Eating burned calories

By calories you burn for the day, do you mean the exercise calories?
(I ask because our bodies do burn calories to keep our organs running and to do day to day activities)

If your meaning exercise calories and you are using MFP as designed then yes. Example:

MFP estimated daily burn without exercise: 2000
1lb per week loss setting: -500
Goal to lose weight without exercise: 1500
Exercise burn : 500
MFP estimated daily burn with exercise : 2500
1lb per week loss setting: -500
Goal to lose weight with exercise: 2000 (Net of 1500)

Now depending on how you estimate your calorie burns, you may only want to eat 25-50%. Machines and MFP tend to overestimate calorie burns.

If your using TDEE - % method. Then your exercise calories are already accounted for within your daily goal.

If you put your info into MFP and had it set a goal for you, then yes, eat back your exercise calories. If you are using the TDEE method and calculated it with your weekly exercise included, no, don't eat them back.

One of the most common reasons for stalls on MFP is eating back over-estimated exercise calories. Unless you are doing a lot of exercise, my suggestion is to NOT eat them back unless your body is giving you clear signals of being under-fueled.

Can anyone tell me if you should eat the calories you burn for the day. I am assuming no, but then my net calories are very low on some days. Thank you in advance.

So....you just think MFP gives you a calorie GOAL and tells you to eat back exercise calories because sabotage?

MFP gives you a calorie GOAL that already includes a weight loss deficit form maintenance and is NET of exercise...i.e. exercise isn't accounted for in your formula for determining your calorie requirements and thus the number from which MFP takes your cut. When you set your activity level, it is WITHOUT exercise...exercise is accounted for after the fact when you log that activity, thus requiring add'l fuel.

Other calculators (TDEE calculators) account for some estimate of your exercise burn up front in the formula and include it in your activity level. MFP is not a TDEE calculator though you can customize your goals to the TDEE method if you choose.

The drawback to the MFP method is that it is very easy to overestimate "burn", especially if you're using data base numbers. Most people make some allowance for estimation error...I used to eat back about 80% of what my HRM told me for an aerobic event...I used to also verify that number against various formulas I've found on-line for certain exercises. I currently use the TDEE method though and am maintaining so I don't log exercise here.

All that said, any way you slice it you need to make adjustments based on real world results. It's not healthy to net super low calories, but you may also be eating more than you think if you're just eyeballing portions and the like...you should be weighing and measuring pretty much everything, but especially calorie dense food items...something you definitely want to be as accurate as possible about...and we've already discussed overestimating burn.

I am starting on the 5:2 WOE and I was wondering how do I get the food diary to use the TDEE method?

setting > goals > change goals > custom goals > enter your desired calorie goal

I still dont see an option for TDEE. Is that something I need to figure on my own?

Either calculate it elsewhere or set MFP's activity level to include your exercise. You can manually set your calories to whatever you want.

When using TDEE method, some people enter their burned calories as '1' (you can manually change any activity) so that they don't get thrown off by the numbers.

I wouldnt eat them back and I dont. There is too much "guesstimating" going on with workouts as others have said. Unless your training hardcore which is much more than a little run and some weights, you shouldnt eat them back. You will have better weight loss results by not doing that.