I do not eat them back. I've read that people tend to overestimate how much they burn and underestimate how much they consume so I think working out gives me that safety cushion. I do believe that you shouldn't eat too few calories though. Someone eating 1200 calories and doing an hour of intense cardio a day is, in my opinion, burning the candle at both ends. The tricky part is figuring out how many calories you can eat and how much to workout while still losing weight and eventually maintaining that loss. I think that knowledge comes through some trial and error because everyone is different and even as individuals, we change over time.
Depends on my activity level.. for the most part, I don't. If I have a moderate-high physical workout, I'll drink some protein powder/water. If I have an "extreme" workout, I'll eat back the cals.
I do not eat them back. I've read that people tend to overestimate how much they burn and underestimate how much they consume so I think working out gives me that safety cushion. I do believe that you shouldn't eat too few calories though. Someone eating 1200 calories and doing an hour of intense cardio a day is, in my opinion, burning the candle at both ends. The tricky part is figuring out how many calories you can eat and how much to workout while still losing weight and eventually maintaining that loss. I think that knowledge comes through some trial and error because everyone is different and even as individuals, we change over time.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. It's very subjective, if anything, who wants to see all the hardwork of a workout gone, because of eating back what you took out. Of course that is with the understanding that you're eating appropriately in the first place.
No, but I eat enough to ensure I have the energy to exercise & I therefore end up eating more calories than someone who does no exercise. I tend to just work it out by how I feel in terms of hunger & energy and how much weight I'm losing. I keep accurate records of all calories in and minutes of exercise, which helps. But I don't equate x many minutes of exercise with x many calories out - it's impossible to know.
Last edited by Northernrose; 06-26-2012 at 12:48 PM.
No.. I never have and don't plan too. I'm a calorie counter, but not a weigh-and-measure-everything-super-precisely-one, because this is a lifestyle change and not a diet, and I refuse to do that forever... So, not eating back guesstimated burned off cals gives me cushion.
I don't just because then I get caught up in the mathematics and over-analyze everything. I like to pick a reasonable calorie goal so I can keep the same target every day.
When I first started counting calories, I would eat back some of my exercise calories that I burned. I didn't want to eat all, since I knew the machines were not accurate. It did not cause an issue with my weight loss. Lately I have not been eating back any exercise calories.
some days i eat them back, some days i don't....it just depends on how i feel and if i'm hungry or not...i'm learning how to listen to my body on real hunger, it's still a work in progress
I generally try not to eat the calories I burn but sometimes I am sooooo hungry that I do. I try to fill those calories with really healthy food so I am doing good things for my body.
do you....
