Eating back exercise calories

I've heard both ways. MFP is set up for you to 'eat back' the calories you burned while exercising. While working with a nutritionist at the local hospital, she said absolutely not. Do not eat the calories back. Is is part of your calorie deficient to lose weight. I do not eat them back, but if I should happen to go over, I know I'm covered if I exercised that day.

I eat them back, but also save them up in case I want to eat something amazing later in the week.

If you are using the MFP method, then the calorie goal calculated doesn't include exercise calories so any exercise pushes your deficit even further down. Because you don't want to push that deficit too far down is the reason to eat back all or some of your exercise calories. A lot depends on your initial deficit without exercise and how much exercise you performed.

Now, if you are using the TDEE - X% method, then your calorie goal is supposed to have your estimated exercise calories already taken into account. You technically are eating your exercise calories back, but it's not as apparent because it's built into your target calories.

I eat most of them back and its worked for me , and i am now fitter as well .

I eat back some but not all. Kinda depends how hungry I am on a particular day and what kid of workout I had. If I have a lot of calories burned from lots of activity, I'm more likely to eat some back since I know I have a little extra cushion and still have a deficit. I would feel like I'm working out for nothing if I ate them all back all the time.

Depending on how much I burn through exercise, I probably eat about 30% back.

Depends on the aim of using MFP.

My objective of using the app and site is to maintain mass while increasing fitness, so my exercise regime can be more on the heavy side. I don't want to loose mass, rather convert excess fat to muscle for endurance, therefore my approach is to judge what my output is/will be compared to my input.

For example;

I plan to ride a 100 miles on a Saturday morning, therefore I will carb load on the Friday night. My Friday total will be way over my daily projection, but I know I'll more than burn it the following morning. I'll ride the 100 miles with sports nutritional products during the day, get home, chocolate milkshake for recovery, shower, then work out my budget. I'll tend to lean towards more protein based foods than normal (muscle repair and recovery) and replace lost carbs. Finally, I'll eat sensibly for the rest of the day to balance my 48hr allowance so my net calorific value by the end of Saturday will be neutral. The cardio will have benefited my body (increased endurance, respiratory function etc) but by balancing the in's and out's, I'm preventing damage by allowing muscles to repair.

On a daily basis, I'll always come within around +-10% of my calorific budget, but I exercise daily (cycle commuting) so around an hour of fat burning a day trades the fat for muscle. If I was wanting to loose mass, then I'd decrease my inputs, but only in a controlled way.

I set my calorie goal manually and do all the math on the calories and macros I need. I have my activity level set for 2, which means I exercise 3 days a week (weight training). I don't eat back the calories for the weight training because it's already built into my calorie limit math. I also do a lot of commuting by bicycle. That I do eat back or I'll go way too far below my calorie limit. So in short, I don't eat back what's already been calculated in, but anything extra I do.

Using MFP calculations: Yes, that is how the site is set up. You NET your caloric goal, ex 1200 calories.
Using TDEE method: No, exercise is already accounted for.

I swear, this is like the song that doesn't end. It just goes on and on, my friends...

Good

Using MFP calculations: Yes, that is how the site is set up. You NET your caloric goal, ex 1200 calories.
Using TDEE method: No, exercise is already accounted for.

I swear, this is like the song that doesn't end. It just goes on and on, my friends...

^While I appreciate you answering the question and being helpful (which you totally are), some of us are new and so its not the same song for us. It's a totally new song and we're just learning the lyrics.

I wish there was a "like" button!! Thanks guys your comments have helped me! (Totally agree about the song being new & learning the lyrics!!)

Just make sure you don't eat anything for at least 3 hours before going to bed!

Now, that's just silly. Makes no difference. Meal timing has no bearing at all whatsoever.

what GJ said.

meal timing is irrelevant.

I eat back each and every glorious exercise calorie! I eat at a deficit to lose weight. Exercise - for me - is a lifelong commitment to maintain my health. I'm not exercising to lose weight. I am exercising to strengthen my heart and maintain my muscles.

Exercise is not something I stop doing when I get to my goal weight because I was only doing it to lose weight...

I'm back to confusion now!!

I've just done a workout burnt 599 calories, I haven't had anything to eat yet so shouldn't my calorie goal for today have gone up by 599 calories if you're supposed to eat them back!?!?