Do you eat "burned" calories??

Some people say to eat them back, I am eating only half, sometimes none. x

I never eat them back unless it's a 3 hr bike ride or something excessive that leaves me a bit more hungry. Exercise is something I do for my fitness level, not to earn more food.

The more I read, the more confused I get!!!
What I took from MFP set up was the following...
Without exercise, my plan says I need to consume 1200 cal to lose 2 lbs a week.
THEN, if I burn those consumed calories, I have to "eat them back". Not that I'm eating more but that I am staying at the consistent caloric rate that MFP says I should be at to lose.

IS THIS RIGHT OR NOT????? I've lost 10 lbs in 8 weeks, clearly not 2 lb a week though!
ADVICE????

The more I read, the more confused I get!!!
What I took from MFP set up was the following...
Without exercise, my plan says I need to consume 1200 cal to lose 2 lbs a week.
THEN, if I burn those consumed calories, I have to "eat them back". Not that I'm eating more but that I am staying at the consistent caloric rate that MFP says I should be at to lose.

IS THIS RIGHT OR NOT????? I've lost 10 lbs in 8 weeks, clearly not 2 lb a week though!
ADVICE????

yes, that is right.

The more I read, the more confused I get!!!
What I took from MFP set up was the following...
Without exercise, my plan says I need to consume 1200 cal to lose 2 lbs a week.
THEN, if I burn those consumed calories, I have to "eat them back". Not that I'm eating more but that I am staying at the consistent caloric rate that MFP says I should be at to lose.

IS THIS RIGHT OR NOT????? I've lost 10 lbs in 8 weeks, clearly not 2 lb a week though!
ADVICE????

correct.

If you're looking for weight loss, then I would suggest that you don't eat them back. I'm not a trainer or nutritionist or anything, but that's what I'm doing, and that's what has been working for me. I honestly don't like how MFP adds the calories from your workout to your daily calorie allowance.

Nope
I eat before I work out and grab some protein after and call it a day

I have mine set up so I should be eating them back but I only eat about 1/3-1/2 of them back because I found my body responds well if I leave some left over. Everyone is different though, so play around and see what your body responds to.

If I have a really good day of exercise I do eat some of my burned calories. However in all the classes I have taken it was taught you had to eat your 1400 to 1500 calories a day and the ones burned from exercise are the calories you need to lose the weight. Hense burn 400 calories that is 400 less eaten calories to help make up the 3500 calories which makes a pound.

I always wondered why people would eat back the calories they just burned at the gym when trying to lose weight.. In my mind I might as well do no exercise, than do an hour of cardio and eat it all back. I don't get it.

99% of the time, I eat them. If I can't sleep and get an extra workout in after hours, I don't bother.

I always wondered why people would eat back the calories they just burned at the gym when trying to lose weight.. In my mind I might as well do no exercise, than do an hour of cardio and eat it all back. I don't get it.

Weight loss happens in the kitchen. Fitness happens with exercise.

You lose weight by maintaining a caloric deficit. That happens in the kitchen, by eating the appropriate number of calories for your goals. If you never exercise at all and eat that number of calories, you will lose weight. These are the calories required to fuel your brain, heart, lungs, etc.

You get fit (build strength, endurance, agility, heart health, etc.) by exercising. Your body needs fuel to exercise. This is why you eat your exercise calories. Failure to do so causes your body to burn off lean muscle tissue, and over a prolonged period of time will lead to a slower metabolism. This is where "skinny fat" comes from. "Skinny fat" people are at their goal weight, but they still look doughy because their body has burned off lean mass rather than fat. They might not be "fat," but they are not healthy, either.

That is why you eat back your exercise calories.

For the people who like numbers:

I spend most of my time in a chair with a book and a cat. This qualifies as "Sedentary." I am a very short female. To maintain my weight exactly as it is, I need to eat 2000 calories per day.

If I eat only 1200 calories per day, I am at a deficit of 800 calories per day. That gives me a weekly deficit of 5600 calories, causing me to lose about 1 1/2 pounds per week. If I sit in my chair all day with a book and a cat.

Let's say I exercise one day, and burn 400 calories. I add that to my 2000 calories of book-and-cat daily maintenance, and get 2400 calories burned for the day.

I am then able to eat 1600 calories, and still have a deficit of 800 calories. (2400-1600= 800) I still lose weight at approximately the same rate as I would by sitting in the recliner all day, but this way, I am building endurance, strength and agility necessary to escape the zombie hordes Obama is waiting to unleash on us all. Not to mention the sheer joy of getting to eat that extra scoop of chocolate frozen yogurt at the end of the day.

You have some options. Some people loose weight just following the basic calculation and eating back their calories. The problems come when someone overestimates their calories burned or underestimates their consumption! I'd say these are fairly common problems! Also, the person must make sure their baseline calorie expenditure ....the amount of calories they burn w,ith no exercise, is correct.
Again, I suspect most of the folks who eat back their calories and don't lose weight could use some help in these areas. There is plenty of room for error and/or self deception!

However, aside from the calculations, I think our bodies are very good at telling us what we need.

The signs of undereating are clear.

Foggy headed ness
Lethargy....the feeling of being winded easily, or sense that you have no energy
The inability to feel muscle burn the day after a workout
Hunger!

A month into dieting, you shouldn't constantly be fighting hunger all day and experiencing these other symptoms. If you are, you're not eating enough! Or you're eating too much junk. The best surprise of this whole journey is that I don't have to sit around and be hungry!!! To me, listening to my body is better than the calculator. At the end of the day, alot of these calculations are based on averages. When I eat 1/3 to 1/2 my calories back, I usually feel great. I go with that.

I don't log it in my diary, but If I'm too much under for a day, I usually add on a protein shake at the end.