Calorie deficit

pattifaivre

Do you have to eat more when you exercise? Or should you stay within your calorie allowance.

kshama2001

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. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

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

yirara

So yes, what kshama2001 said. Don't undereat, which you might do if you exercise a lot and don't eat back at least some part of the exercise calories.

Let me show you why. Say you're a woman and due to the weekly weightloss goal you've chosen MFP has given you 1200 calories. Now you exercise and you burn 400 calories. This is pretty much the same as only eating 800 calories and not exercising at all. It's just not healthy. The minimum for men is 1500, btw. If you've been given a lot more calories you can afford to eat less of your exercise calories, provided your weightless is even then not too fast as you'd otherwise lose a ton of muscles next to fat.

cmriverside

I used myfitnesspal the way it is designed to be used, because it worked. Read that link above.

There are a lot of variables that are in your control and you'll have to run the experiment yourself to figure out calories - like we all did. Some are better at logging food. Some are better at estimating calories for exercise. Some of us just used the tool and adjusted when necessary.

Do what you want. I would suggest picking a method and sticking to it for 4-6 weeks. That's how you collect good trending data from which to base your ongoing decisions.

collinsje1

I typically do not eat my exercise calories back; I use those calories as a buffer for logging inaccuracies. Take yesterday for example. I ran 3.1 miles yesterday and ate right about 1600 calories, but I didn't log the ketchup I used with dinner or the lite western dressing I had at lunch. So, my exercise calories make up for that or give me a little wiggle room.

AnnPT77

I use the MFP method described above. One can also average in one's exercise plans via a TDEE calculator outside MFP, and set calorie goal manually. Either way, a person should account for their exercise, IMO.

I ate every delicious exercise calorie all through weight loss from obese to a healthy weight, and for 7+ years of maintaining a healthy weight since, all of that following about 30 previous years of overweight obesity.

Someone doing a small amount of exercise, and not trying to lose weight aggressively fast via low calorie intake, can probably safely let that exercise increase their weight loss rate.

Someone trying to lose very fast for their current size, then doing daily intense exercise and not eating it back, is likely to have negative outcomes. Fast loss isn't health-promoting. At the low-negative end, it can trigger weakness, fatigue, hair thinning, and that sort of thing. At extremes, it can cause gallbladder problems, unnecessarily much muscle loss alongside fat loss, and more.

In between those extremes, it's a question of how much risk a person wants to take. I don't like betting my health, personally.

Also, if exercise performance is important, then the exercise needs fuel to be effective. I was athletically active when obese (for about a dozen years, in fact). I wanted to maintain my exercise performance during weight loss, and did.

I personally like separately accounting for exercise. As my activity routine changes (seasonally or because of illness/injury/surgery limiting activity), I know how to maintain my weight with or without exercise. That's useful knowledge.