To eat back or not eat back that is the question.

madameb80

I'm so confused by this. My fit bit is synced to MFP. My calorie intake is 1200 and on my first week last week lost 5lbs. (Hope it isn't a fluke) i have a desk bases job so very sedentary during the day and only get my steps in on an eve. I've been doing high intense classes which my fitbit registers. By the time it does my adjustment on MFP means I've burnt off more than I've eaten. So my question is...... do I eat back even Some???? Thank you xx

cwolfman13

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

JeromeBarry1

While I don't use a Fit Bit, my cardio exercise leads to mfp granting me a higher macro budget for everything. I care greatly to eat all the protein in my budget and will do so with a variety of high-protein foods. As happened last evening, if I complete the protein goal with much remaining carb budget, I'm perfectly happy to quit eating for the day.

TeethOfTheHydra

I think the answer is - its up to you. I think you need to compare your real-life experience (i.e. weight loss/gain) with your (total cals eaten - cals burned during exercise) and see if they are consistent. If they're not, pick one side of that formula and tweak it until everything agrees.

That said, I do most of my exercise at the end of the day (745pm - 9pm). Since I know that in advance, I've already planned out my eating to account for the (estimated) burned calories and the deficit/surplus I actually want to reach by the end of the night. That is to say, I don't wait until after I've exercised to eat back calories.

loulamb7

madameb80 wrote: »

....By the time it does my adjustment on MFP means I've burnt off more than I've eaten. So my question is...... do I eat back even Some???? Thank you xx

If this is accurate and you are netting negative calories then you're severely under-eating. Goal is to net a minimum of 1200 calories, including eating exercise calories.

Maxxitt

Eat at least some back - 1200 c/day is pretty minimal to begin with. Keep data for 6 weeks (calories in, calories out, weight) and adjust accordingly. If you are menstruating, your scale weight will vary through your cycle so it takes a while to really know what is going on.