unhelpfully) see how you get on!! Try eating them at first (woohoo) and if you're not losing, then try eating half, and then less again if it's still not working. Might as well eat them if you can! *passes the hobnobs*

 

[Hoz]

I second what Helliecopter said.
Try eating them and if your losses aren't good enough eat less of them. Different things work for diffeent people so it's a bit of trial and error.

 

[MrsT]

Thank you for responding. I think I will dip my toe in slightly this week and eat some of them. Maybe after a workout I will have something which might stop the hunger in the morning. C

 

[MikiMooMoo]

Hello

It's a tricky one. Some people do, some don't. There have been some interesting threads on here about it and useful info...the upshot of which is...try it out and see what works for you!

There's no doubt that exercise is brilliant for you and will help you lose weight. Some people think that if you exercise and don't eat the cals you burn, you'll lose faster. Some think that you need to eat them back to re-fuel and encourage your body to shift the fat. Some people eat a proportion (say, half) their exercise cals back.

With some people exercise can initially stall weight loss until the body adjusts. Some attribute this to water retention, muscle (huge debates about this!) and other stuff. But being fitter ultimately is good news You might find yourself getting more hungry because your body is using more of its energy reserves and wanting you to replace it.

My suggestion would be (quite unhelpfully) see how you get on!! Try eating them at first (woohoo) and if you're not losing, then try eating half, and then less again if it's still not working. Might as well eat them if you can! *passes the hobnobs*

Oh go on then, just the 1 hob knob lol!!!

 

[sunnyrae]

I think im going to save my exercise cals because we usually go to my mums or oh's parents for tea once a week or once every two weeks and its nice to enjoy myself without having to worry about how many cals is in my food and can i cant i eat it

 

[KatiePillow]

It's also important to be careful to eat at least 1200 calories, I was struggling with it but am not learning to have things in moderation such as reduced fat cheese (full of calcium!) and even freddos

I've been eating my exercise calories, but save a hundred or two for the weekends But if my target calorie intake was say 1700 and I worked out and burned 500 calories, I wouldn't necessarily eat those, since I'm still above 1200

I assuge any guilt about it thinking that the exercise is changing the shape and toning my body regardless of whether I get a calorie deficit from it - my diet is what's losing me the weight, not exercise. That's just a bonus