How many calories do I eat/burn?

If you eat 1200 calories, then exercise and burn 200, then eat that 200 back (1200 - 200 + 1200) you end up with 1200.

If you eat 1500 then exercise 300 and do not eat any back (1500 - 300 + 0) you also end up with 1200.

The end result is the same.

If you use MFP's recommendation, you should eat back your exercise calories, but know that MFP and most fitness machines overestimate calorie burn.

Option C would be to figure out your BMR, and your TDEE, but if you use this method, you do NOT eat any exercise calories back.

One of several calculators to figure out TDEE is iifym.com. There are others - if you haven't read the posts that are at the very top of the general diet and weight loss help page yet, read up.

Everyone does it differently! Some don't even use the MFP numbers, lol.

Eat the 1280.

If you exercise, it will add calories back in. A lot of folks (including moi) think that MFP is overly ambitious with the totals burned doing exercise. Some don't eat any back. Some eat balk half or some other percentage. Some say they eat them all. It's kind of up to you.

Me: Barring a hurricane and the rare <40 degree morning, I swim and do water weights. That never gets eaten back. If I do something else and I'm hungry, I'll eat those back. But I base everything more on hunger than numbers, which makes me the oddball. I think most people eat up or down to the calorie goal.

Play around a bit, see what works for you!

Eat the 1280 plus half of the exercise calories back.