Exercise calories? to eat or not to eat?

I want to know as well!

Read the links in my signature for info and clarification. Good luck to you!

I know I asked the same question when I first started, and I guess my best answer is to work out what works for you. I personally don't eat my exercise calories, and in fact not always eating my min 1,200 calories. I have lost 12kg so far, and 10 of those kg were almost 6 months ago, went off track gained a couple of kgs back, and now 2nd week back and I have lost 3kgs in the last week. So I guess I don't HAVE to eat those extra calories, if you are eating regularly and getting nutrituous food in your belly and not hungry I reckon you are right. But thats just my opinion on what has worked for me.

I know I asked the same question when I first started, and I guess my best answer is to work out what works for you. I personally don't eat my exercise calories, and in fact not always eating my min 1,200 calories. I have lost 12kg so far, and 10 of those kg were almost 6 months ago, went off track gained a couple of kgs back, and now 2nd week back and I have lost 3kgs in the last week. So I guess I don't HAVE to eat those extra calories, if you are eating regularly and getting nutrituous food in your belly and not hungry I reckon you are right. But thats just my opinion on what has worked for me.

I hope you aren't suggesting that not eating the minimum 1200 is a good idea, because its not. Do that too much, and you will be sabotaging yourself in the long run by hurting your metabolism (which helps you lose weight AND keep it off) and starving your body of the fuel it needs to function properly.

My advice- if you are hungry, eat them. If you aren't, don't stress it. But ALWAYS get your 1200 minimum, because your body NEEDS that. Depending on what exercises you are doing, you may need to eat your exercise calories. It's important to give your body the fuel it needs, so that it can be HEALTHY, not just "skinny". There is a difference And yes, MFP has a deficit set up for you, even if you eat your exercise calories, so you will still lose weight, and not only that, you will lose it at a HEALTHY pace, which is about 1 lb a week, 2 lbs if you have a way to go. Hope that helps, and good luck! :flowerforyou:

I wasn't suggesting anything, just that you do what you feel is right for your body. Everyone is different, and I have succeeded over a consistent period of time eating healthily, until full. I have kept most of that weight off (until Xmas season hit and lots of drinking and eating and even still only gained a couple of those kilos back). If I am eating 3 meals plus fruit for snacks and I am not eating alot of carbs, then it is generally under 1,200 calories. I dont see this as a problem as I am getting all the nutrition I need, and I haven't suffered any. Having said that I do try and get as close as I can to the minimum. Anyway I was suggesting you do what works for YOU. Everyone is different, and despite many articles there are two schools of thought so how do you know what is right, but by following what works for you. In addition, I would be careful about the exercise calories as MFP has a tendency to over estimate the number of calories you burn in exercise (I am always adjusting my calories lost by hundreds especially when running). So there is the danger of overeating the calories with the assumption MFP is foolproof with its calories burned.