Should I eat my burned calories?

I eat them all back and I have consistently lost 2 pounds per week average for 18 weeks. My daily goal is set up to account for a 2 pound per week loss, for me that is net calories a day. I think it is very important to eat back the calories because it is really the best way to get the macro-nutrients you need if you are exercising or otherwise focus on protein consumption etc. Eating the extra calories give back what my body needs for the exercise I did to burn them off as long as my NET consumption remains at 1200. I typically exercise about 400-600 calories off a day, my actual goal is to eat as many calories as a I can but burn them off to get to the net of 1200. I do this though by eating very good whole foods as much as possible, and also breaking those calories up between 5-6 meals a day (I think this is extremely important). Again, I net 1200 daily and I eat back all the calories over that. I am 37 and have dropped from 205 to 168 over about 18 weeks using this method. I feel completely nourished and have monitored my body fat percent to make sure I am not losing muscle, i have gone from about 28% body fat to 16% body fat. The key to that is getting enough protein which I find the extra calories are needed to get enough protein and still eat a balanced diet. Some weeks I loose 3-4 some weeks I loose nothing, but that has to do with water retention and other factors, the trend is almost perfectly consistent with 2 pounds per week loss average. If there is a day that I dont or cant eat them back then its no big deal, just like there are days I go over- thats when I focus on the weekly consumption to make sure it balances out.

My understanding is that if you dont eat back your calories is that you will potentially burn more than you want which your body may recognize as starvation and you dont loose weight in a health way or you start to burn muscle. Of course this is determined by what your daily calorie goal is set up to be. Mine is set up to loose 2 lbs. for week and the decrease of calories is built into that calculation. If your goal is set up to loose 1 lbs per week or maintain this this may be different for you. I am completely surprised that following the daily calorie consumption determined by the app, tracking everything I eat and all the exercise that I have dropped the weight exactly as planned- amazing! My mother is 62 and using this app following the same principals and has lost 1 pound per week average over 8 weeks, and 1 lbs. per week is exactly what her daily NET calorie goal is set up to be. She eats back everything burned off to keep her net consumption the same daily.

Right now I am transitioning to maintaining my weight and then trying to gain .5 - 1 pound per week in muscle by doing strength training. Trying to figure out how many calories to eat to support muscle growth without gaining more fat is tricky....

I drink when I'm dry...

I'm the same height -1/2" sane weight. I had a nutrition person do my calories
And they are actually higher then what this site suggests so under goals I adjusted.

Cals 1428
Carbs 97
Proteins 171
Fats 40

Problem with 1200 is its not enough and later on will be a problm

If you search this topic, it's been answered many times.

If you have read through how MFP is set up when you started your account, you would have noticed that MFP already creates a deficit for you, regardless of exercise. Which means that even if you don't exercise you will lose weight. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit, possibly to an unhealthy level. This is why MFP tells you to eat your exercise calories back. Think of food as fuel. Your body needs fuel.

^^^ I found this very useful.

When I burn calories from treadmill I add it to MFP and it adds the 500 on top of my daily allowance. I could be wrong but I just looked at it as eating another 500.

I don't. I do log the exercise tho. I feel the same as you. Why eat back what you just burned??

Wow, does anyone actually look at the way MFP is set up??? You are already in a deficit without exercise!! You need to fuel your body and make sure you don't go into an unhealthy deficit, that's why you need to eat back what you burned.

This works for me, MFP put me into a 500 calorie deficit and I'm losing weight. Sometimes I eat back 50% of what I burned but the good old weight is still negative AOK

I usually don't but then again I eat most of my calories so I don't really have a need to. I say if you're hungry and want to snack, go for it.

If you search this topic, it's been answered many times.

Exactly, it's kinda like what came first-the chicken or the egg :grumble:

To each their own honestly

YES!!!! You should be looking at your NET calories for the day. If you don't eat back at least SOME of those calories, then your body is going to go into starvation mode, and you'll start LOSING MUSCLE instead of fat. Your MUSCLES need those calories!

Now granted, I've had days when I've burned SO MANY calories, that it just wasn't feasible to eat back everything. But that's why MFP also gives you a weekly chart to look at. Indeed, I usually eat more the day AFTER a big workout than the day OF the big workout. So, if I go for a super long run on Saturday, my net calories may be low, but then I go way over on Sunday. But my weekly net calories are where they should be.

Net calories, people. Net calories. Use the MFP tools to find your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and/or go to another BMR calculator to double-check the numbers. And yes, I agree that MFP sometimes overestimates your calorie burn. A heart rate monitor will give you a better count. (Although, I've also found that sometimes the MFP estimate is right on the money! Depends on the exercise, and depends on how hard you're working on a particular day.)

Ok. I have read this over and over but for some reason the way you just explained it made the most sense. Thanks!!! I always wondered why they added your exercise calories with your not yet consumed daily calorie intake. I had no idea you was suppose to consume them as well. Feel so much better thanks. I will try eating them, but my workouts are they only way I can keep from gaining weight and when lucky losing weight. I really don't see it working but I will try.