Exercise Calories

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alyshaSkinny
alyshaSkinny Posts: 5
in Motivation and Support
Hello,
I was curious of many of the exercise calories you guys eat, if any? I have a 1,200 calorie plan so should I be eating my exercise calories?

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  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Here's a link with a lot of great advice and tips, including about exercise calories

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    MFP is built on NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) calories which means it doesn't factor exercise calories into the math used for your daily caloric goal. The logic behind it is that you track those separately and eat them back to maintain your net deficit. A major issue people encounter with this system is the need for accurate tracking of both intake and burn. Many underestimate what they eat and overestimate what they burn ... then eat back based on those flawed numbers and don't see the progress they want.

    IIFYM and Scooby use TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calories. The simple version of that system is that it includes your planned exercise in the math then averages it out across the week so you eat the same number of calories per day. Both methods of calculating calories provide the user with a daily caloric goal to meet.

    Any time I see a 1200 calorie plan, I question the thinking and math that went into it because trying to lose too much per week is common around here. How tall are you? What do you currently weigh? What is your weekly loss goal? How much do you exercise? The reason behind those questions is so the community can provide a sanity check. 1200 might be the right intake for you ... maybe it's too restrictive and you can eat more.
  • KLangleydoula
    KLangleydoula Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Hi! I do not eat my exercise calories back. It has worked for me. Feel free to add me.
  • yasmine334
    yasmine334 Posts: 187 Member
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    I eat my exercise calories and it worked pretty well for me - lost almost 28 lbs so far. My MFP is set on 1200 (which is based on NO exercising), so that's why the exercise calories are added to your balance.

    Eat well, and be healthy! :drinker:
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
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    I had quick success (dropped 15 pounds in a few months) when I first started MFP (tracking the food was the key) ... I've since stalled, and while I do want to lose a bit more, at least I'm out of the "overweight" category.

    I have my MFP set at 1200 calories too. I like that reminder of that is what I would have to stay at if I didn't exercise. I am quite active, and so with exercise added in MFP will often say I can eat 2500+ (as my Fitbit SAYS I'm burning close to 3000 on average) but I TRY to stay around 2000 as the goal in my head, regardless of MFP saying I could eat more. 2000 is a perfectly reasonable intake, although admittedly I do struggle staying there (I still am not great at this "healthy eating" thing and naughty calories add up so quickly).

    As someone else mentioned ... it's all estimates. It's easy to overestimate exercise, underestimate what you are eating ... you do want to be cautious at eating back ALL your exercise calories because those numbers can easily be off by quite a bit. Many people say they eat back about half ...

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