Should I eat my exercise calories?

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pussingtonp
pussingtonp Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all!
I am finally logging accurately, weighing and measuring everything, and taking a serious shot at loosing weight. I am 183lbs and 5ft 3, aiming to loose 55lbs.

MFP has recommended I eat 1200 cals a day, which I have been sticking to (for 4 days..but still) but I want to make sure I start with good habits, so I figured I would ask before I get too far.

Should I be eating into my exercise calories earned?
4/5 days I walk 5kms briskly (I used a fitness tracker on my phone to get my speed) so I burn around 200 cals each walk. Yesterday I had extra time so I did a 30 minute intense round of Just Dance, taking my calories burned to around 500.

I did not eat into these calories, but I went to bed hungry. So just wondering what you guys suggest?

Replies

  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    Yes.
  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
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    big yes - at least half.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited August 2015
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    You might get a mix of responses from here because some people believe firmly that you should while others do not.

    The general consensus is that you should eat back no more than half. This is because a lot of exercises, equipment readings especially, are often inaccurate. By leaving that room of error, you don't risk going over without knowing.

    I typically burn about 800 calories a day, and eat back 200 of them without feeling too hungry during the day. It's something you can play around with, and see what happens.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    If you're feeling unmanageably hungry, you probably should eat back at least some of them.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    calories burned during exercise can be wrong, by a lot.

    I would say know what you need to eat daily, your TDEE.
    Then eat 20% less than that.....regardless of calories burned during exercise.

    e.g.
    If you need 2000 calories to maintain your current weight.
    Then to lose, you would want to eat around 1600
    any calories burnt during exercise would just be gravy on your mashed potatoes.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Yes, you should.
  • Becky_charles29
    Becky_charles29 Posts: 125 Member
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    I eat some of them back - sometimes all, sometimes only 100 or so depending on what my body is telling me
  • pussingtonp
    pussingtonp Posts: 59 Member
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    Thanks for the responses! All super useful. I think I should eat into it but not all of it, as many have suggested, as like MityMax96 said - I could be estimating my calories wrong when working out.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Yes - because this is how MFP is designed. You got 1200 BEFORE exercise. That way people who can't / won't exercise, still lose weight.

    However, as previous posters have pointed out calorie burns are tough to estimate. So start by eating back half. Then after a couple weeks see how you are progressing. If you are losing too quickly, eat more.

    The reason for adding calories for your workouts is, really large deficits make it hard for your body to support existing lean muscle. The closer you get to goal, the more important this becomes.
  • whiteblossom14
    whiteblossom14 Posts: 240 Member
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    scottyxxx wrote: »
    Hello all!
    I am finally logging accurately, weighing and measuring everything, and taking a serious shot at loosing weight. I am 183lbs and 5ft 3, aiming to loose 55lbs.

    MFP has recommended I eat 1200 cals a day, which I have been sticking to (for 4 days..but still) but I want to make sure I start with good habits, so I figured I would ask before I get too far.

    Should I be eating into my exercise calories earned?
    4/5 days I walk 5kms briskly (I used a fitness tracker on my phone to get my speed) so I burn around 200 cals each walk. Yesterday I had extra time so I did a 30 minute intense round of Just Dance, taking my calories burned to around 500.

    I did not eat into these calories, but I went to bed hungry. So just wondering what you guys suggest?

    Wow it was like reading about myself. Same size nearly same weight. I have been doing more and more exercise to increase my weight loss. Sat two days at the same weight. Then lost 0.3kg thought it might be a bit more after all my hard work. My intake is 1200 calories was going to try and eat some of them back to see what happens.
    Look forward to hearing how you get on. Please feel free if you need an extra friend to motivate you add me. Xx
  • whatatime2befit
    whatatime2befit Posts: 625 Member
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    Yes. I eat back about half. I look at it this way, i'm given 1200 cals a day. 1200 is the minimum recommended for women to eat, for your body to function. If i'm burning any of that 1200 my body isn't getting what it needs to fuel my workouts (I strength train for 90 mins, 3 times a week, plus cardio (run/walk) alternate days). To fuel those workouts I need more than the 1200 allotted to me.

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