Do you use the Calories you burn?

sheggs1

Hi I'm trying to lose weight, just wanted to know if you are meant to use the Calories you burn through Exercise? Some say Yes and others No, want to be doing this correctly. I exercise 3/4 times a week and roughly burn around 500/600 per workout. I'm currently on 1280 a day without the extras. What do you all suggest. Thanks.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

What type of work out are you doing and how long for?
What weight and height are you?

I eat my calories back as years of tracking has shown me I can. I started eating back 50% and then adjusted that by my weight lost or gained over 6 week periods.

gataman3000

You should eat them back, your weightloss will be slower but the risk of cheating becomes smaller.

kq1981

I eat at least half. If I'm going out I'll excersise early on in the morning so I've got extra calories for that night

sijomial

Ask yourself why would they be added in the first place if you weren't supposed to eat them.
Your goal is 1280 + exercise calories.

Then second question would be how would you ever be able to maintain your weight when you get to goal if you don't account for a legitimate calorie need of your body.

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

Machka9

When I was on a mission to lose weight, I ate about half my calories back.

When my weight loss slowed as I neared my goal, I started eating most of them back ... especially on days when I do a lot of exercise.

sweetpea813

I use them for a cushion. If I'm hungry, I'll eat. If I'm not hungry, I leave them. But I'm at 1600 calories a day. I would eat them if I was at 1280.

tinkerbellang83

I eat all of mine now as I'm fairly confident my calorie burns are accurate as it's reflected in my weight loss rate, but 50% is a good starting point if you aren't too sure. Weigh in at least weekly and you should be able to see if your weight trend correlates to the loss you're expecting from your MFP settings. If you're losing more than expected at the end of 4 weeks, eat more of your exercise calories and if you're losing less, eat less of your exercise calories.