eating more calories when you work out

For the average exerciser trying to lose or maintain weight (i.e. someone who burns an additional 200-500 calories a few times per week), exercise calories don’t make up a significant portion of overall calorie burn, generally in the 1500-2200 per day range. Unless you’re exercising at a moderate to high intensity for an hour or more, several times a week, or are actively trying to gain weight, you most likely don’t need to be worried about eating all of those calories back.

I've also noticed that this app overestimates calorie burn, so by going out of your way to eat all of them back you may be going over your calorie goal. Personally, I feel content have an extra 300 calories a day on the days I work out but if I am belligerently hungry I will def eat them back if I need to

Hope that helps!

Kylee

OP, ignore JAB. S/he is a recurring troll.

Your MFP goal has your caloric deficit built into it. You are supposed to eat your exercise calories. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that bigger deficits are better. Fuel your body properly for best results.

Very confused as to why this topic is so confusing!

Should you eat back your exercise calories? Well it depends, doesn't it, on what you're trying to achieve!

If skipping the eat back won't make you lose weight too fast AND if it won't jeopardize your continued adherence to the program AND if you've already taken in sufficient nutrients AND if you are actually trying to lose weight, then by all means, don't eat your exercise calories back and lose at a faster rate than you would otherwise!

Potential problems of not eating back exercise calories:
(note that if you have a large amount of fat available to lose the following negative effects may be mild or non-existent for quite a while)
--additional loss of lean body mass
--insufficient intake of macro/micro nutrients
--inability of your body to sustain the chosen level of eating/activities resulting in undesired adaptations.
--taken to the extreme substantial negative effects on your health

Potential problems of eating back too many exercise calories:
--your weight loss will be slower than anticipated and you will remain at a higher weight longer than you would otherwise.

I think it depends somewhat on the number of calories. If you burned a couple hundred extra and don't feel particularly hungry, you're probably fine to just eat your regular number, but if you've burned 500 or more and don't adjust your intake, you will probably feel decreased energy or ravenous hunger, especially if you are eating at a deficit already.

I hike a lot, and if my calorie burn is over 500 in a day, I will eat at least some of those calories back, whether I am hungry or not. Under 500, I go by my hunger.

I should mention I don't use the MFP calorie burn estimates, but the ones from my fitbit, which has been surprisingly accurate with regards to energy balance (as compared to actual weight changes)

Depends how many calories you are eating in the first place and how many calories you are burning. Just use some common sense. You dont really give enough information on what you are doing, how much you think you are burning etc or where the measurements come from. In some cases it would be fine and others there would be plenty of downsides in running a large deficit.

It depends. Are you hungry? Like, legitimately hungry? If so, it's ok to eat some of them back, but I'm on the "50%" bandwagon.

If you're not hungry, then you usually wouldn't need to. You don't want to get into a habit of eating when you don't need food.