exercise calories...eating them back?

You should - MFP has you at a deficit with the calorie goal set for you before exercise. Meaning you could eat to goal, do zero exercise, and still lose weight. That's why when you log your exercise cals they are added back into your goal for the day - not eating them creates too large of a deficit, and can cause problems for ya in the long run.

Food is fuel!

only if my net is below my calories. then I eat them back

I do if I'm hungry, I don't if not. To me, forcin' myself to eat if I'm not hungry, even if it's for the sake of gettin' calories, seems counter-productive. I see it causin' more bad "stuffin' my face" habits.

Depends, Are you calorie cycling? are you below your deficit for the day?

I normally just make myself a sandwich or have a protein shake if I'm dangerously below (like 400-1000kcal) and that's only to bring myself to 200 calories above 1200kcal most of the time.

But then again I bike 10 miles 5x a week so I sort of have to eat.

As per the last post, Most definately if I feel hungry (and not just thirsty due to not taking in enough water during exercise), and more often than not, I do - as another post pointed out, MFP already provides a pretty good deficit toallow you to reaxch your goal, so there is no need to reduce it more. That said, there is nothing wrong if occasionaly you feel satisfied with what you have eaten, not hungry and you burn more calories up.

Of course, the danger is the afterburn effect - where exercise continues to burn calories well after finishing. So if, by not eating the calories you have burnt you are finding the next day you are extra hungry and over-eating, then you know what to do...

I try to, It can has turned out to be harder then I thought to eat them back. My morning workout I burn 800-1200 calories. WIthout eating a bunch of bad calories it can be hard to hit my 1600 goal MFP has set. Basically I have to find a healthy way to eat 2800 calories a day. 2 Eggs white omelets, protien shake, tablespoon of cheese in the morning is like 200 calories. so OMG i have to eat 2600 more. I just am not that hungry anymore. So, I know I SHOULD eat them back. I just dont want to eat crap to do it.

What this person said.

high-five.

Moral of the story OP.

Eat them back to the point where you feel comfortable. Don't do it with junk either. And it's sometimes good to save 100-200 calories of your workout Deficit if you're cycling calories to avoid a plateau.

Because your body is, for a lack of a better term a total **** and I've had days where I NEEDED something in me because my workout deficit was putting me in the negatives and I felt it.

I try to, It can has turned out to be harder then I thought to eat them back. My morning workout I burn 800-1200 calories. WIthout eating a bunch of bad calories it can be hard to hit my 1600 goal MFP has set. Basically I have to find a healthy way to eat 2800 calories a day. 2 Eggs white omelets, protien shake, tablespoon of cheese in the morning is like 200 calories. so OMG i have to eat 2600 more. I just am not that hungry anymore. So, I know I SHOULD eat them back. I just dont want to eat crap to do it.

What about eating the whole egg? Egg yolks are not crap. You can also add a little more cheese, and maybe some fruit.

Using MFP as designed ... and eat back every single one*

*I use a heart rate monitor ... calorie counts are pretty good

*My activity level is set to sedentary ... so I'm not "double counting"

*I log actual workouts ... not shopping, or walking at a leisurely pace. ........my point is be conservative

The PURPOSE .... for those that don't "get it" ...... when your calorie deficit is too large you risk burning muscle mass (along with fat) .... I am interested in reducing my body fat% .... losing muscle counteracts that.

You should - MFP has you at a deficit with the calorie goal set for you before exercise. Meaning you could eat to goal, do zero exercise, and still lose weight. That's why when you log your exercise cals they are added back into your goal for the day - not eating them creates too large of a deficit, and can cause problems for ya in the long run.

Food is fuel!

I do because of what she said. Plus I love to eat.