Exercise and eating

Congrats! It feels great to know you're making progress, doesn't it? Best of luck on the rest of your journey.

Yes, unless you are intending part of your deficit to be exercise induced rather than gained through eating less. Many people only eat back a percentage of exercise calories due to inaccuracies with exercise calorie calculation.

Generally to lose weight you try to create a calorie deficit. Assuming your total energy outlay is the energy needed to live at whatever your standard daily level of activity is PLUS any additional dedicated exercise you do, you could eat enough to cover your standard activity existence and rely on the exercise for deficit. If your meal plan is intended to create the deficit itself, then yes you can eat back the exercise calories without threatening your goal.

If you are following MFP's calorie goal guidelines… then your entire calorie deficit for your desired weight loss is included in that number. Basically, its assuming you don't exercise. Therefore, if you exercise, then yes… eat back your exercise calories.

But as you are getting your calorie goal from Diet Chef… we don't know if they have accounted for your exercise already or not. If yes… then don't eat those extra calories. If no… then eat them.

However… given that they are only giving you 1200 calories… I'm assuming you could probably eat back your calories. Just be careful. Because people tend to overestimate the amount of calories they burn.