Do I eat the calories I burn?

Kittykatally86
Kittykatally86 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to the whole counting calories and tracking calories burn when I'm working out. But if I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I burn 600 calories. What does that mean? Can I eat more? What happens if I don't?

Replies

  • brichards_
    brichards_ Posts: 113 Member
    Yes you can eat the calories you burn. If you don't eat those calories than you are more likely to lose weight to a certain extent. But if you are hungry and have those extra calories from exercise, it is probably best to at least eat some.
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    Kittykatally86 wrote: »
    I'm new to the whole counting calories and tracking calories burn when I'm working out. But if I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I burn 600 calories. What does that mean? Can I eat more? What happens if I don't?

    Yes you can eat more. The usual recommendation is half of what you burn, so 300 extra in this case.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,185 Member
    Mfp is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories. Since exercise calorie burn estimates are often inflated a good rule of thumb is to start out eating half of the exercise calories and reevaluate after about 4 weeks. If you are losing faster than expected eat back more, if you are losing slower than expected then eat back less. If you don't eat back any if them then you will be creating too large of a deficit and not giving your body the nutrients it needs to function properly.
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    edited March 2017
    Be careful with exercise calories mfp is over estimating burned calories most exercise machines too a good hrm is best but only eat 1/2 back plus your given 1200
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
    Godspeed. 1200 is too low for me!

    Like everyone else said, the burn is inflated. Eat half back. :)
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited March 2017
    Kittykatally86 wrote: »
    I'm new to the whole counting calories and tracking calories burn when I'm working out. But if I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I burn 600 calories. What does that mean? Can I eat more? What happens if I don't?

    I'm on 1200 too. I don't usually eat mine because it affects my losses and I rarely need them anyway - but if you're hungry and you have the extra then of course you can eat those calories.
  • Jabbarwocky
    Jabbarwocky Posts: 100 Member
    My dietician has told me to eat back approximately 3/4 of my exercise calories but she has also been monitoring my diet, exercise, and progress for quite a while so has a pretty good idea of what's going on. It also depends a bit on what you have MFP set at. The half a pound to 2 pounds per week thing? Remember that calories are already being deducted from what your maintenance intake would be in order to allow you to lose weight.
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  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    I don't eat them unless I am hungry. You have to figure out what works for you. Everyone is different.
  • robthephotog
    robthephotog Posts: 81 Member
    You probably should with those numbers. If you put your body into too high of a deficit for too long it can cause slower losses and/or possibly permanent damage to your body. It's a machine burning fuel. You naturally burn a certain amount, then you exercise it's like hitting the gas pedal, you'll burn more.

    Start with eating back half, and monitor what it does. If you see your losses are too fast, eat more. If your losses stop, you may want to cut but slightly, but I wouldn't advise not eating Any of them back.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Kittykatally86 wrote: »
    I'm new to the whole counting calories and tracking calories burn when I'm working out. But if I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I burn 600 calories. What does that mean? Can I eat more? What happens if I don't?

    You lose an even larger % of existing lean muscle mass.
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