Question re earning extra calories through exercise

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dellers
dellers Posts: 6 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi - if I exercise and get more calorie allowance, does it matter if I don't use it up? That means more weight loss right? Less food + more activity = weight loss?

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  • dawndarlinglittle
    dawndarlinglittle Posts: 3 Member
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    That's the theory, that weight loss is simple mathematics. You should lose more weight if you don't eat back your calories.
  • dellers
    dellers Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm being a div getting used to the app!! Thank you :)) just realised I'm not maintaining and shouldn't have posted here either!!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited April 2015
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    MFP gives you a deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who can't exercise still lose weight.

    Eating calories back is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. I eat back my exercise calories. Would I like to lose faster? Sure, but not at the expense of losing lean muscle. I want to maximize fat loss.

    Closer to goal - you are more likely to lose lean muscle. Some people have a really large deficit from the get go (overly aggressive goal)...adding exercise and not fueling it, is like looking for muscle loss.

    "Weight" loss is simple mathematics....but not all weight loss is equal.
  • dellers
    dellers Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks TeaBea - didn't cotton on to the fact that my 1200 calories a day took into account a deficit already! Will see how my first few weeks go to get the hang of what you're explaining, thx
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    Another consideration.
    For me, the more I exercise, the hungrier I am, so I have to eat back exercise calories.
    When I began, I did not begin to even walk more until 7 months in and -90 pounds. Now that I am at maintenance and exercise 1-2 hours/day, I get extremely hungry. This did not happen before I began exercising daily.
    Everyone is different though. Find what works for you.

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