Eating back Exercise Calories

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Sami1601
Sami1601 Posts: 50 Member
in Getting Started
Hi sorry if this is a silly question.
I’m 150lbs 5’4 female and I am eating 1,500 calories a day. I’m tracking my steps and calories burned on my Fitbit Blaze. Now I am exercising about 3 times a week. Do I eat back my calories like it states to in MFP or not if I want to lose weight?

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    If you set up your goals using My Fitness Pal - then yes. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-amp-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Sami1601 wrote: »
    Hi sorry if this is a silly question.
    I’m 150lbs 5’4 female and I am eating 1,500 calories a day. I’m tracking my steps and calories burned on my Fitbit Blaze. Now I am exercising about 3 times a week. Do I eat back my calories like it states to in MFP or not if I want to lose weight?

    Are you eating to your Fitbit goal or a goal from MyFitnessPal?

    Have you linked your Fitbit so that it sends across step and exercise data to MyFitnessPal?
  • Sami1601
    Sami1601 Posts: 50 Member
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    Minus calories from BMR? Even with exercise, surely that's not right it will make you poorly.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited March 2019
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    Exactly. 500 from TDEE is reasonable for a 1lb per week loss. I just find it easier to plug in my stats to MFP and eat the calories it gives me. (I eat back at least 50% of exercise calories and keep the rest as a cushion against logging errors.)
  • Sami1601
    Sami1601 Posts: 50 Member
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    Yes my Fitbit logs everything and sends it across to MFP. I eat from a goal from MFP.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Sami1601 wrote: »
    Yes my Fitbit logs everything and sends it across to MFP. I eat from a goal from MFP.

    Your calorie goal when set by MFP is a goal for a non-exercise day only - that 1500 goal is actually 1500 + exercise calories.

    Your steps and non-exercise activity are catered for in the activity setting you pick on MFP to give you an average daily amount as opposed to what the Fitbit is trying to do and give you a variable daily amount. So be cautious how you use your Fitbit data - if your steps are already catered for in your activity setting you don't want to count them again.

    I'm not really seeing the value of linking your Fitbit TBH, maybe just use it for the exercise estimates only and disconnect from MFP?
  • Sami1601
    Sami1601 Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm sorry I'm new at this I'm not sure I understand. The Fitbit sends my steps across to MFP a which gives me extra calories for exercise.
  • asilelisa
    asilelisa Posts: 1 Member
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    I was wondering about the same thing. Google logs my steps and gives me extra calories to eat, but aren't they already calculated in my daily intake based on my activity level?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    asilelisa wrote: »
    I was wondering about the same thing. Google logs my steps and gives me extra calories to eat, but aren't they already calculated in my daily intake based on my activity level?

    Not if you are moving more than the activity level you chose assumes. You should only get credit for the steps above and beyond MFP thinks you should take for your chosen activity level.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Sami1601 wrote: »
    I'm sorry I'm new at this I'm not sure I understand. The Fitbit sends my steps across to MFP a which gives me extra calories for exercise.

    You do more you eat more.
    You do less you eat less.

    In a diet a tad less in either case.

    Life lesson their MFP is trying to teach regarding weight maintenance.

    You seem to be willing to trust MFP's eating goal without the Fitbit extra info - why not when it's correcting itself?

    read the first section a couple times. If you enjoy math, the second section then.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    if your fitbit is connected and mfp gives you extra calories, eat the calories.
    if you feel like it might be overestimating your calorie burn, eat 50 to 75% of the calories back.

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