Do I get it?

I never eat back my calories.

When MFP does its little calculation and gives you a number of calories to eat in order to lose the amount of weight that you put in, it does not include exercise in that piece of math. So, yes, you can eat more calories if you exercise, and still lose according to the schedule you've set up. Whether you do or not, and how many, is pretty much up to you. Since the calorie estimates for the activities in the MFP database are somewhere between kinda high and ridiculous, most people will add maybe 50 or 75% of those calories back to their diet. Many people will tell you that you'll be much happier and healthier if you do add them back - some will even tell you that you MUST do it for one unsubstantiated reason or another. I personally say you should feel free to experiment and base that decision on how you feel. You may find that you're super hungry one day, and another day you just don't care. Or maybe, like me, you're always hungry and willing to work for extra food . As long as you give yourself time to figure out what works for you, allowing you to maintain a deficit while still feeling good inside and out, it should be fine in the long run.