Ask a dietologist: Should I eat back my exercise calories?

If you exercise, you probably wondered how many calories exercise your sweating seating burns. Some treadmills or other cardio machines even display the number of calories you reportedly burned when you worked out.

But should you eat calorie exercises back? It seems logical to add them to your daily calorie goal and enjoy another snack.

But the truth is that this burning question is no simple yes or no. Whether you should eat these calories, depend on several factors, including your specific goals, routines of exercise and how your body feels.

“First of all, it is always best to listen to the stimuli of your body,” says dietitian Myfitnesspal Brookell White.

“Are you hungry and need to support your body?” Then it is best to listen and consume these calories regardless of your calorie goal, ”he says.

Hungry Party Pain, Explore Many Factors that can make your decision to eat back exercise calories and how to make the best choice for your personal health and fitness goals.

It’s not an accurate science

Most Fitness followers and applications offer an estimate of how many calories you burn during training, but remember: These are only estimates (1).

“Energy spending is not always perfect,” says White. “So eating these calories back can mean you eat more calories than you spend, so it’s hard to lose weight or keep weight.” It is very common for people to overestimate the amount of calories burned and also underestimate the amount of calories they consume, ”says White.

A study from Cornell University found that almost everyone misjudges calories incorrectly. People with normal weight tend to underestimate approximately 20% (2). Some other sources indicate that inconsistency can be up to 50%! (2).

“In addition, calories burned during exercise do not equal the same increase in total calories burned for this day,” Nelson explains. “In other words, if you burn 100 calories through exercise, you actually only increase your daily caloric burning by about 70 calories (5). ”

This can make it difficult to maintain the caloric deficit that is necessary for weight loss, or avoid food more than your body needs maintenance.

Use Comfortable tracking tools like Myfitnesspal‘with Voice logging function and Barcode scanner It can help you log in quickly and watch your food to meet your weight loss targets.

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About the experts

Brookell White, MS, RDis a registered dietitian and curator of food data on Myfitnesspal. She won her bachelor and masters at San Diego State University and completed a dietary internship in Sodex. Its fields include metabolism, intestinal health, obesity and weight management.

Stephanie Nelson, MS, RD He is a registered dietitian and is an internal nutrition and nutrition specialist Myfitnesspal. Stephanie, passionate to promote a healthy lifestyle, has graduated from San Diego State University with a focus on disease research and prevention.

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Factors that need to be considered to determine your caloric objectives

Several factors can help you determine whether you should eat these calories exercise:

Weight

If you want to get your muscles and don’t focus on weight loss, it may make sense to eat your exercise calories back. You may need these other calories to repair and grow muscle (3).

If your goal is weight loss, Nelson recommends that you take into account the calories of exercises when determining the level of activity in Myfitnesspal. It can help ensure that you eat enough overall. “This will slightly increase your daily calorie target, but not as much as a typical exercise tracker could.”

Intensity

If you are a marathon or a triathlete, it is different than if your typical exercise is 20 minutes of walking.

“People who participate in hours or more moderate to high intensity several times a week will probably need these other calories to promote muscle repair and growth and support training,” explains White (3).

However, if you exercise less frequently or with less intensity, you may not need additional fuel.

Hunger

One of the best ways to decide whether to eat calories back is to listen to your body. According to White it can be quite simple.

“Ask yourself,” I’m hungry? “If the answer is yes, then it is probably best to listen and consume these calories by nourishing meals,” she says. A great choice can be foods of low calories and high proteins such as Greek yogurt.

4 tips on how to decide whether to eat the exercise calories

If you are still not sure to reduce your exercise calories, these white tips can help lead your decision:

1. Start by checking the hydration

Clinical Studies have shown that 37% of people focus on thirst for hunger (4). Sign up with the level of hydration before you reach after eating. First, have a glass of water and see if your hunger is retreating.

2. Do not get stuck on numbers

Remember that fitness followers provide estimates of calories. You do not feel under pressure to eat during exercise during exercise unless you are hungry or your progress suggests that this is not necessary. At the same time, do not let hunger to achieve calories.

3. Focus on high -quality proteins and carbohydrates

If you decide to eat some calories of exercise, prefer nutritional foods to help with recovery such as slim proteins and whole grains. This helps ensure you get quality calories that support your fitness goals.

5. Lay down food and refreshments

If you have accumulated 500 calories of exercise, you don’t have to eat them in one swoop. Instead, consider spreading them on several meals or refreshments throughout the day. This can help prevent overeating and maintain stable energy levels.

Why does Myfitnesspal add the exercise back?

Myfitnesspal It adds calories exercise to your everyday calorie goal to help you balance your energy intake with energy expenditure.

As Brookell White remarks, “your calorie goal counts on the basis of your weight goals, depending on whether you want to lose weight, maintain or gain weight. Technically, she would be back in her calories. ”

However, this option should always be based on your individual situation and goals, says White.

Bottom line

Finally, whether you should eat back your exercise calories depends on your situation.

If you are trying to lose weight, be careful when they eat. If you focus on building muscle or maintaining your weight, if you are hungry, eat these other calories.

Either way, it is necessary to listen to your body, monitor your progress and make adjustments as needed.

Originally published on December 15, 2016; Updated on February 17, 2025

Contribution Ask a dietologist: Should I eat back my exercise calories? He appeared for the first time Myfitnesspal blog.