Eat back calories burned?

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redraidergirl2009
redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This has probably been posted but I thought I'd ask anyway. So my thing says to eat 1243 calories a day. I work out 5 days a week for about an hour and burn 300-600 calories a work out. So do I eat those calories back? Its confusing.

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  • PatientBearTiger
    PatientBearTiger Posts: 475
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    Yes, it's been posted and yes, eat them back. MFP already builds in a deficit so if you don't eat back the calories you burn, you are running on too large a deficit and your body isn't getting the fuel it needs.
  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
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    Yes - the system has been designed to eat back your calories ..... the less weight you have to lose the more important it is to eat your exercise calories....

    This post explains it all quite well.....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
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    this is a great read for you. it contain many links to MFP post on eating exercise calories and why you should to make this program work:

    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • akane1087
    akane1087 Posts: 33
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    I dont think you have to. I believe that its up to you.. if you feel tired or fatigued then you could eat some of those calories or even if your just a little hungry. I try not to use them but sometimes i use a little bit of it and it never hurts me!
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    Thanks everyone, I will try eating most of them back and see how that goes. I would just feel terrible when I'd work out burning off that many and not eating them back. I checked my bmr and it says I burn nearly 1400 calories a day so I will try and eat between the 1250-1400
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    This has been debated sooo many times. Some people swear by eating them all back. Others swear by not eating them back, saying if you eat them back, what's the point of doing it in the first place? Some eat back some.

    Both ways have proven to work, its just a matter of finding out what's best for you. Personally, i burn 700-1000 a day, and that just allows me to have the chicken legs i eat WITH the skin, instead of without :D
  • JohnGym
    JohnGym Posts: 34
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    So, to clairfy...

    MFP, on my home page says my Goal is 2260. This is worked out by taking my BMR, plus my daily exercise calories less a deficit to lose weight.

    You guys are saying to eat back my exercise calories to take my daily goal to 2760?
  • cmiles23
    cmiles23 Posts: 234 Member
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    So, to clairfy...

    MFP, on my home page says my Goal is 2260. This is worked out by taking my BMR, plus my daily exercise calories less a deficit to lose weight.

    You guys are saying to eat back my exercise calories to take my daily goal to 2760?
    ONCE YOU ENTER YOUR EXERCISE INTO MFP YOU WILL SEE A JUMP IN YOUR DAILY GOAL... EAT THEM, YOU ONLY WANT YOUR BODY AT A 500 CAL DEFECIT, THEY SAY ANYTHING MORE PUTS BODY INTO STARVATION MODE....... THINK OF FOOD FOR YOUR BODY LIKE GAS FOR YOUR CAR, THE HARDER IT WORKS THE MORE GAS YOU WILL NEED........
  • JohnGym
    JohnGym Posts: 34
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    Thanks.

    The thing is, I don't do any cardio at all, but I train very very hard using weights exclusively. For some reason, the weight training has no impact on the daily goal.
  • acmiranda7
    acmiranda7 Posts: 26 Member
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    I would say no. I was told you can if you want, but if you want to lose the most weight, you should avoid this.
  • jrcox520
    jrcox520 Posts: 130 Member
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    The logic behind eating them back is sound, and risking going into deprivation mode is enough to make me attempt to eat them back. I don't usually net 1200 but I get around 1100 net on exercise days, its working fine. Not to mention I have a ton more energy for those workouts on said exercise days. Before I ate them back it was harder to get through workouts and my mood wasn't as great.

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