Eating calories burned

hollyglanville0912

So I aim to consume 1200 calories a day and then do exercise on top of that... I try not to ever touch the calories i have burned but I have read a lot of people on here saying you should eat the calories you've burned as well

I have around 40-50lbs to lose and I'm aiming for 2lbs a week but I want to make sure I'm doing it in the healthiest and most sustainable way

The 1200 calories I do eat are nutritious foods -whole grains, beans, pulses, fruit and veg etc

What are peoples opinion on exercise calories?

Sabine_Stroehm

Before I reply, would you be willing to share your height and weight with us? We know you're 25, and so many of us will suggest that 1200 isn't enough, and 1200 without "eating back" really isn't enough.

ps: I eat more than you and am twice your age.

Do you know your TDEE and BMR?

editorgrrl

The MFP defaults assume you're going to eat back your exercise calories. Some people do calculations via other websites, then customize their settings (TDEE - 20%, etc.) in such a way that their exercise calories are built in. Some people use the MFP defaults but only eat back half their calories (to make up for the fact that the calorie burns are inflated).

You should eat back at least some of your exercise calories. Start w/ 100% for a few weeks. If you plateau, try 50%. Everybody's different. It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.

hollyglanville0912

Before I reply, would you be willing to share your height and weight with us? We know you're 25, and so many of us will suggest that 1200 isn't enough, and 1200 without "eating back" really isn't enough.

ps: I eat more than you and am twice your age.

Do you know your TDEE and BMR?

I am 5'4 and currently 166lbs

MoreBean13

Short answer: Yes, eat them

Longer answer: It makes a difference what kind of exercise you're doing, for what duration, and how you calculate the calories. For example, if you're running 5 miles a day and not eating back the calories, you're doing yourself a serious disservice and looking at an injury in your future. If you're wearing an HRM that tells you you are burning 900 calories in a zumba class- it's wrong and you shouldn't be eating 900 extra calories for 50 minutes of zumba. You should be taking an accurate account of your calories burned and eating those back.....or switch to TDEE method calorie calculation.

1200 without exercise calories isn't a good plan.

Mr_Knight

So I aim to consume 1200 calories a day and then do exercise on top of that... I try not to ever touch the calories i have burned but I have read a lot of people on here saying you should eat the calories you've burned as well

It depends on what you mean by "exercise". If you're talking about walking for 30 minutes, it doesn't matter whether you eat them back or not because there aren't enough of them to matter. If you're talking about running 5k several times a week, you'll likely run into significant performance issues from lack of fuel.

megsmom2

So...you didn't read and understand how MFP works before you started?
When in doubt...read the manual.

RllyGudTweetr

The MFP defaults assume you're going to eat back your exercise calories. Some people do calculations via other websites, then customize their settings (TDEE - 20%, etc.) in such a way that their exercise calories are built in. Some people use the MFP defaults but only eat back half their calories (to make up for the fact that the calorie burns are inflated).

You should eat back at least some of your exercise calories. Start w/ 100% for a few weeks. If you plateau, try 50%. Everybody's different. It'll take trial & error to find what works for you.

This.