Adding the calories you burn to your total calorie intake

well...I eat my exercise calories back!!!! I am only on 1200 a day, which is fine, but sometimes I want a drink of wine or 2 at night, so I have to workout for them. I know i am eating the calories back, but at least I am toning my body and its working for me

I'm no expert, and I'm not 100% sure why either, but from what I gather:

If you set your goal as losing 1 pound a week, and it tells you to eat 1800 calories for example, the excercise you do will offset that number. So if you eat your 1800 calories today, but excercise for half an hour and burn 300 calories, then it adjusts that to 2100 calories, and you will still be running at a deficit, and on your goal track to lose that one pound that week.

If you don't eat those calories back on those days, then you will actually lose more than the 1 pound a week that you set as your goal. For me, that's a good thing, but you have to remember this is a computer program basically, and pretty much a calculator that you set on autopilot. So, it is just adjusting itself so that you can meet your goal of 1 pound of loss a week.

I don't have any idea if what I just said makes any sense to you. It makes sense in my head, but explaining it is a different issue.

I could not tell you if there are health reasons for this, as I don't know, and I don't know if eating the calories back makes you lose weight differently, or if it's a more healthy weight loss. Me, personally, I don't eat them back.

Hopefully someone else can chime in with better information.

I'm sure someone else can speak to the technicalities, but for me, it's a matter of looking better, not just losing the weight. I've lost the same amount of weight in the past from just dieting. But now that I've been working out religiously -- and eating my exercise calories back -- I 1) lost the same amount of weight; 2) get to eat a lot more, which is just funner/better/happier-making; 3) I look SO much better than when I lost the weight alone -- very fit and toned; 4) while I've lost the same weight, I've lost much more in inches; 5) my mood is exponentially better when I exercise -- yay endorphins!; 6) my mood is also exponentially better when I eat rather than feel deprived.

I know everyone's different you have to do what works for you, but for me, having done it both ways, I like this way better. :happy:

I don't understand what good it does you to add your calories that you burn to your total calories you eat for the day! That sounds like it defeats the purpose and I do not do that! If anyone has any insight into this I would be interested in hearing about this...why do they do this? Thanks for your input.

They do it to maintain a constant calorie deficit, regardless of how much or how little you exercise. The calories you burn by exercising are intrinsically no different from the calories you burn during your normal daily activities. They're all on the "calories out" side of the equation. The only reason they're added in separately (At this site. Exercise calories are lumped in from the beginning by the calculators at many other sites) is to give you finer control over the "calories in" side of the equation. You can run 10 miles on one day and sit on your backside all day the next, and the software will automatically make the adjustment necessary to maintain the same deficit for both days.

As for why it's important to maintain a moderate deficit: Even under the best of conditions your metabolic rate will fall as you lose weight, simply because you'll have less weight to carry around, and MFP will lower your calorie budget to compensate. if you eat too little or use exercise to jack up your deficit too high, you'll depress your metabolic rate even further as loss of muscle mass is accelerated. That will leave you vulnerable to plateaus and make it more difficult to maintain the weight loss for the long term. It's a lot easier to lose muscle than to get it back, I don't know about you, but at my age (59) I didn't feel I had any muscle mass to spare. So I did everything I could to preserve it.

I don't understand what good it does you to add your calories that you burn to your total calories you eat for the day! That sounds like it defeats the purpose and I do not do that! If anyone has any insight into this I would be interested in hearing about this...why do they do this? Thanks for your input.

Please read this explanation:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Well according to Jillian Michaels who I think knows more than all of us the idea is to exercise to burn calories and that adding back the calories you burn is DEFEATING THE PURPOSE of doing it in the first place...so I know now that what I do is correct!

No. This is only valid if you are using your calorie burn as your deficit. f you are already set to lose weight on MFP, then you are to eat the exercise calories to fuel your body.

Just adding this to further explain. The eating exercise calorie logic comes from the fact that at some point you will want to maintain your weight. If you are at your goal weight and burn calories through exercise but don't eat them back, you will continue to lose.

Well according to Jillian Michaels who I think knows more than all of us the idea is to exercise to burn calories and that adding back the calories you burn is DEFEATING THE PURPOSE of doing it in the first place...so I know now that what I do is correct!

Do whatever you want, but Jillian does not know how this site works.
And neither do you apparently - even after it was explained.
Don't set yourself up for failure.
The one thing you won't be able to say is that you weren't warned.
Good Luck...

I've always eaten exercise calories back with great success. I found if I didn't eat enough, my weight loss slowed or even stalled. If you are going to exercise, you need to fuel your body. Be kind to your body and it will be kind to you.

Looking good Ed!!!

I don't understand what good it does you to add your calories that you burn to your total calories you eat for the day! That sounds like it defeats the purpose and I do not do that! If anyone has any insight into this I would be interested in hearing about this...why do they do this? Thanks for your input.

Another thing to think about is the fuel required to do that exercise. Using MFP methods, two women of the same height and weight, who both have office jobs, and wanted to lose 1lb a week would be given the same calorie goal of say 1200 calories.

One woman comes home from work and just potters about, so no exercise , she maintains her 500 calorie deficit and loses her lb per week.

2nd woman goes swimming every morning before work, goes to the gym after work every day and burns an additional 1000 calories. She now has a 1500 calorie deficit if she didn't eat back her exercise calories,and it is doubtfull she would be taking in the adequate protein to repair/build muscles on just 1200 calories a day. So she eats more, fuels her workout, but still has a 500 deficit, same as the first woman.

MFP treats them both the same, but their calorie needs are very different.

I'm new here, so take this for what it's worth, but...

Biggest Loser Jillian Michaels is in the business of weight loss. So, when she speaks of weight loss, then YES, the purpose of exercise FOR WEIGHT LOSS, is to create a calorie deficit. HOWEVER, most people know, or should know, that there are far more benefits of exercise than just weight loss! Oh, you know, overall health?

If the sole purpose of exercise was to create a calorie deficit and lose weight, then those folks who have reached their goal, would stop exercising.

In essence, Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper etc. etc. must not be exercising anymore since they don't need to create a calorie deficit.

PER JILLIAN MICHAELS the idea is to exercise to burn calories and that adding back the calories you burn is DEFEATING THE PURPOSE of doing it in the first place...so I know now that what I do is correct!

This lady is the expert YOU ARE NOT! I was not losing weight with MFP way of doing things! I am now losing weight by following JILLIAN's advice! I use the MFP way of looking up my foods and logging them but that is ALL I use this for! So you keep on not losing weight if you like..I WILL BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!:laugh:

Why did you post, if you don't want people to explain it to you?

PER JILLIAN MICHAELS the idea is to exercise to burn calories and that adding back the calories you burn is DEFEATING THE PURPOSE of doing it in the first place...so I know now that what I do is correct!

This lady is the expert YOU ARE NOT! I was not losing weight with MFP way of doing things! I am now losing weight by following JILLIAN's advice! I use the MFP way of looking up my foods and logging them but that is ALL I use this for! So you keep on not losing weight if you like..I WILL BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!:laugh:

So why did you ask for advice if Jillian already told you everything?

PER JILLIAN MICHAELS the idea is to exercise to burn calories and that adding back the calories you burn is DEFEATING THE PURPOSE of doing it in the first place...so I know now that what I do is correct!

This lady is the expert YOU ARE NOT! I was not losing weight with MFP way of doing things! I am now losing weight by following JILLIAN's advice! I use the MFP way of looking up my foods and logging them but that is ALL I use this for! So you keep on not losing weight if you like..I WILL BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST LOSERS!!!!!:laugh:

Jillian Michaels is a reality tv show host who does what she does to get ratings and sell merchandise.

MFP will help you lose a healthy amount of weight and keep it off, yourself.

Trust the people and the advice here as opposed to tv shows and marketing gimmicks. MFP works and is a healthy and sustainable way to lose weight. The Biggest Loser is a tv show made to get ratings and sell products.

You asked what the rationale behind eating back exercise calories is, then made fun the people who gave you an answer . . . because they aren't Jillian Michaels? I think you may already be the biggest loser.