Does anyone else do this? I usually eat a protien bar before I work out that is between 200 and 250 calories. I work out 3 times a week. For the daily caloric needs calculator it adds on about 200 calories to my daily limit if you work out 3 times a week compared to if you don't work out at all. I haven't been adding on 200 a day because that seems like way to much. What I have been doing is giving myself a 100 calorie leeway each day. So my question is has anyone tried just not counting what they eat right before they work out if it is less than 300 cals worth of food? It seems crazy not to count something you eat but in all fairness the reason I am even eating the protein bar right before I work out is to give me energy to work out. So far allowing myself 100 cals a day is working so I guess if I do the thing where I don't count my protein bar then I will stop allowing thew 100 extra calories. Also if I work out more than 3 times a week and I eat a protein bar right before I work out each time should I never count it?

I go to the gym at 5:30am on an empty stomach so I can't comment on that, but I don't understand why you wouldn't count it? If it's part of your intake for the day, regardless of the reason for the intake, then it should be counted.

Otherwise, I could go to McDonalds every morning before I go to the gym and said, "But I'm on my way to the gym so it doesn't count!"

Personally, I would count it. It's going in your body, you're body is using it, it should count.

I know I'm not perfect with my calorie counting because I know I can make mistakes in weighing/measuring food or even I may forget I ate something one day when I didn't write it down immediately.

But I count everything.

300 calories is a lot, I would always count it. People vastly overestimate how many calories they actually burn in the gym which is why I would never even change or factor in my calories burned into my daily intake.

At your size, 171lbs, 200-300 calories is a sizable chunk of your daily allowance. I would always count it. The smaller you are, the less room you have for guesstimates if you want solid consistent results.

I count everything that I eat, no matter what.

But on days I have an extra rigorous workout, I allow myself to eat 100 more calories.

I don't eat more on exercise days (which is 6 days a week). I count everything too. But I do it with an app. So, typically every day I have like a net of 700-800 calories which I know is not right. I don't burn as many calories as they estimate I do. If I did, I would have lost over 50 lbs by now, not 34.

I have to agree with the previous posters.. you should count it!

I currently do 2x a days. When I first started going to the gym at 5:30am- I HAD to have a cliff bar before my workout. My trainer asked if I thought I could hold off and eat the cliff bar AFTER my workout. At first, I tried this and I just couldnt get into my workout. So I started a couple mornings eating 3/4 of the bar, then the next few 1/2 of the bar, and then 1/4 of the bar until I didnt need it anymore. Maybe try something like that? The more you work out, the more energy (naturally) you will have to power through your workouts!

I do count mine, but I also subtract my calories burned on workout days from my net calories. For example, if I ate 1,600 calories today and then burned 200 on the treadmill at the gym, I would still count what I ate all day but I calculate 1,400 net calories. I think I have been estimating my calories in/out pretty conservatively and so far it's working for me!

The only thing i don't count is raw vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers, etc. I feel like those should be eaten as much as you wish...and i say that knowing i'm not going to eat like 3 pounds of broccoli...i don't love vegetables THAT much.

if you eat it you should count it

I would say count it - you are eating it, so count it. I really can't fathom why you would not count it.

If you are losing weight on whatever amount you are eating now, then why not record that amount as accurately as possible? And if you are not losing weight on whatever amount you are eating now, then again - why not record that amount as accurately as possible, so you can adjust it in a meaningful way?

I just - what reason do you have for not recording it? You've eaten it - that's what determines how it affects your loss, not whether you record it. Why wouldn't you record it?

I count it. Better safe that sorry, to me.

I count everything. There is no way of knowing exactly how many calories you are burning in a workout.

does this mean I can eat a huge brownie before I work out and not count it! I work out 5 or 6 days a week so more goodies... snort chuckle lol.. sorry this hit a funny bone!

I think this is the exact reason you have to "try" to count everything. We could be making mistakes and purposefully omitting something feels like a setup for disappointment at the scale...especially if it happens on a regular basis.

On a good note, if you count, (and secretly you didn't need to), you'll be more under your calories than you thought! YAY!!