A bit confused

KT022

So I've read some posts and a lot of them say to eat your exercise calories back...

Would this still apply if I have burnt say 500 calories, to take my overall caloric intake to 1200 - or is it more important for me to eat them back if I drop below 1200?

I'm not trying to starve myself to 1200, because that's silly, but I'm just trying to control my calories, because that's where I tend to trip up (mmm peanut butter)

TavistockToad

if your calorie goal is 1200, and you exercise and burn 500, then you should eat 1700 to get your NET to 1200.

grimendale

Agree. MFP expects you to eat back your calories, regardless of what your calorie goal is. Mine is set at 2000, but I still eat back everything I burn to net 2000.

marshallexi

I could not eat all mine back every day, it would be a struggle. I just eat as and when I'm hungry and aim for a good gross total for my height and weight.

KT022

Thanks guys The idea of eating back my lost calories still seems a little... pointless but I guess with the calorie deficit already added in to my daily total, then it makes more sense... slightly

TavistockToad

Thanks guys The idea of eating back my lost calories still seems a little... pointless but I guess with the calorie deficit already added in to my daily total, then it makes more sense... slightly

just remember that there is such thing as too large a calorie deficit!

Mokey41

You can eat them back but just be cautious of how many. Unless you have some absolute concrete proof of exactly what you burn then I'd take about 1/2 to eat back. Most of us are not great at estimates and tend to under estimate the food we eat and over estimate the exercise we go. You can really mess up your effort if both are off by a couple hundred.

lilcassers

YES. 1200 is way too low if you exercise daily. Your body may go into starvation mode.