Should I eat my activity calories?

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natroy27
natroy27 Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
I have my fitbit synced and today I earned 800 fitness calories- I usually have 1200 calories a day but it shows 2000 for today. Eat them or not?

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  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    If you're using MFP as intended then yes, especially when you pick the absolute minimum calorie goal, which you have.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    If they are based on being much more active, then eat them.

    Life lesson there regarding weight:

    You do more you eat more.
    You do less you eat less (that's the gotcha for most people as they age or activity changes).

    In a diet a tad less in any case.

    If that increase was because you manually logged something iffy - then that needs to be examined.
    If that increase was because you did some workout Fitbit is very good at inflating calorie burn on - then that needs to be examined.
    If you walked most of the day and have never calibrated your stride length - then that needs to be examined.
    If you had a ton of false steps because of driving an 18 wheeler on a bumpy road - then that needs to be examined.

    Every tool has proper uses, and potential misuses, and potential mishandling.
    Just need to confirm it's being used right.
  • wpbarrett
    wpbarrett Posts: 3 Member
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    I never do. My goal is 1600 per day. I try to eat 1600. The calories I burn exercising are a bonus toward weight loss. I doubt it is the healthiest way, but my weight has been coming off quickly.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    What weight?

    Fat, water, muscle mass?

    I'd suggest it should concern you now - because later will be too late for 1 of those you'd likely wish hadn't dropped at all.
  • canarysal
    canarysal Posts: 118 Member
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    I'm on 1200 a day too being short and tend to try and only eat half my exercise calories as think often inflated amounts given for exercise. You have to find what works for you to create a steady loss.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,069 Member
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    Eating half is a good starting point, if you do that for a few weeks you will be able to gauge how accurate the Fitbit is by comparing your weight loss to the rate you have set in MFP (providing you've stuck to your calorie allowance during that time). If you find you are losing weight quicker (not necessarily a good thing) you can increase the amount you're eating back, or slower you can reduce the amount you're eating back).

    If you are at 1200 (which is the lowest recommendation for a woman) you do not really want to be netting below this regularly.

    Below may help with how it works:

    s1k4kz95n1t1.jpg
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    I don't, and here's why.
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1400 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    terbusha wrote: »
    I don't, and here's why.
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1400 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    But you aren't talking about the MFP method that you know the question is based on nor with Fitbit synced, you are talking about a weekly average TDEE method where exercise is already accounted for in the eating goal.

    I'm sure you know that by now.

    And your method won't work for women who need to wait a month before seeing weight figures that can base any actions on.

    That is wild to recommend a calorie goal with absolutely no knowledge of the OP's stats or life activity level of workout level.

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