do you eat back the calories you burn?

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KelleyElisa
KelleyElisa Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
this has probably been asked a million times but i'm new to MFP. i am trying to lose 20 pounds by staying under my 1,200 calorie a day goal. when i workout (cardio and a little strenght training) should i eat back the calories i burn? thanks!
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Replies

  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    Yes :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,130 Member
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    Yes.
  • Kermit1976
    Kermit1976 Posts: 120
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    Yes
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    You'll probably be hungry if you don't. I usually eat mine back because I get hungrier when I workout. Actually I get hungry even on days I don't work out so I often go over on calories on those days. I don't know how anyone lives on 1200 calories.
  • FatDadSlim
    FatDadSlim Posts: 497 Member
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    NO

















    I Kid... Yes
  • gainess
    gainess Posts: 80 Member
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    Sometimes.. Most of the time I try to eat back at least half of them.
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
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    Yes... and they taste awesome:)
  • Tori_356
    Tori_356 Posts: 510 Member
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    Yes! EAT THEM! You will be glad you did!
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I eat back most of mine - sometimes all, always at least half. I've lost 25 lbs in 3.5 months so eating them has worked out great for me.

    Exercise calories are the most delicious kind, b/c you worked for them. ;-)
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    Yes.
  • reynoldsjo
    reynoldsjo Posts: 9
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    no....otherwise what it the point in working out! That is the way you lose more weight. I also think it gives you a bit of a cushion for the days when things don't go so well
  • nopeekiepeekie
    nopeekiepeekie Posts: 338 Member
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    depends on how much i burn. If it's 300 or less, no, if it's more than 300 then I try to eat back half.
  • JediMaster_intraining
    JediMaster_intraining Posts: 903 Member
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    yes you should. otherwise you'll get hungry! you don't have to eat all of them back but try it out definitely.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    yes and this is why:

    Here is how it works, in a simplified manner:

    You tell MFP: I want to lose 1lb per week.

    MFP says: Okay, you need to eat X calories per day in order to lose 1lb/week, without exercise.

    You do what MFP says, but then you decide to exercise and you burn an additional 400 calories. MFP then says "Hey, I told you to eat X per day to lose 1lb/week without exercise. You exercised, now you're going to lose it too fast and that's not ideal. Now I want you to eat X+400".
  • mleipe
    mleipe Posts: 54
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    I try not to.

    I usually fail.
  • dobarber
    dobarber Posts: 611 Member
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    I usually eat half of mine if my calories burned is high, otherwise I don't
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    no....otherwise what it the point in working out! That is the way you lose more weight. I also think it gives you a bit of a cushion for the days when things don't go so well

    Having a calorie deficit is the way you lose weight, and MFP already calculates that for you in your daily calorie goal. Exercise is a bonus as far as weightloss is concerned - getting fit makes you more healthy (and will make you look better) but it's not actually necessary for 'weightloss'. Since MFP's goal already has you at a deficit for the rate of weightloss you told it you want to achieve, if you exercise and burn calories you actually make the 'automatic' deficit even larger. For some people, not eating exercise calories seems to work just fine (especially maybe if you have a LOT of weight to lose), but for others going too low for too long can have negative affects on weightloss and/or energy levels. It's very individual.
  • KelleyElisa
    KelleyElisa Posts: 4 Member
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    thanks for the replies! i'm having a hard time because i lost about 25 pounds a few years ago by cutting my calories back to 800-1000 a day and got in the habit of only eating that much and then cheating occasionally. now that i had a baby and am trying to shed the weight plus a few more pounds, it's hard to lose even at staying under 1,200. i'm doing the 30ds for now until i can hit the gym in a few weeks. any advice or tips are greatly appreciated!
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
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    Some of them... I'll eat a minimum of around 1650 a day regardless... any exercise I do means I can have a bit more if I am peckish! :) Normally I end up eating some back and they're worth the hard work! xx
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    thanks for the replies! i'm having a hard time because i lost about 25 pounds a few years ago by cutting my calories back to 800-1000 a day and got in the habit of only eating that much and then cheating occasionally. now that i had a baby and am trying to shed the weight plus a few more pounds, it's hard to lose even at staying under 1,200. i'm doing the 30ds for now until i can hit the gym in a few weeks. any advice or tips are greatly appreciated!

    Personal question, but are you breastfeeding? If so, you need more than 1200 calories before you even consider exercise.

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