Should I eat my exercise calories?

It's not included in your calories. I actually don't even enter a goal for exercise anymore, I just add it when I do it. It's less confusing that way, and it's not like I really need to track it so I don't go over or something.

So yes, eat some back, I wouldn't eat it all back though because your metabolism burns about 60 calories an hour anyway, so I usually subtract that to my exercise. I usually don't eat it all back though, even though I should, because I'm not always that hungry.

Yip, eat them.

I don't think MFP takes into account your exercise GOALS in your calorie calculations. It starts out reminding you how much you said you would work out, but it assumes you have done no working out unless you enter it.

MFP estimates your basal metabolic rate based on the information you enter at the beginning. Theoretically, if you do nothing and eat that number of calories, you should neither gain or lose weight.

Using that same line of thinking, if you work out and burn 200 calories, then you should be able 200 calories extra and maintain weight.

If you are like me and told MFP you want to lose weight (mine is 2 lbs per week), then MFP removes the calorie equivalent of the weight from your basal metabolic weight and tells you the new number of calories you need to intake per day to achieve your goal.

Assuming MFP knows that you are trying to loose weight, if you try to loose too much weight and/or do not eat the calories you burned, then your body will start metabolizing muscles and/or enter starvation mode. That could lead to you plateauing since you are too fatigued to properly burn calories (roughly). Your body needs energy to develop and to burn the tissue you want (fat).

MFP is centered around doing the calculations for you. Eat your food and eat food that is good for you. Weigh yourself and remember that your body will retain water when it is building/repairing muscle tissue AND that if you do exercise a lot and eat a lot, then you will have more food in you colon.

Also, MFP will not be perfect. If you want, you could probably weigh yourself properly (throughout the week and take averages) and compare it to your weight loss goal. If it is off, then you could probably play around with your entered activity level and weight loss goals. For example, if you are actually loosing weight too fast, you could bump up your activity level. At this point, I dont think MFP adapts to you automagically.

Thats all. Later.

...although now I am wondering. For example, today I burned ~1000 calories and was amused to find myself annoyed at trying to find extra stuff to eat. I still have some left over and Im calling it quits.

I wonder if there are other rules at play. For example, should a marathon runner really attempt to sit down and consume 4000 calories after a run?

Just some thought for food

Marathon runners usually are not trying to loose weight or gain it. But yes, marathon runners typically will eat A LOT after a run and the days to come.

Eat it back within reason but don't starve yourself either.

Micheal Pheleps does

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Well cool. It sounds like the OP has some good answers about IF (with good words from @SideSteel's post/link, the recognition that calorie estimates may be...slightly off, that everyone is different, etc.), but...

What about when? - IF you eat back your calories, especially if it is a lot, WHEN do you eat it back? Thats a rather complicated ambiguous question, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. For example, if we need to eat back "extra" calories from activity, then presumably eating all of it 1 hour after the workout is different from spreading it out over the preceding 6 hours. That last sentence incorporated before/after and spread out/all at once.

and what about what? - Again, if you eat back your calories presumably there are physiological differences for how what foods are adsorbed when. Example: If it is late in the day and someone has just spent a bunch of energy working out, but really does not want to eat a meal, what do you eat? @Misssiri, thoughts?

Well cool. It sounds like the OP has some good answers about IF (with good words from @SideSteel's post/link, the recognition that calorie estimates may be...slightly off, that everyone is different, etc.), but...

What about when? - IF you eat back your calories, especially if it is a lot, WHEN do you eat it back? Thats a rather complicated ambiguous question, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts. For example, if we need to eat back "extra" calories from activity, then presumably eating all of it 1 hour after the workout is different from spreading it out over the preceding 6 hours. That last sentence incorporated before/after and spread out/all at once.

and what about what? - Again, if you eat back your calories presumably there are physiological differences for how what foods are adsorbed when. Example: If it is late in the day and someone has just spent a bunch of energy working out, but really does not want to eat a meal, what do you eat? @Misssiri, thoughts?

I can only speak for myself but on my long run days, I usually go in the early morning and I'm ravenous the rest of the day so I eat when I need to and sometimes into the next day. Usually that is a rest day for me. During the week I run after work at about 5pm and I'm not all that hungry after. On days that I lift weights, I'm starving but haven't burned any calories really so I just try to balance it out day to day as much as I can.

I really think it's about what works for the individual but I hate saying that because I think that under eating is so detrimental to everyone and I don't want anyone to think i agree with the "listen to your body and eat when you are hungry". I think that is a load of BS. Not many of us can "listen to our bodies" and if we could we wouldn't be here on MFP most likely. So sometimes we aren't hungry after a late workout and are afraid to eat the next day. Eat anyways. Eating the food is really important and I hate seeing people restrict and I especially hate the "I eat 1200 calories and burn 1000 every day" people. Eat your exercise calories. Better yet, eat at your TDEE - 10% or 15% and lose slowly. And for good measure, here's the road map link to calculate your BMR and TDEE


https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I am confused on how to eat them back with out going over my fat sugar or sodium. I manage to stay inside those with my regular 1200 cals per day but than I burn 700 cals at the gym and I go way over the other components if I eat them back. I can't get down 700 calories of veggies. Any help would be most appreciated. I have been on a nasty platue for 8 months and I never eat back my calories!