need help!

mzconceptiin86

Can someone please explain to me how this works? If my calorie goal is 1370 and i burned 299 calories exercising. If I eat 1400 calories did I go over calorie goal? Or is exercising basically earning more calories?

TheAwakening22

According to MFP, no. MFP will add the 299 burnt calories to your goal making it 1669. I think you have the right idea. Exercising does "earn" you more calories. However, the calories burned is just an estimate. I think most people would say that estimate is inflated. So, the rule of thumb is to try and not eat back the calories burned.

ridge4mfp

Exercising earns more calories, if your calorie goal came from MFP. That being said, how much of them to eat back depends on the source giving you the calorie burn. MFP estimates high. The recommendation is to eat back 50-75%.

middlehaitch

' So, the rule of thumb is to try and not eat back the calories burned.'

Not quite the rule of thumb......

MFP gives you your deficit in your base calories and you are supposed to eat back calories earned through exercise. However, MFP overestimates the calorie burn so eat back 50-75% and adjust to suit your weight loss goal.

Track your calories with a scale for solids, measuring cup for liquids.

Cheers, h.

shadow2soul

MFP gives you a calorie goal that DOES NOT include any exercise. This is so that you will lose at the rate you selected even if you don't workout.
When you workout, your goal is to NET the calorie goal MFP gave you or close to it. This is why MFP adds calories to eat when you workout.

Calories consumed - exercise burn = NET

If you workout your total daily calorie expenditure goes up. To maintain the same deficit and to keep your deficit reasonable you should eat some of your exercise calories back (50% is a good place to start and adjust up or down based on your results over say 4-6 weeks).