Probably a silly question but....

meriann

Ok...so I have 1250 calories each day. But on the day I exercise it adds in more calories. Am I supposed to eat those calories too if I'm trying to lose weight? Or should I just stick with the 1250 calories?

oddyogi

Yes, by all means eat the calories that you exercise off! 1250 calories/day is still a very low amount, almost the lowest healthy amount that you CAN eat.

So if you burn off 250 calories in a workout, eat 1500 calories that day! You earned it.

Toninette

I usually have way more calories left over because of how much I swim - I don't worry about the extra calories I don't use - just make sure not to go over that limit even if you exercise. My opinion only. I have found I can eat a ton of food when I swim for 90 minutes every day - and still have lots of calories left over - of course by eating tons I mean bananas, oranges, lean meats.....

kbeller88

I'm really glad someone else had this question...i had no idea what I was supposed to do. when I burn off my calories I didn't know how much I was supposed to eat after that. when I'm under my calorie goal people praise me...but being under means that I am under 1200...

oddyogi

My goal is also set at 1200. I normally end up anywhere around 1180 to 1250 most days. Last night I had 37 calories remaining or something similar, so I treated myself to a Hershey's Kiss and made it to 1190. =P

samb

They say you are never supposed to go under 1200 calories a day, however my BMR really is only 1250...so I don't think that is a standard amount for every person.

In order to lose weight, you want to have a calorie deficit, but you have to be careful with this. If you eat too little your body may go into "starvation mode" and will slow your metabolism down. Working out and sticking with your original calorie goal/close to your BMR is the best way to lose weight. On the other hand, if you are looking to maintain then you want to avoid calorie deficits.

ladyhawk00

Some good threads that should help answer that question:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

MUST READS! Good luck!

sroseber

I've always heard you are supposed to eat back your calories. My goal is set at about 1350. If I work out I try to eat back to where my net is at least 1200 because that's the least you are supposed to have each day. Sometimes I eat them all back or close but I usually just try to get back around 1200-1250. I don't have a HRM so I have to go off of what the machines and MFP say on the calorie burn which I've been told is usually a little high for most people. So I try to leave a buffer in there in case my calorie burn is off a little. If your daily calories are set at 1200 then YES I would definitely eat the calories back. Being under your calories is a good thing as long as you eat at least 1200 calories. People praise you for being under but no one can see what your goal is at that point and time without going and looking at your food diary.

MsTrudy66

If you want to lose weight faster, or find that it's difficult to lose, do not eat your exercise calories. I try not to. Save them for a special occasion or when you eat out and it's difficult to count the calories. It's a Weight Watchers philosophy. Eat your 1250, none less, and dip into the exercise cals occasionally. You can do it!

nilisabel

if you exercise you can eat the calories you burned off, and over time it's pretty important that you do from a cellular perspective, you're keeping your body nourished, not overeating or even eating for maintenance. Your weight loss will not be affected, but may actually be improved by this. However don't freak out if you're not hungry, these calculations are best estimates. Depending on your personal metabolism, you have a baseline metabolism which is basically analogous to eating enough food for you to survive while sleeping. Everyone's baseline is different, for example, based on BMR, mine was 1440 at 20 (as a sedentary student) and on a breath test it was 2200 at 22 (but I was in GREAT shape). When I was 22, I was ALWAYS hungry and working out a lot (swimming an hour or more a day in a Master's program, biking everywhere as my mode of transportation and recreation, strength training (cuz I LOVE it) and running a few miles a week). On top of a baseline of 2200, I was burning anywhere from 1,500 up to 3000 more calories per day. Try to feed that appetite on a writer's salary.

Anyway, It's important to eat the nutrient's, but reward yourself! You've earned it! Eat your activity calories

ralevin

Definitely not a silly question. I had the same one when I started MFP a coule weeks ago, and it seems like many people ask it when they start out.

From what I understand, you should be making up some of those calories. (There's a thread somewhere on here, where someone posted a very intelligent and researced response, but I can't seem to find it right now.) Sounds like the general understanding is that MFP overestimates the number of calories burned during exercise. For example, at my weight, it says that I burn 800 calories doing 45 minutes on the cardio. I think 800 is pretty generous. I generally try to eat half of what I "earn".

That said, there is also a general concensus that you need to have at the very least 1200 (or is it 1000 - someone please chime in) NET calories (which is why, I believe, MFP will never give you a target calories lower than 1200). Net calories works like this. Say your calorie goal is 1200.day, and you eat 1500 calories in a day, but then earn back 500 through exercise. Your net calories would then be 1000. Assuming you actually burn 500 calories in the exercise, then in order to reach your weight loss goals, you should be eating 200 to make up for it. So you've eaten 1700 calories, but you only have 1200 net calories.

If you eat too few calories, you run the risk of greatly slowing your metabolism (happens over time, not if you miss your goal one day), which can obviously hamper your weight loss goals.

Everyone else, if I'm wrong about any of this, please feel free to clarify/correct.

Hope that helps, and enjoy your new, healthier life.