Am I supposed to eat back calories I burn when I work out

audsworld14
audsworld14 Posts: 23
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
should I eat back the calories I burn. Because I usually burn around 400

Replies

  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    this is a really good question. i thought that the calories i burn at the gym were being added as my calories available for that day but now i am wondering if i have been wrong all this time. lol. lets see what others post
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,589 MFP Moderator
    The my fitness pal method already calculates the deficit for you desired rate of loss
    (assuming you have appropriate goals selected) into your calorie goal. You should be eating back exercise calories. Not eating them back can give you an even larger deficit, which depending on the size of your burns can put you into the "not eating enough" category which can lead to lots of fun side effects: extreme hunger, fatigue, fast wieght loss including muscle mass. However, if you do not have an accurate way of estimating your calories burned most people suggest only eating back 50-75% of what MFP says you burned. Regularly overestimating your burns can decrease your deficit by quite a bit and slow or stall your weight loss.
  • Unknown
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  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • Sunshine48205
    Sunshine48205 Posts: 41 Member
    I don't usually but most people say they eat half of their calories back. Sometimes I'll eat maybe 150 cals back out of 450 that I burn.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    MFP as designed gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who can't/won't exercise still lose weight. Eating calories back should get you back to the same starting point.

    However, calorie burns are estimates. Real numbers are difficult to come by. Start by eating about half back. If you are tired or fatigued....eat more. If you are losing slower than you expect.....eat less.
  • ShaeSweetness
    ShaeSweetness Posts: 61 Member
    I usually eat back my calories. Most of the times not all, but if i get REALLY hungry and i still have some leftover then i am eating them up! Ive been losing weight consistently. I definitely don't think you should be doing hard workouts and not eating them back. If i do a really vigorous workout and im a sweaty beast..then i know i deserve those calories, but if i just sit on the bike for 20 minutes at a low speed then i won't really eat back much. I use my hunger as a sign. The hungrier i am that day, generally the harder i worked out and the more i can eat.
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