Calorie intake vs. calorie burning???

jkl555

Hello everyone! My names Jenni I'm from NJ! I've had my fitness pal for years and this is my first time asking a question! So I've heard that you lose weight when you burn more than you intake. I usually come close to my calorie goal everyday, however once I add in my excercise to my diary (whether I went to the gym, did insanity, went for a hike etc) and hit complete, it tells me that I'm not eating enough calories in a day and I need to up my calorie intake. But wouldn't that just be a total wash for everything I burned during my workout? I'm so confused haha, any answers/advice would be appreciated!

Asuperstar12

I know I usually make sure i eat 2,000 calories a day and work out or do carb cycling to lose weight. I use the tracker mainly to make sure I'm not over eating. It usually says that I have completed my daily log under my calorie goal and I think that is fine as long as your eating enough and not starving yourself of any nutrients.

serindipte

MFP sets your calorie goal with a deduction already included from your total usual burn. You should eat at least up to your calorie goal and, if you burn quite a few calories with extra exercise, eat back at least half of those.

Christine_72

The calories mfp has given you has the deficit built in, eat those and if you log accurately you should lose at your chosen rate.
When you exercise, you are awarded more calories to eat to bring you back in line with your orignal calorie goal.

Many people think if their tdee or calories to maintain is say 2000, then they have to exercise off more than 2000 calories everyday to lose weight. This is incorrect and damn near impossible.

malibu927

MFP is set for you to lose weight without exercising, as you burn plenty of calories just living and going about your day. When you do exercise, you're burning additional calories. In order to keep your deficit consistent and fuel your body it's expected that you will eat at least a portion of those calories back (even more important if you're on a 1200 calorie goal).

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation

Christine_72

Also, depending where you're getting your exercise burns from.. Many people start off by eating back 50-70% of them to start and adjust later on if they need. Losing too much each week, eat back more, not losing, eat back less.
The reason for only eating a percentage back is because exercise calories are often overestimated, so it's safer to leave a small buffer. Ideally we should eat back 100%, but not even my fitbit is that pinpoint accurate.

JeromeBarry1

@jkl555, The precise amount of calories you burn from your various exercises may not be well-characterized. For this reason, many users limit their 'exercise calories eaten' to 50% or 75%. My personal method is to exercise before breakfast, then have breakfast. My body thinks that I'm replacing burned calories. I think I'm just having breakfast. After I have lunch and dinner and any snacks, I'm done eating and don't actually attribute any of my food to "exercise calories eaten". That works for me most days. On some days I exercise so very much that I begin to feel weak and dizzy. That's a signal that I need to eat, so I do.

TimothyFish

What the others have already said is correct, but if your goal for exercising is to burn fat calories then it can seem like a waste to eat more calories after exercising. This is the wrong way to view exercise. Yes, it burns calories and reduces fat, but the real benefit of exercise is that it does things like strengthens the heart, improves the immune system, improves our ability to think, among other things. Also, when you exercise you are building muscle, which will increase amount of calories your body is burning even when you aren't exercising. So even if you eat enough to replace the calories that you burn during exercise, you are still gaining a great deal by exercising.

Asuperstar12

I agree with @TimothyFish this is why you should be doing strength training as well as cardio it will help build up muscle which in turn builds up you metabolism and fat burning ability in your body. Also the more muscle and higher metabolism you have the hungrier you may get so make sure to always have like a healthy protein snack with you during the day. Also eating small meals(or snacks and meals) more often will help with metabolism and burning fat. Just keep an eye on it and use your judgement on what you think is best for your body. Omly you know your body and how things are working for you.