1200 calories - should I be eating exercise calories back?

Heatherloulou87
Heatherloulou87 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I am currently doing 1200 calories a day. I workout 5-6 times a week and walk 2 miles 5 x a week.

Should I be eating my exercise calories back from my daily workouts and power walk?

Thanks

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Yes. Assuming your goal came from MFP, it isn't accounting for the extra calories you're burning through exercise.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,927 Member
    yes, absolutely! Though a 2 miles walk likely won't burn an awful lot.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,740 Member
    If you don't, your nutrition will be impacted which can have health consequences in the long term. It is hard to get good nutrition on only 1200 net calories a day. Eating 800-1000 makes it much harder. Losing your hair is only one of many issues that can ensue.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

    However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Yes.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Yes.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,160 Member
    Yes.

    Besides, they taste the best. I ate all of 'em, through a year-ish of losing 50+ pounds, and for 5+ years of maintenance since.

    1200 calories is already a minimum, quite low for an average-height woman who isn't inactive, maybe older besides. It was too low for me, at age 59, 5'5", sedentary outside of intentional exercise, even when eating back all my exercise calories on top of it. (I do tend to be a weirdo, calorie-needs-wise, but the point is that it's not even the case that *all* older, sedentary, non-tall women need to go as low as 1200, let alone women who are younger, taller, more active, etc.).

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