Extra calories after exercising.

j3iisha
j3iisha Posts: 6 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
When I exercise, my food log adds a few more calories I can eat. Should I eat them or leave it like it is? This part confuses me!?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    The way MFP is set up, you should eat them back. Your deficit is calculated without exercise, so when you add it in you're burning more. To keep to a safe deficit and keep your body running, eat 50-75% of those calories back (to account for overestimation of what you burned).
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Well MFP estimates what your calorie burn for the day is before exercise. It bases your calorie goal off of that number. When you exercise, this increases your calorie burn for the day. So to maintain the same deficit you would need to eat more.

    An example:
    2000 before exercise estimated daily burn
    -500 to lose 1lb per week
    1500 calorie goal to lose 1lb per week without exercise
    500 exercise calories burned
    2500 estimated daily burn with exercise
    -500 to lose 1lb per week
    2000 calorie goal to lose 1lb per week with exercise/NET of 1500

    Because exercise calorie burns are estimates, it is recommended that if you use the MFP database for exercise calorie burns or the exercise machines to only eat 50-75% back.
  • j3iisha
    j3iisha Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited April 2015
    If you're eating them back, make sure you get an accurate burn estimate or stay under 50% of what MFP gives you.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Most eat back half, to allow for miscalculations in both logging and overestimating caloric burns.
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