Should I use up all of my calories?

ParisArkw

My caloric goal is 1200. If I eat less than that, MFP comes up with that warning about being too low. However, if I work out, and eat over 1200 calories, but am still under the adjusted daily goal, should I use up those calories? Or is it still healthy not to? Not sure if my explanation is clear so here's what I mean:

My Daily goal: 1200 calories
Say I exercise and burn 300 calories.
Adjusted goal for the day: 1500 calories

So if I still just eat 1200 calories, the "net" would say that I've had 900. Is that bad? Should I try to reach the daily goal regardless?

rockerbabyy

you want your net to be 1200 - so yes, eat those 300!
ive always eaten my "exercise" calories, and have lost just fine. just make sure youre being honest as you can with your food and exercise logging - ive found having a HRM helps a ton with accurate exercise burns. some days i eat close to 2600 but my net is 1845 and i lost a pound a week last month. when my daily goal was 1500, id eat about 2200 but net 1500 and i lost 1.5 lbs/week

BrianSharpe

The risk, if your net falls too low, is that your body thinks you're starving to death and starts really slowing down your metabolism (which is why people often gain more than they lost after finishing a crash diet program) and you may even start metabolizing lean muscle tissue which impairs your ability to perform normal daily tasks.

Short answer - yes, eat your exercise calories as your net is already quite low.

ParisArkw

Ooh wow, okay, I'm glad I asked before just eating 1200 calories a day regardless of the net... Thank you both for your replies!