Calories given for exercise??

weemazo1 wrote: »

Hi there I was wondering about the extra calories it gives you after you exercise....i thought the whole idea of exercising was to burn these off. How important is it to eat these?

This should be something that is answered and then the post bumped so it's always there for anyone else to find. I have this question myself but never have seen a clear cut answer without a bunch of other numbers thrown in or calculations.

To eat back the calories burned or not to eat back the calories burned, that is the question ~William Shakespeare (just kidding) but really, it's something that should be clearer and put right up front and not buried under a mass of other threads!

It depends which method you are using to calculate your deficit. If you are using the MFP default, then the deficit you need to create has already been calculated in based on your eating alone. It doesnt include any exercise, so if you do some you then get to eat calories back to maintain the deficit you set i.e 1lb a week. The proviso is that you need to ve sure your deficit is accuate in the first place(weigh your food) and that the burn estimates are correct i.e MFP overestimates on some exercise, uswers overestimate their own efforts, so you end up being awarded more calories than you have really burned, which if you eat them back dilutes your deficit.

Initially eat 50% of the calories back and see if you are hungry and wheher you lose weight. Im fluid to the extent of calories I eat back and use them as a reserve. If ive had a long workout then I make sure im properly fueled ip.

The alternative method TDEE gives you a bumber that already factors in exercise and you do not eat the calories back or that would be double counting.