Eating back exercise calories?

Halziees

I usually workout 6 days a week, averaging about 500 calories burned every time. My calorie intake is set to 1530 (0.5 lb weight loss/week). Yesterday, for example, I ate approximately 1262 calories (which is typical of my eating habits). So my net was approximately 762, which seems low… but to me, "eating back" exercise calories seems counter intuitive/productive.

However, I am noticing I am SO drained & exhausted lately (and cleared of any new medical problems, just had a full work-up). So, if I may ask… what is everyone's opinions on eating back exercise calories at these levels? I'm not hungry though, just extra exhausted.

I am attempting to lower body fat, not necessarily "lose weight", and build lean body mass. My BMI is 20.4% at present.

I know the eating back debate has happened many times, but any targeted help is much appreciated! Just trying to keep my energy levels consistent. Thanks in advance!

glitznglamour15

I personally eat back my excersise calories only if I am hungry. If your not hungry, then don't eat. As long as your hitting your calorie goal or going above it, then your fine. If your tired/exhausted, I suggest maybe eating more at each meal then you currently do, because it might mean that your blood sugar levels are just somewhat low. Or sleep more xD haha but I know, sleeping lots is a luxury and life doesn't have time for that! Your calorie intake sounds pretty good though!

zeal26

I've started eating back my calories and feel MUCH better than I did before and my weight loss even sped up. You are already at a deficit, burning calories through exercise just puts you in a larger deficit. You could try eating back half and seeing how you feel and then eating back slightly more if you're still not feeling great.

veganbaum

I personally eat back my excersise calories only if I am hungry. If your not hungry, then don't eat. As long as your hitting your calorie goal or going above it, then your fine. If your tired/exhausted, I suggest maybe eating more at each meal then you currently do, because it might mean that your blood sugar levels are just somewhat low. Or sleep more xD haha but I know, sleeping lots is a luxury and life doesn't have time for that! Your calorie intake sounds pretty good though!

Eating your exercise calories IS eating at your calorie goal.

To OP: when using MFP's goals as set for your, then, yes, eat those calories, or around 75% of them if you're worried about inaccuracies. It is not counter-productive. MFP gives you an initial deficit to lose weight - in your case 1530. When you exercise, you make your deficit larger and are meant to eat back those calories to properly fuel your body. Hunger is not the best cue for a lot of us, hence why we need to count calories, learn proper portions, etc. Your exhaustion might be alleviated if you eat those calories like you're supposed to - or not, I don't know what your life is like, but regardless, you are supposed to eat them since you already have a healthy deficit before exercising.

RelentlessCherry

I agree with both zeal26 and glitznglamour. It could be down to blood sugar levels, in which case you might want to look at what you're eating as well as how much. Little and often is good advice for regulating blood sugar levels. Perhaps try combining a GI diet with your calorie counting and see if that helps.
Or you could also just try eating some of the calories back If it were me I would try aiming for a net of 1000 (after exercise), that way you're still under your suggested intake but eating more than you currently do.

Personally I usually eat some of mine back, especially if I want to save them up for something (like a 10" pepperoni pizza I just finished for my dinner lol). Did more exercise than normal today just so I could have that pizza lol.

sbarella

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

SezxyStef

Think of exercise calories as this..."fuel for your next workout"...

Even if you are not "hungry" it is important to fuel your body for the next time.

I experience this myself for example on Thursday I was not hungry for dinner...so I ate light and sitll had over 400 calories left but knowing I was lifting on Friday I ate more food...mainly carbs and treats as I had hit my protien macro and had calories left...

tigersword

I agree with both zeal26 and glitznglamour. It could be down to blood sugar levels, in which case you might want to look at what you're eating as well as how much. Little and often is good advice for regulating blood sugar levels. Perhaps try combining a GI diet with your calorie counting and see if that helps.
Or you could also just try eating some of the calories back If it were me I would try aiming for a net of 1000 (after exercise), that way you're still under your suggested intake but eating more than you currently do.

Personally I usually eat some of mine back, especially if I want to save them up for something (like a 10" pepperoni pizza I just finished for my dinner lol). Did more exercise than normal today just so I could have that pizza lol.

It's not a blood sugar issue, she already stated no medical problems. The human body does an extremely good job at maintaining steady blood sugar levels. Without a medical problem causing it, you will never feel a change in your blood sugar, because it doesn't change enough to be noticeable.

Eat back the exercise calories. That's what they're for. The drained feeling is called "starvation."

deksgrl

MFP does not include exercise in its calculations for what you need
This is why it adds calories for you to eat when you do. It is fuel. Eat it. You surely won't be building any lean body mass by netting 800 calories.

Halziees

glitznglamour - thank you for your input! sleeping is definitely a luxury I wish I had more time for! I try for 8 hours every night, but sometimes only get away with 6.

zeal26 - thank you! I think I like the idea of eating SOME of my exercise cals back. I dunno, it's old school dieting like engrained in my head… calories = bad, haha. But I keep hearing about the success of eating back calories, much like your experience.

veganbaum - thank you SO much. This is the most logical to me; I will eat back around 75% of them. It's a good introduction for me, I think. I really appreciate you explaining this to me in a way that makes sense, especially since hunger is definitely not the best way for me to judge if I should eat or not. Because I *can* eat quite a bit, if I let myself.

RelentlessChe - thank you! Your pizza analogy is part of the reason why I haven't been eating my calories back, I figure I can save them for a rainy day (aka candy).

sbarella - many, many thanks. Great link.

SezxyStef - thank you! I do need to start viewing food as fuel, I know this is one of my downfalls. I still see "good" and "bad" foods, see calories as detrimental, etc.

tigersword - thank you very much!

deksgrl - thank you for this very straightforward explanation. Especially since I do want to be gaining lean mass. This is what I needed to hear. It's just a hard concept for me to grasp.


Many, many thanks, all!

AllOutof_Bubblegum

If 1,262 calories is typical for you......how did you get overweight to begin with? Legitimately curious.


But to answer your question , you ARE supposed to eat back your exercise calories. It's not counterproductive.

Halziees

AllOutof_Bubb - with a BMI of 20.4, I don't believe I am "overweight". But I guess to each their own.
I am trying to get fit and lose body fat.

nomad1000

I exercise every day and eat back some to most of the cals. Shoot, I swear some days I exercise extra so I can have more chocolate, fitness be damned. Like today, I worked like a madwoman in the yard so I could have a Chipotle burrito and ice cream tonight.

So yes, I eat back my cals and have been losing.

Graelwyn75

I mostly eat them back and always have done.
I would not have gotten the physique I have, had I not.
My bodyfat is currently 14%. Food fuels your workouts. And a good workout, especially weights, fuels fat loss.
It is a very rare day I eat under 2000 calories. Most days I eat over that and up to 2800.

weird_me2

If you're having a hard time getting past how counterproductive it is to eat back your exercise calories, think of out this way-it's actually hurting you to not easy then back because you are getting worn down. What happens when you are tired? You tend to move less and you obviously have less energy for your next workout. I like what PP said about them being fuel for your next workout.

That being said, i don't think you always have to eat then back, but i think your average intake for the week needs to be more than your average goal is (minus exercise). My daily goal is 2090...today I'm ending at only 1400, but yesterday i was at 2500 with exercise calories abs one day i was over 3000and overt even with exercise calories. It all averages out in the end to about 2200 for the week for me.

Spyderbaby

You can't build lean body mass on that little calories a day, you're not giving your body anything to build from. You're drained and exhausted because your basically starving yourself. 1200 calories and exercising 6 days a week, you're pretty much just spinning your wheels. Eat more, lift heavy.

lemonlionheart

If you are exercising that much and feeling fatigued, it could be that you aren't getting enough nutrients. This was happening to me a couple of months ago when I joined a gym and started working out heaps. I wasn't eating back my calories but then I realised that I was way under for protein and iron as MFP will increase these when you add workouts to your diary. I still don't eat back all my exercise cals but I try to eat some of them and maybe allow myself a nice meal or two on the weekend, and I also take multivitamins for iron now

Halziees

nomad1000 - heh, this is what I did tonight. Tomorrow is my rest day, so I figured it would be okay to eat back my cals from today with some left over Easter candy (which is thankfully all gone now)!

Graelwyn75 - you are where I want to be!! Low body fat, high muscle, high calories. Can I ask, how long did it take you to achieve your current BF%? And thank you, because this gives me some sense of calm about eating them back.

weird_me2 - thank you! I am having a hard time getting over the thought of eating them back. But, I like the idea of monitoring for the week, not the day. That idea of being at a certain level for the week doesn't confound me as much as eating back calories every day (as I know I have some days where I am under or over).

Spyderbaby - Thank you! This is the habit I am trying to get into now. I began lifting 3 weeks ago, and I am loving it to pieces. I am still trying to figure out what is considering lifting heavy though. Any suggestions? Currently, I am doing two sets, 12 reps on all my weights. I try to keep the weight high enough that I fail on rep 11-12 on the second set.

leahthelemon - thank you! I think that is the trap I have fallen into, actually… I am working out a lot, and not getting enough iron or protein. I recently started adding in a daily protein shake, because otherwise I just don't get enough… and an iron pill, too! Hopefully I will start to feel the benefits of these things, too (along with eating back some of my calories). I do like the idea of just monitoring cals for the week, instead of being so vigilant on each day. So long as I reach my levels for the week, I'll be in a good spot it seems!

Spyderbaby

I do a complicated 4 day rotation that my brother set up for me. (He's a personal trainer) But on the lifts I do sets of I usually do 3 x 8-10 reps. I eat a ton of chicken breast, ground turkey, veggies, eggs, yogurt, brown rice, protein shakes, usually 2400 or so calories a day. I never go to sleep until I've logged 2000 minimum. It's working, I've lost 3 inches in my waist alone over the last 8 weeks. I also quit weighing myself, because muscle is so much denser than fat.
You should definitely listen to anything Graelwyn has to say, because 14% bodyfat is phenomenal. She definitely knows what she's doing!
Good luck!

Halziees

I do a complicated 4 day rotation that my brother set up for me. (He's a personal trainer) But on the lifts I do sets of I usually do 3 x 8-10 reps. I eat a ton of chicken breast, ground turkey, veggies, eggs, yogurt, brown rice, protein shakes, usually 2400 or so calories a day. I never go to sleep until I've logged 2000 minimum. It's working, I've lost 3 inches in my waist alone over the last 8 weeks. I also quit weighing myself, because muscle is so much denser than fat.
You should definitely listen to anything Graelwyn has to say, because 14% bodyfat is phenomenal. She definitely knows what she's doing!
Good luck!

Thank you so much!! You're awesome! Your diet sounds similar to mine, but just at more calories. I am hoping after raising my cals, this is how things will start to go with me (losing inches and gaining muscle). I am finally starting to see a slight difference in my body shape, and it's pretty exciting.

nomorebingesgirl2014

Bump - need to read later

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Halziees

It amazes me that everyday this question is posted. A simple search would give you your answer in a few minutes as to why you really should eat them back. And, whenever you see people starting their post with, "IMO, ...", you can pretty much ignore, because it's followed with, "I don't eat them back because..." Followed by ridiculous reason with zero regard for how MFP is set up for you to lose weight.

Yes, for Pete's sake, eat them back. I'm not going to say why because a search would provide you with over 3 years of answers daily on this question.

Thank you for your input, but I have to say, if these questions bother you so much… then don't look, and don't answer them. I highly doubt my question on this board interfered so greatly with your life that you had to post a rude reply. I prefaced my question with how I know this debate happens a lot. I also stated I was looking for targeted advice -- which is why I would presume MOST people ask this question again and again.

Some of us need advice & guidance. That's what these forums are for. They're also for support, which being rude does not provide.

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Halziees

It amazes me that everyday this question is posted. A simple search would give you your answer in a few minutes as to why you really should eat them back. And, whenever you see people starting their post with, "IMO, ...", you can pretty much ignore, because it's followed with, "I don't eat them back because..." Followed by ridiculous reason with zero regard for how MFP is set up for you to lose weight.

Yes, for Pete's sake, eat them back. I'm not going to say why because a search would provide you with over 3 years of answers daily on this question.

Thank you for your input, but I have to say, if these questions bother you so much… then don't look, and don't answer them. I highly doubt my question on this board interfered so greatly with your life that you had to post a rude reply. I prefaced my question with how I know this debate happens a lot. I also stated I was looking for targeted advice -- which is why I would presume MOST people ask this question again and again.

Some of us need advice & guidance. That's what these forums are for. They're also for support, which being rude does not provide.

A simple search would have saved you more time than typing a reply to explain how my reply was perceived by you as rude. Next time, SEARCH first.

as I already explained, in my original post, I DID search first. I was looking for targeted advice, which only you have a problem with, it seems.
I'll choose to save us both some time now, as I won't be responding any further to you.

looseseal

Well, I don't know. The scale was stuck for me for the past 2+ weeks ... it simply would. not. budge. I was on-plan, I was exercising, eating right, eating back about 75% of my exercise cals. A couple of days ago I looked at my average cal intake and exercise burn. MFP has my bmr at 1330. I was eating, on average, 1580 cals/day and burning 290 via exercise. Again, the scale would not budge, not up not down, nothing. Two days ago I stopped eating back so much, hitting 1400 cals/day instead. Finally dropped a lb.

Maybe I'm just dense but .... I don't get the "eating back today's burned cals to fuel tomorrow's workout". Aren't the cals you consume today fueling today's workout and the cals you consume tomorrow fueling tomorrow's workout?

I've posted this in other threads, the whole "net cal" thing just confuses me. I seem to be able to lose weight if I stick within a certain small range of cals rather than eating back what I've burned. I have my food deficit set to lose 1 lb/wk and any cals burned on top of that via exercise might bump that to 1 1/4, which is all I want to lose in any given week. Also, I view the exercise cals as a "buffer" to keep me in that 1 lb/wk range, in case I do eat more, Oh, does that make any sense? lol It does to me.

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deksgrl

Well, I don't know. The scale was stuck for me for the past 2+ weeks ... it simply would. not. budge. I was on-plan, I was exercising, eating right, eating back about 75% of my exercise cals. A couple of days ago I looked at my average cal intake and exercise burn. MFP has my bmr at 1330. I was eating, on average, 1580 cals/day and burning 290 via exercise. Again, the scale would not budge, not up not down, nothing. Two days ago I stopped eating back so much, hitting 1400 cals/day instead. Finally dropped a lb.

Maybe I'm just dense but .... I don't get the "eating back today's burned cals to fuel tomorrow's workout". Aren't the cals you consume today fueling today's workout and the cals you consume tomorrow fueling tomorrow's workout?

I've posted this in other threads, the whole "net cal" thing just confuses me. I seem to be able to lose weight if I stick within a certain small range of cals rather than eating back what I've burned. I have my food deficit set to lose 1 lb/wk and any cals burned on top of that via exercise might bump that to 1 1/4, which is all I want to lose in any given week. Also, I view the exercise cals as a "buffer" to keep me in that 1 lb/wk range, in case I do eat more, Oh, does that make any sense? lol It does to me.

First, the calories MFP gives you is not "BMR". MFP gives you BMR based on your age, height, weight PLUS a bit more for every day activity (but not exercise). So, nevermind this BMR name.

As GuitarJerry said, once it calculates your needs for everyday life, it then subtracts a flat rate depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose. Since you have it set to 1 pound/week, then it is subtracting 500 from your daily needs (not including exercise).

So, here is some math

1330 (the amount MFP says to eat)
-290 (the amount of burn for exercise)
+290 (the amount more you eat for that fuel)
=1330 NET

All together, with the above, you would eat 1620. However, if you think that exercise calculation is off, eat a little less.

According to these numbers, your TDEE would be 2120. (1330 MFP calories +290 exercise calories +500 deficit MFP gave to lose 1 pound per week).

If your TDEE is 2120, and you are eating 1330 - 290 = 1040 (net calories), then your calorie deficit is over 1,000. This is way too steep unless you have more than 75 pounds to lose.

If you are truly measuring food correctly, you should be losing 1 pound per week at about 1600 total calories. I think if you consistently eat between 1400-1600 you will see progress.

looseseal

Well, I don't know. The scale was stuck for me for the past 2+ weeks ... it simply would. not. budge. I was on-plan, I was exercising, eating right, eating back about 75% of my exercise cals. A couple of days ago I looked at my average cal intake and exercise burn. MFP has my bmr at 1330. I was eating, on average, 1580 cals/day and burning 290 via exercise. Again, the scale would not budge, not up not down, nothing. Two days ago I stopped eating back so much, hitting 1400 cals/day instead. Finally dropped a lb.

Maybe I'm just dense but .... I don't get the "eating back today's burned cals to fuel tomorrow's workout". Aren't the cals you consume today fueling today's workout and the cals you consume tomorrow fueling tomorrow's workout?

I've posted this in other threads, the whole "net cal" thing just confuses me. I seem to be able to lose weight if I stick within a certain small range of cals rather than eating back what I've burned. I have my food deficit set to lose 1 lb/wk and any cals burned on top of that via exercise might bump that to 1 1/4, which is all I want to lose in any given week. Also, I view the exercise cals as a "buffer" to keep me in that 1 lb/wk range, in case I do eat more, Oh, does that make any sense? lol It does to me.

First, the calories MFP gives you is not "BMR". MFP gives you BMR based on your age, height, weight PLUS a bit more for every day activity (but not exercise). So, nevermind this BMR name.

As GuitarJerry said, once it calculates your needs for everyday life, it then subtracts a flat rate depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose. Since you have it set to 1 pound/week, then it is subtracting 500 from your daily needs (not including exercise).

So, here is some math

1330 (the amount MFP says to eat)
-290 (the amount of burn for exercise)
+290 (the amount more you eat for that fuel)
=1330 NET

All together, with the above, you would eat 1620. However, if you think that exercise calculation is off, eat a little less.

According to these numbers, your TDEE would be 2120. (1330 MFP calories +290 exercise calories +500 deficit MFP gave to lose 1 pound per week).

If your TDEE is 2120, and you are eating 1330 - 290 = 1040 (net calories), then your calorie deficit is over 1,000. This is way too steep unless you have more than 75 pounds to lose.

If you are truly measuring food correctly, you should be losing 1 pound per week at about 1600 total calories. I think if you consistently eat between 1400-1600 you will see progress.

According to IIFYM , my TDEE is 1913, bmr is 1308, MFP says eat 1330 per day.

All I know is over a little over 2 wk period I was weighing/measuring all my food, averaging 1580 cals per day, averaging 290 exercise burn per day and the damn scale did not budge. At all. Not up, not down, no wiggle. Yes, it should have but it didn't. I cut back to 1480 (1209 net cals) Wed, 1424 (992 net cals) Thurs and the scale was down a solid lb this morning. It seems my body will let go of weight if I eat at the lower end of 1400-1600. Thx for the info/feedback, appreciate it.

looseseal

Well, I don't know. The scale was stuck for me for the past 2+ weeks ... it simply would. not. budge. I was on-plan, I was exercising, eating right, eating back about 75% of my exercise cals. A couple of days ago I looked at my average cal intake and exercise burn. MFP has my bmr at 1330. I was eating, on average, 1580 cals/day and burning 290 via exercise. Again, the scale would not budge, not up not down, nothing. Two days ago I stopped eating back so much, hitting 1400 cals/day instead. Finally dropped a lb.

Maybe I'm just dense but .... I don't get the "eating back today's burned cals to fuel tomorrow's workout". Aren't the cals you consume today fueling today's workout and the cals you consume tomorrow fueling tomorrow's workout?

I've posted this in other threads, the whole "net cal" thing just confuses me. I seem to be able to lose weight if I stick within a certain small range of cals rather than eating back what I've burned. I have my food deficit set to lose 1 lb/wk and any cals burned on top of that via exercise might bump that to 1 1/4, which is all I want to lose in any given week. Also, I view the exercise cals as a "buffer" to keep me in that 1 lb/wk range, in case I do eat more, Oh, does that make any sense? lol It does to me.

MFP already has a built in calorie deficit. So, if you chose to lose .5 lbs, it has decreased you calorie allowance by 250 calories a day. If you chose to lose 1 lb per week, MFP takes away 500 calories per day. So forth and so on. So, there is already a calorie deficit. Now, let's say you chose the maximum, because everyone does that at first.

Not everyone. I've never, ever expected to lose more than 1lb/wk because it's so hard to do. If I set myself to expect that I WILL fall short and be disappointed. I go the opposite route ... aim for 1 lb/wk and if I lose ANYTHING more than that? Icing on the cake!

So, you choose to lose 2 lbs per week. So, MFP takes away 1,000 calories per day so you can lose 2 lbs per week. So, if to maintain your weight, you would eat 3,000 calories, MFP would give you 2,000 per day. Ignore BMR. It is not important. People will argue that it is, but it is not normally relevant here. So, now you're eating at a 1000 calorie deficit everyday to lose 2 lbs per week, and you start exercising. Let's say you burn 500 calories with your exercise. Now, you will lose 2.5 lbs. because you already have the 1,000 that MFP gave you, and you created an additional 500 with exercise. In order to keep yourself in the range you wanted, you need to eat the 500 calories back so you maintain a healthy deficit of 1,000. Does that make sense?

It does ... to a degree. I'm eating at a 500 calorie (food) deficit per day because my goal is 1 lb/wk. If I burn an extra 300 cals/day exercising, now I'm at an 800 cal deficit ... which would give me another 1/4 lb or so loss per wk. So I don't want to eat those exercise cals back ... certainly not all of them, half of them at most.

Now, why not eating back your calories helped you?

There are more reasons than I can list. But, many people on here do not log their food accurately. Many people don't weigh every single thing that goes in their mouth. Many people wing it. Some people just eyeball. That's fine, just understand that if you aren't losing, and you aren't measuring, eating back your exercise isn't the problem. Your accuracy is the issue.

Am as accurate as I can be with my food. Weigh/measure and if I have to estimate something for whatever reason, I estimate high.

Another thing, how many calories burned for exercise. Often, there is quite a bit of over estimating going on here. And HRMs are not any more accurate than anything else.

I use the readings from the treadmill and my pedometer, various on-line sources/cal counters to get a good idea of how much I've burned .... then low ball that number.

Lastly, I'll add that just because you type some info about yourself into a website and it spits out a number, doesn't mean it's right. You may have to make adjustments to that number. The absolute best thing anyone can do for themselves is find there TDEE. this stand for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. I know everyone wants to lose weight. But, if you can find the exact amount of calories where you maintain, this is powerful information. Let's say you find that you can eat 2500 calories, including exercise and you neither lose nor gain, congrats. You've now found your maintenance. Ther reason this is powerful is because you've taken all the guess work out if how to lose, gain, or maintain your weight. If you want to lose, drop it to 2,000 for a 1 lb loss per week. Now, you no longer care what an individual exercise burns. It doesn't even matter to you. You're just monitoring the result in your weekly loss. Keep in mind, as you lose weight, the numbers change, so you have to keep making small adjustments as you go. But, it's easy.

Which brings me to the mythical "plateau". Plateaus are simply energy in = energy out. Hmmmmm. Kind of sounds like maintenance doesn't it? When you hit a plateau, and you will, everyone does, you have to drop calories, increase the frequency of exercise, the intensity of exercise or both, or some combination of all those things.

So, yes, you eat your exercise calories back. But, also, keep in mind that there are many other factors to consider, like are you weighing ALL YOUR FOOD, are you being honest, are you calculating exercise reasonably, etc?

I hope this helps. I wish I could sticky note this stuff. I may write a blog post about all of this and then link it for reference in the future. It's not as difficult or complicated as people make it.

Thanks for all this info/feedback, GJ. I truly appreciate it!

deksgrl

Well, I don't know. The scale was stuck for me for the past 2+ weeks ... it simply would. not. budge. I was on-plan, I was exercising, eating right, eating back about 75% of my exercise cals. A couple of days ago I looked at my average cal intake and exercise burn. MFP has my bmr at 1330. I was eating, on average, 1580 cals/day and burning 290 via exercise. Again, the scale would not budge, not up not down, nothing. Two days ago I stopped eating back so much, hitting 1400 cals/day instead. Finally dropped a lb.

Maybe I'm just dense but .... I don't get the "eating back today's burned cals to fuel tomorrow's workout". Aren't the cals you consume today fueling today's workout and the cals you consume tomorrow fueling tomorrow's workout?

I've posted this in other threads, the whole "net cal" thing just confuses me. I seem to be able to lose weight if I stick within a certain small range of cals rather than eating back what I've burned. I have my food deficit set to lose 1 lb/wk and any cals burned on top of that via exercise might bump that to 1 1/4, which is all I want to lose in any given week. Also, I view the exercise cals as a "buffer" to keep me in that 1 lb/wk range, in case I do eat more, Oh, does that make any sense? lol It does to me.

First, the calories MFP gives you is not "BMR". MFP gives you BMR based on your age, height, weight PLUS a bit more for every day activity (but not exercise). So, nevermind this BMR name.

As GuitarJerry said, once it calculates your needs for everyday life, it then subtracts a flat rate depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose. Since you have it set to 1 pound/week, then it is subtracting 500 from your daily needs (not including exercise).

So, here is some math

1330 (the amount MFP says to eat)
-290 (the amount of burn for exercise)
+290 (the amount more you eat for that fuel)
=1330 NET

All together, with the above, you would eat 1620. However, if you think that exercise calculation is off, eat a little less.

According to these numbers, your TDEE would be 2120. (1330 MFP calories +290 exercise calories +500 deficit MFP gave to lose 1 pound per week).

If your TDEE is 2120, and you are eating 1330 - 290 = 1040 (net calories), then your calorie deficit is over 1,000. This is way too steep unless you have more than 75 pounds to lose.

If you are truly measuring food correctly, you should be losing 1 pound per week at about 1600 total calories. I think if you consistently eat between 1400-1600 you will see progress.

According to IIFYM , my TDEE is 1913, bmr is 1308, MFP says eat 1330 per day.

All I know is over a little over 2 wk period I was weighing/measuring all my food, averaging 1580 cals per day, averaging 290 exercise burn per day and the damn scale did not budge. At all. Not up, not down, no wiggle. Yes, it should have but it didn't. I cut back to 1480 (1209 net cals) Wed, 1424 (992 net cals) Thurs and the scale was down a solid lb this morning. It seems my body will let go of weight if I eat at the lower end of 1400-1600. Thx for the info/feedback, appreciate it.

So then the above probably reflects an inflated calorie burn, especially if the average 290 exercise burn is coming from the MFP app.

Also, I wonder if you chose the correct activity level when using the TDEE calculator. Did you choose "sedentary"? It sounds like you do at least "light exercise".