Eating back exercise calories

weebee05
weebee05 Posts: 22 Member
edited November 17 in Fitness and Exercise
HI all, my calorie goal is 1200 each day. Should I be eating back my exercise calories? or should I have a net calorie less than 1200 on exercise days?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    You are supposed to eat your exercise calories. That is why they are added back to your calorie goal when you log them.
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    eat back your exercise calories. Just try and make sure your estimations are realistic. I went all hardcore and got a heart rate monitor so I was sure of how much I burned (though in essence even that is an estimation).
  • ImVeryAngryItsNotButter
    ImVeryAngryItsNotButter Posts: 39 Member
    As long as you're hitting your macros you don't need to. In my personal experience the main difference is the amount of energy and effort you'll be able to put forth in the gym. 1200 calories is low even for women, that'd be a good amount to consume on your off day but if you're lifting or doing extensive cardio it is in my opinion that you should be taking in more calories.
  • ImVeryAngryItsNotButter
    ImVeryAngryItsNotButter Posts: 39 Member
    Here's an excellent macro calculator if you're interested. I use it for carb cycling and it has been extremely effective: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    MFP gave you a calorie deficit before exercise because some people can't/won't exercise. That way they still lose weight too.

    Eating calories back ideally gets you back to your original deficit. The reason for this, large deficits make it hard for your body to support existing lean muscle. I eat calories back because I want to lower my body fat percentage.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    MostlyDickWeight wrote: »
    As long as you're hitting your macros you don't need to. In my personal experience the main difference is the amount of energy and effort you'll be able to put forth in the gym. 1200 calories is low even for women, that'd be a good amount to consume on your off day but if you're lifting or doing extensive cardio it is in my opinion that you should be taking in more calories.

    That's why people need to eat their exercise calories. A large number of women on MFP end up with 1200 as their base calorie goal due to how they set up their profile (naturally lower NEAT # less goal deficit.) I can't imagine eating it even on a day off. Eating it on a workout day would be a killer for me. Eating back exercise calories is one of the basics of using the MFP method.
  • weebee05
    weebee05 Posts: 22 Member
    Thanks! This is what I was thinking and have done in the past, but I have a few friends now who say I should not be eating back my calories. So, wanted to check if my thinking was correct. 7 lbs to goal! although I feel like I may want to go an extra 5 lower than my original goal. :)
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