Why do people eat their exercise calories?

See.. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

I sorta wondered the same thing. I try to stick to my calorie goal, but it helps to keep me exercising too

I agree with you 100%. Especially when people use every movement they make throughout the day to count as 'exercise'.
Making a sandwich 100 calories! Watching tv, 50 calories! Walking from the car to the store! 500 calories!
Life isn't a video game.

because that is what people want to do, and if it is working for them, why question it? Sometimes I eat my calories, sometimes I am too full to. Either way, I am losing weight in a healthy manner.

I think it differs depending on the person. If I only ate my 1290 and still worked out...I would passsss out! For me, my body needs the calories to keep going- and my weight loss has been just fine. To be honest, if I didn't eat them I would lose TOO quickly and start a vicious cycle of gain/lose/faint!

I don't eat back my calories but I see why people do. We're all different, we all need different levels of fuel to lose weight the healthy way. They may not lose weight faster if they don't eat their calories. 1200 was MFP recommendation for me, and I didn't start losing weight consistently until I upped my calories to 1500. I was averaging a pound a week, and I now average 1.7 pounds a week. MFP has a built in deficit, and you're right, the deficit is what makes you lose weight, but if you create too much of a deficit, your body's going to hold on to everything. The only way you're cheating yourself, in my opinion, is if you're not losing weight the healthy way.

I've just spent 3 weeks eating 1200 calories religiously, exercising 4 times a week and not eating them back and stayed at a plateau at 7lbs off for the whole time, I figured out as I was only netting around 900 cals a day 4 days a week de to exercise my metabolism was slowing down. I am now eating 1350 cals a day, exercising and eating back all my calories. I am still netting 1350-1400 calories but I am able to eat more and satisfy my body more and I have started to lose weight again already in 3 days!

There's a point where your body knows you're out putting TOO much compared to intake. I'm almost a year into my journey (and 15lbs left to go!) and if I don't NET 1300 calories a day I don't lose weight, period. It's my body's line on weight loss compared to "ZOMG WE'RE STARVING". So when I exercise and put out calories I NEED to eat back at least some of them in the form of protein shakes/recovery drinks.

I've been very lucky that I haven't ever had a plateau since I started last Aug and I really think that it's knowing my body and reading about NET calories and workouts that helped me to not have that problem that so many people have.

Well its because you are fueling your body and not letting it go into starvation mode. I eat about half of my excercise calories and I'm losing weight just fine. Everyone has their own ways of losing the weight whether they eat those extra calories or not. Just worry about what works for you :flowerforyou:

I would research into how MFP calculates your calories for the day and WHY it adds on the exercise calories burned onto your calories to be consumed for the day. There's a reason for it... MFP already puts you at a deficit for calories which is why it is so important to eat them back..

I'd much rather eat them back, maintain a high metabolism and lose at a more steady pace than drop 5 pounds in a week and have a crappy metabolism.