Are you supposed to eat all of the calories you burned off d

DaniDuB

I feel guilty eating all of the calories that I burned off during a workout. Are we really supposed to add those calories burned to the amount of calories left to eat for the day?

DaniDuB

Sorry, nevermind. I found this link. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/281519-eat-back-exercise-calories

FoodiePatootie

Only if you are trying to maintain weight versus lose it

sarah44254

Only if you are trying to maintain weight versus lose it

No....? If you want to lose weight, you are still able to eat the calories you burn through exercise. In fact, it is recommended by the site to do so, that is why they add the calories into your daily goal.

Glad you found the link with info, OP!

promiseskept

Foodie, not true., You are basing your calorie intake upon your activity level, so whe you exercise, you really need to increase your eating to maintain tthe maximum calories you should eat to LOSE weight, too low and your body suffers. I have lost 39 pounds eating back my calories. So I am proof it works, so are a few of my friends here.

rainbowbuggy

Foodie, not true., You are basing your calorie intake upon your activity level, so whe you exercise, you really need to increase your eating to maintain tthe maximum calories you should eat to LOSE weight, too low and your body suffers. I have lost 39 pounds eating back my calories. So I am proof it works, so are a few of my friends here.

Exactly! :-)

aippolito1

At least so your net calories are 1200.

FoodiePatootie, I don't think you quite understand how the deficit works. MFP has set a calorie gap for you once you picked "lose 1 (or 2) lb a week" option. The gap is from the amount of calories you need to lose weight to the amount you need to maintain. It's your BMR (what your body burns naturally without exercise) minus the deficit to create what you eat per day to lose weight. It's usually 500 calories per day (as in, if you go over 500 calories, you will maintain) x every day of the week (7) to equal 3500 calories which equals one pound per week.

To get back to the calories burned issue, once you burn calories, the number of calories you ate... dwindles. That's what your net calories are. Net is calories consumed minus calories burned. You can't run your car on an empty gas tank, nor can you run your body on less than 1200 calories. That's why if you eat 1200 calories, burn 300, your net is 900... you need to eat the 300 you burned. If your base is higher, at least try to get your net to 1200. I typically eat all of mine even though my base is close to 1400

bethdris

Everyone is different. I've been doing this for almost 4 months have never eaten back ALL my exercise calories. I can't eat that much or I'd probably get sick. This is the never ending debate. I say do what works for you.

DaniDuB

Thanks so much, everyone! I really appreciate it!

At least so your net calories are 1200.

FoodiePatootie, I don't think you quite understand how the deficit works. MFP has set a calorie gap for you once you picked "lose 1 (or 2) lb a week" option. The gap is from the amount of calories you need to lose weight to the amount you need to maintain. It's your BMR (what your body burns naturally without exercise) minus the deficit to create what you eat per day to lose weight. It's usually 500 calories per day (as in, if you go over 500 calories, you will maintain) x every day of the week (7) to equal 3500 calories which equals one pound per week.

To get back to the calories burned issue, once you burn calories, the number of calories you ate... dwindles. That's what your net calories are. Net is calories consumed minus calories burned. You can't run your car on an empty gas tank, nor can you run your body on less than 1200 calories. That's why if you eat 1200 calories, burn 300, your net is 900... you need to eat the 300 you burned. If your base is higher, at least try to get your net to 1200. I typically eat all of mine even though my base is close to 1400

This is a GREAT explanation. Thank you so much!