Counting calories + exercising?

avajackson273012

Okay so I understand the whole counting calories but what I don't understand is how they add in the exercising. Okay so my calorie intake is 1600 and I may have breakfast which is 320 calories (flavored oatmeal) so then it'll be like 1300 or something in that range but after I get back from my morning walk it'll be back up to 1500 or something like that ... Is it okay that I use this extra calories that I burned off to eat with or am I not supposed to use those calories?

Ready2Rock206

Do you think they'd give you extra calories if you weren't meant to use them?? If you're following MFP as intended you would eat back at least a portion of them.

huntersmom2016

The calorie intake has your deficit figured in. So if you exercise, it gives you more calories you can eat and still keep the same deficit. You can choose not to eat those extra calories gained thru exercise and only eat 1600 and it'll make your calorie deficit even bigger. Sounds great, but if you are having high calorie burns in your workouts, it might be a good idea to eat some of those calories back bc your body needs that energy supply. The decision is all yours. I personally try to only eat my 1460, but some days I'm just so hungry I'll eat the extra and I don't feel guilty at all.

meritage4

Only eat back about 1/2 of your exercise calories . That is what worked for me.

terbusha

I completely ignore the exercise calories and focus on my calorie intake. I'll adjust it every few weeks or so depending on the progress I'm making in fat loss or weight gain...the actual thing I'm interested in changing.

What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

diannethegeek

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1