Eat extra calories from calories burned from exercise?

Shellymarie604
Shellymarie604 Posts: 51 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone eat extra calories from working out? I am on a 1200 calorie program and add in food on workout days up to what I burned for the day. Is this good or bad?

Replies

  • PurpleOrchid531
    PurpleOrchid531 Posts: 28 Member
    I find that MFP overestimated how many calories I burn for exercise. I allow myself to "eat" back about half of what I earn. I think you'll get a variety of answers to this - some people don't eat back the calories at all, while many eat back a portion.
  • kksmom1789
    kksmom1789 Posts: 281 Member
    I have asked that question and from what I've been told yes eat back the calories to fuel your body I personally eat back the calories not all of them but some of them
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    edited April 2016
    I eat back every delicious calorie.

    My suggestion would be to use this site as it is intended to be used. Don't use the most aggressive goal of "Lose 2 pounds per week" unless you are more than 75 pounds over weight. Set it at lose one pound. Eat back all the exercise calories. Do that for a month and log every bite that goes in your mouth. Use a digital food scale to weigh your food.

    At the end of that month of perfect logging and eating all the exercise calories, adjust in small increments each month subsequent if necessary. This is about getting good data and being flexible over time.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Yes - that's how MFP is designed. Some calculators included exercise up front, MFP did not. So eating back calories "should" get you to your original deficit. 1200 is already pretty aggressive unless you are very petite, or a senior. Fueling your workouts should help your body support existing lean muscle mass. Large deficits can mean a lower % of fat loss.

    But as previous posters stated, calorie burns are estimates. Start eating back 50%, then adjust up or down as weight loss progresses.
  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    I never really understood the 1200 cal diet, me personally i was 262 and i based my cal on 2200-2400 depending on how i felt that day with 5 workouts a week of 45mins HIT. i feel that if your going to workout you need to feed your muscles or else your body's just going to break down the muscle you just built. but if its working out for you carry on!
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