Exercise calories

gc2052
gc2052 Posts: 183
edited September 30 in Fitness and Exercise
If I am allowed 1200 calories. Then burn 600 calories according to my polar 6, do I add in all 600 calories or subtract from the 600 what I would have burned if I had done nothing?

Replies

  • nitamo
    nitamo Posts: 64
    You eat the additional 600 calories to get back to a net 1200 calories.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
    1200 is really low to begin with -- unless you are super super tiny.
    I would plan to eat at least 1200 net after exercise...but its likely you need to raise it a bit.
  • NaomiLyn15
    NaomiLyn15 Posts: 388 Member
    Add in all 600. MFP already takes that into consideration when they tell you that you have 1200 calories to eat. You should end the day at net 1200 calories. So, if you eat 1200, work off 600, then you will end up eating a total of 1800 calories that day.
  • edinat
    edinat Posts: 159 Member
    Add in all 600. MFP already takes that into consideration when they tell you that you have 1200 calories to eat. You should end the day at net 1200 calories. So, if you eat 1200, work off 600, then you will end up eating a total of 1800 calories that day.

    sometimes this really confuses me too....but if u eat 1200 calories, and burn 600 that means ur body is working on 600 calories, since MFP already gives u a deficit.... but what really gets me why exercise and eat them back, why just NOT exercise and eat 1200 calories :))))) that would be my perfect world.....but me personally i have to have those burned off calories i dont want to be over, and to be safe i leave some uneaten just to be safe...
  • jpeper1966
    jpeper1966 Posts: 79
    Technically, you need to subtract, but it is only an issue if you are doing long duration low intensity workouts.

    MFP figures you will burn X number of calories an hour based on your lifestyle setting. Your HRM does not know that MFP already gave you calories for your base heartrate. So now if you workout for 3hrs and your HRM says you burned 1500 calories, you need to reduce that by the amount that MFP figured you burned in that time WITHOUT the workout. It's only about 100cal/hr and that is why it is not much of an issue for normal workouts, but a 3hr workout could have you registering/eating 300 calories too much.
  • atomdraco
    atomdraco Posts: 1,083 Member
    Quick answer: eat your exercises calories that you burned BACK! It's how MFP set it up to work this way (which already included deficit when you set up the goal using the auto setting).

    Read these to help you understand more about this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ladyhawk00/view/mfp-basics-78491
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/ (2nd page has many links to help you understand how MFP works)
  • jpeper1966
    jpeper1966 Posts: 79
    People! The question is not SHOULD the exercise calories be eaten back, the OP understands that. The question is what calorie amount do you record in MFP when using a heart rate monitor.

    If you put on a HRM and just sit in a chair for 5 hours, it is going to say you burned 400-600 calories. Can you then record "sitting in chair" for 5hrs 500 calories as exercise and eat 500 more calories. NO! You did not workout and MFP already gave you 500 calories for that 5hrs (just like your HRM recorded). You can't count both!

    So if you are eating back every calorie you record, you need to be careful not to over-count your exercise calories. The belief is that MFP's exercise calories in the database already adjust for this, but if you use a HRM, YOU need to make the adjustment.

    Sorry about the rant, but people are so quick to jump in the eat/don't eat debate that sometimes the original point gets lost.
  • mrsjennifermaffei
    mrsjennifermaffei Posts: 469
    Thanks for clarifying this as I'm new around here and this definitely lets me know I need to eat those calories!!
  • gc2052
    gc2052 Posts: 183
    Thanks everyone. I have a fitbit also and it never gives me the full amount of the exercise calories. I am not losing and i think I will try to just eat what the fitbit tells me and see how that works.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    People! The question is not SHOULD the exercise calories be eaten back, the OP understands that. The question is what calorie amount do you record in MFP when using a heart rate monitor.

    If you put on a HRM and just sit in a chair for 5 hours, it is going to say you burned 400-600 calories. Can you then record "sitting in chair" for 5hrs 500 calories as exercise and eat 500 more calories. NO! You did not workout and MFP already gave you 500 calories for that 5hrs (just like your HRM recorded). You can't count both!

    So if you are eating back every calorie you record, you need to be careful not to over-count your exercise calories. The belief is that MFP's exercise calories in the database already adjust for this, but if you use a HRM, YOU need to make the adjustment.

    Sorry about the rant, but people are so quick to jump in the eat/don't eat debate that sometimes the original point gets lost.

    Surely no one will think sitting down is an exercise that burns calories???
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