Should I eat the calories I burned from exercise?

britneyy32

So I am eating 1200 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. I exercise everyday on average I will burn 800 calories but sometimes even up to 3,500 since I like to take extensive hikes as well which burns a ton of calories. So should I be consuming the calories I burn from exercise, or at least some of them? Because I don't want to go into starvation mode since I'm already at a calorie deficit to begin with without exercise, but will I still lose weight if I consume the calories I burn from exercising?

IronPlayground

To answer your question, yes. On another note, you don't have a lot of weight to lose. So, I would recommend changing your settings to losing 1 lb/wk or .5 lb/wk.

stupidloser

If I'm doing high intensity cardio which burns carbs than I will eat back some carbs. But I usually do lower intensity cardio that burns mainly fat and I don't eat those calories back in any form(carbs, fat, protein).

gaia3rd

You're going to get strong opinions on both side of this issue. You don't mention how much you weigh now or how much weight you wish to lose, and that info is important in considering how to answer your question: for example, unless you're 50 pounds overweight, it's not recommended you shoot for a 2 pound loss per week. The short answer: this is how MFP is set up to work - your deficit is already figured in and they say to eat back the calories. I'd recommend you try it for a couple of weeks and see how you do. You can always cut back on how many of your exercise calories you eat back if you don't see reasonable progress.

IronPlayground

You're going to get strong opinions on both side of this issue. You don't mention how much you weigh now or how much weight you wish to lose, and that info is important in considering how to answer you question: for example, unless you're 50 pounds overweight, it's not recommended you shoot for a 2 pound loss per week. The short answer: this is how MFP is set up to work - your deficit is already figured in and they say to eat back the calories. I'd recommend you try it for a couple of weeks and see how you do. You can always cut back on how many of your exercise calories you eat back if you don't see reasonable progress.

On profile it says she's only trying to lose 17 lbs. 6 has already been lost.

mlemonroe2

you should eat them back. if you burn 800 calories then you are only netting 400 calories a day and you need at least 1200 to function.

NoAdditives

Yes.

LaurenAOK

www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

gaia3rd

Now that I see you only have another 11 pounds to lose - I'd suggest you please reconsider your strategy: your goal should only be about 1/2 pound a week, NOT 2 pounds a week.

Bobby_Clerici

Yes, and ENJOY!
MFP suggests a daily net calorie intake to result in 1 lb of weight loss per week.
1 pound equals 3500 calories.
3500 divided by 7 days equals 500 calories per day. Our MFP daily number already has that 500 calories subtracted.
When we exercise, that green number goes up, because MFP expects us to eat back your exercise calories to keep your net daily calorie intake steady; that's how MFP works. Read this to learn more.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
And This:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainerRobin/view/myth-or-fact-calories-in-versus-calories-out-3500-calories-one-pound-and-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories-62012
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/302589-eat-more-to-lose-more-explained

Just follow the MFP recommendations for healthy, steady and lasting results.
You could reduce quicker, but what would be the quality of that weight loss?
It could lead to increased muscle loss, and that stifles metabolism.
No, eat right, exercise - both cardio and resistance, lose weight in such a way that maintains health and preserves lean body mass which burns more calories at rest.
Good luck to you.:flowerforyou:
All Is Possible!

Goal_Line

Britney, if you only have 11 more lbs to lose. I strongly recommend you lose weight at a slower pace than 2 lbs per week, and eat back your cals.

mermx

So I am eating 1200 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. I exercise everyday on average I will burn 800 calories but sometimes even up to 3,500 since I like to take extensive hikes as well which burns a ton of calories. So should I be consuming the calories I burn from exercise, or at least some of them? Because I don't want to go into starvation mode since I'm already at a calorie deficit to begin with without exercise, but will I still lose weight if I consume the calories I burn from exercising?

My advice is to follow the MFP guidelines that is why it gives you them. Do you set your plan to sedentary/active etc? This makes a big difference to how much your calories will be.

There are lots of websites that offer caluclators as to how many cals you should eat/out

but I agree with goal-line 2lbs a a week is a lot to put in, maybe go for 1/2lb per week

But it is up to you to decide x

britneyy32

Thanks for the advice everyone. Since everyone is telling me to aim to lose 1/2 - 1 pound a week, how is this better than aiming to lose 2 pounds a week?

Also I have my plan set to sedentary since I'm a student so for most of the day I am just sitting around not doing anything, but then I exercise pretty extensively everyday, so should I have my plan set to moderately active? I'm not sure what to set it to.