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Am I supposed to eat my exercise calories back?

aboh44
aboh44 Posts: 7 Member
in Social Groups
Good morning,

I am having a difficult time understanding if I am supposed to eat back the calories I burn off exercising.

For example, I am supposed to eat 1,540 calories a day (I set my goal to lose 1.5 lb a week) but burned 539 calories yesterday exercising and Fitness Pal adjusted my calorie intake saying I could eat 1,979 calories (the original 1,540 plus the 539 from exercise). If I'm trying to lose weight it would seem like I should NOT eat the exercise calories back but many people on the Fitness Pal community posts are saying you should bc you need to replenish what you've worked off.

Anyone have any clue as to what is the truth? I want to lose weight but I want to be HEALTHY doing it.

Replies

  • StarsAreMyOcean
    StarsAreMyOcean Posts: 61
    Eat them back. It might seem strange but trust me, it works (did it before when I lost weight on this site, and doing it again).

    You want your NET calories (which is calories in - calories burned) to equal the ~1,500 MFP set for you.
  • aboh44
    aboh44 Posts: 7 Member
    Thank you so much!
  • StarsAreMyOcean
    StarsAreMyOcean Posts: 61
    You're welcome :)

    MFP even keeps track of this break down right on your home page in the "Daily Summary" box at the top. I love being able to reference that quickly.
  • llysenw
    llysenw Posts: 57 Member
    I'm having trouble eating enough calories too, and MFP is telling me that I need to eat more. So, is the calorie count the main gauge to use, even if I'm going over my numbers in other categories (sodium, fat, sugar). I know the idea is to adjust what I eat so that I can meet all the nutrional requirements without going way over in any category. But if I'm going over on my fat or sugar, I'm inclined to want to stop eating even if I'm under on calories, protein, carbs.
  • melifornia
    melifornia Posts: 227 Member
    I have the same inclination when I max out on things besides calories. What I finally decided was that I needed to look at what I was eating and where the calories were coming from, then use that to help me choose more nutritious foods. For example, I have trouble eating enough protein, but I'm almost always over on sugar. So instead of eating something sweet (yogurt, fruit, my beloved FF milkshake) for breakfast, I should eat something high in protein (eggs, cottage cheese, quinoa). Easier said than done, of course. :)
  • StarsAreMyOcean
    StarsAreMyOcean Posts: 61
    Ideally you want to hit your macro nutrients and your calorie goal.

    Most definitly easier said than done.

    My main focus is on calories and then doing my best with the macro nutrients. Always an accomplishment when I hit them :)

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