Calorie intake

JJ_heartRN
JJ_heartRN Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi team! So I have MFP set up for around 2000 calories a day. When I exercise it adds those calories. Am I supposed to eat 400+ more calories (or whatever my workout was)? Maybe a dumb question to the pros but it seems to defeat the purpose of burning calories. I've yet had no budge in the scale, inches have gone down yes, but I'm just wanting to make sure I'm doing everything I can right! TIA

Replies

  • ShashayLee
    ShashayLee Posts: 178 Member
    Some folks don't eat back exercise calories but i think most eat back 50% to 75%
  • hlnebel
    hlnebel Posts: 71 Member
    You'll get a lot of different opinions on whether or not to eat back your exercise calories, but it seems like a lot of people decide to eat back about half of them.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    edited October 2015
    Yes, in theory you eat back the exercise calories. On this program, exercise is supposed to be for fitness rather than weight loss, as your calorie deficit is already built in.

    That said, if you calculate your exercise calories using the MFP database or gym machines, it's usually recommended to eat back 50-80% of your exercise calories, as those sources tend to overestimate exercise calories a lot.

    Some people don't eat them back at all. It's up to you, just make sure you're not spending hours in the gym burning off hundreds of calories, then leaving your body nothing to live off!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    If you're following MFP's calories, eat half of them back. If you're following TDEE, then they're already included.
  • hamelle2
    hamelle2 Posts: 297 Member
    I started eating back some of my exercise calories 2 weeks ago.I wanted to see what loss I would have eating more. Well found out...I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks but maintained. Part of me is upset for wasting 2 weeks but at least now I know what I have to do.
    May I suggest starting slowly....add 50 calories per day for a week.I've decided to stick to my calorie goal and decide on the 8th day how I feel.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Depends on the activity setting you used and what you're counting as "exercise." Some people set their setting to sedentary and then log all activities including things like gardening and doing laundry and their daily walk. Other people change their activity setting to "lightly active" and then do not log the things like walking the dog and doing dishes.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    hamelle2 wrote: »
    I started eating back some of my exercise calories 2 weeks ago.I wanted to see what loss I would have eating more. Well found out...I haven't lost a pound in 2 weeks but maintained. Part of me is upset for wasting 2 weeks but at least now I know what I have to do.
    May I suggest starting slowly....add 50 calories per day for a week.I've decided to stick to my calorie goal and decide on the 8th day how I feel.

    Two weeks isn't enough time to determine if what you're doing is working. You still also have to make sure your logging is accurate.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    It doesn't defeat the purpose because the purpose is to lose at a set rate and balancing exercise intake with exercise burn maintains the rate set by your target deficit.
  • JJ_heartRN
    JJ_heartRN Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you so much for your time! I'm doing mainly weight training, body pump and kickboxing or HIIT for cardio. I'm nursing a foot injury so my cardio is less then usual.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    If you're following MFP's calories, eat half of them back. If you're following TDEE, then they're already included.

    This! :]

    I follow the TDEE method because it saves me working out how much to eat back etc - it's worked really well for me.

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