exercise calories how it works ...

You can use them whenever you'd like, but don't use all of them - exercise calories are notoriously inflated. If you eat back all of them, you risk eating too much to remain in a deficit. Most people only eat back @50-70% of calories earned through exercise.

The best way to calibrate calories to use a heart rate monitor during the exercise and coordinate it with your MFP count. I ride 2 ways into work and half my ride is downhill but MFP says I burn more calories on the way in than I burn on the way home back up that huge hill because the average speed is higher in the morning than it is at night. I know for a fact that I am not burning that huge on the way in because 50% of my ride is sitting and coasting. However I know that I am burning a ton on the way home because for the remaining miles up the hills my heart is beating out of my chest.

Caloric burn for exercise is really a crap shoot, MPF just uses duration, your self described activity level and your weight to calculate the caloric burn. I have found it is really close with high aerobic activities (running, cross country skiing, cycling) and really not accurate for less aerobic activities (walking, weights and hiking).

I would temper whatever your exercise calories are through how intense you feel you worked out and as the others have said don't be tempted to eat them all back.

anjixox wrote: »

just started using the app along with a Fitbit so just getting my bearings.

I've used MFP + Fitbit for two years. I eat back 100% of my Fitbit adjustments, lost the weight, and kept it off. But I also:
• enabled negative calorie adjustments in my diary settings: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
• log exercise in Fitbit—never MFP, and
• log everything I eat & drink accurately & honestly.

Trust your Fitbit for several weeks, then reevaluate your progress. You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users