Do you "eat back" the calories that you burn?

No.... i was told if i want to reach my goal weight to eat only my daily requirement. if you eat back you're maintaining your current weight.

I don't eat mine back.

MFP calculates based on your regular activity, not your exercise. You can compensate by averaging out your exercise calories over the week. Yes you will look like you are over on non-exercise days, and under on exercise days, but it will equal out and be easier on your stomach. I eat most of mine back, and if you don't eat enough calories, your performance at the gym will be affected. The days I am hungry, I have no stamina and little energy! You don't have to eat back all your calories burned, but try eating at least 1/2 (spaced out through the week) and see if that works for you. For me it is a perfect time to treat myself. The harder I work the bigger the reward!

No.... i was told if i want to reach my goal weight to eat only my daily requirement. if you eat back you're maintaining your current weight.

That would be true if your settings were on "maintenance".
If you are set on say -2/week then the deficit is still there, the deficit that will help you acheive losing 2/week.

I eat mine, they taste great. (if I am not hungry I will leave half).

Let's say you're 5'4" and weigh 180lbs and lightly active. You would need to consume about 2200 calories in a day to maintain your weight. Not lose. Not gain. Maintain. If you limit your calories to 1200 per day, you're already at a deficit of 1000 calories per day. Now, if you burn 200 of those 1200 calories, you're down to a net of 1000 calories per day - or a deficit of 1200 calories per day. So if you eat back those 200 calories you burned, you'll still have a 1000 calorie, daily deficit. AND you'll still be getting the added benefit of moving your body and working your muscles which will help with fat loss.

I generally eat around my allotted 1200 calories a day regardless of how much I work out/burn calories. I usually work out 6 days a week and tend to burn at least 900-1200 calories a day. I probably should be eating a bit more, but if I am not hungry, I am not going to consume more calories. I look at it this way...I have the extra calories there if I want to splurge on something and it is working for me because I have lost 40 lbs and I am almost at my goal weight. I would say play around with it and find what works best for you.

Can we get a "sticky" on this?
(Seriously)

if you enter your food consumed & the exercise done, my fitness pal subtracts the workout from your allowed food - so it seemed like common sense to me.

Plus anything below 1200 net cals is kicking you into starvation mode, it's just going to backfire later on =/

This same question gets asked every couple of days.... and most of what comes back is I do or I don't responses with little or no explanation as to why or why not or much understanding of what this site is doing.

MFP calculates your BMR based off your vitals (height, weight, age, gender, etc.). That BMR is the calorie level your body burns just at rest in 24 hours. No activity, no exercise, just basic life support.

When you input your normal daily activity level, MFP takes your BMR and increases it by a multiplying factor based on that activity level to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If your normal, everyday activity includes little more than sitting at a desk or on the couch, you are sedentary and your TDEE is only a little above your BMR. If you walk 3 miles a day as your normal activity (say you live in a large city and get around by walking or bus / subway) then you are active and your TDEE is well above your BMR. In the end, TDEE is what matters so make sure your activity level is as accurate as possible.

MFP takes your TDEE and subtracts to create the necessary deficit for you to lose weight without changing your normal activity level. 3500 calories to burn 1 lb of body fat. Your goal is to lose 2 lbs a week.... 2 x 3500 / 7 = 1000 calorie deficit per day. TDEE - deficit = net calorie goal.

Here is the most important part: When you input your daily activity level, was the exercise you are doing today part of that? yes or no. Exercise in this stand point is any physical activity burning calories above and beyond the daily activity level you input. If the answer is no and you are now exercising (you input a sedentary activity level but are now at the gym 5 days a week), every calorie burned is increasing your TDEE, meaning it increases your net calorie goal BECAUSE THE DEFICIT IS BUILT INTO THE NET CALORIE GOAL.

You can eat your exercise calories back and you will still be at the planned calorie deficit, meaning you will still lose weight.

If you only eat 1200 calories and burn 400 calories exercising, your body only is getting 800 calories to function on. For most people that is not sustainable for very long. If you start to fatigue easily, get irritable easily, have trouble concentrating or other sudden changes, please re-think how little you're eating.

Ok, so all this advice is great. I completely understand why you should eat back your calories. But I don't (usually). I hope that this doesn't have a negative effect later on when I'm closer to my goal weight. From what I can tell, people have success either way and it depends on the indivdual. I don't feel tired or hungry. If this becomes the case I will increase my calorie intake.
My main reason for not eating back the calories I burn though is that I usually do my exercise at night when the kids are in bed and I try not to eat later than 5:30pm. I don't know how many calories I'm going to burn and sometimes something gets in the way of this planned exercise so I would be over for the day if I ate more.

Ok, so all this advice is great. I completely understand why you should eat back your calories. But I don't (usually). I hope that this doesn't have a negative effect later on when I'm closer to my goal weight. From what I can tell, people have success either way and it depends on the indivdual. I don't feel tired or hungry. If this becomes the case I will increase my calorie intake.
My main reason for not eating back the calories I burn though is that I usually do my exercise at night when the kids are in bed and I try not to eat later than 5:30pm. I don't know how many calories I'm going to burn and sometimes something gets in the way of this planned exercise so I would be over for the day if I ate more.

It only depends on the individual in terms of how much each individual has to lose. If you have a lot to lose you can cut your calories further than if you don't. It doesn't matter what time of day you eat either, nor do you have to balance your calories on a daily basis - over a week will do!

This same question gets asked every couple of days.... and most of what comes back is I do or I don't responses with little or no explanation as to why or why not or much understanding of what this site is doing.

MFP calculates your BMR based off your vitals (height, weight, age, gender, etc.). That BMR is the calorie level your body burns just at rest in 24 hours. No activity, no exercise, just basic life support.

When you input your normal daily activity level, MFP takes your BMR and increases it by a multiplying factor based on that activity level to estimate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). If your normal, everyday activity includes little more than sitting at a desk or on the couch, you are sedentary and your TDEE is only a little above your BMR. If you walk 3 miles a day as your normal activity (say you live in a large city and get around by walking or bus / subway) then you are active and your TDEE is well above your BMR. In the end, TDEE is what matters so make sure your activity level is as accurate as possible.

MFP takes your TDEE and subtracts to create the necessary deficit for you to lose weight without changing your normal activity level. 3500 calories to burn 1 lb of body fat. Your goal is to lose 2 lbs a week.... 2 x 3500 / 7 = 1000 calorie deficit per day. TDEE - deficit = net calorie goal.

Here is the most important part: When you input your daily activity level, was the exercise you are doing today part of that? yes or no. Exercise in this stand point is any physical activity burning calories above and beyond the daily activity level you input. If the answer is no and you are now exercising (you input a sedentary activity level but are now at the gym 5 days a week), every calorie burned is increasing your TDEE, meaning it increases your net calorie goal BECAUSE THE DEFICIT IS BUILT INTO THE NET CALORIE GOAL.

You can eat your exercise calories back and you will still be at the planned calorie deficit, meaning you will still lose weight.

If you only eat 1200 calories and burn 400 calories exercising, your body only is getting 800 calories to function on. For most people that is not sustainable for very long. If you start to fatigue easily, get irritable easily, have trouble concentrating or other sudden changes, please re-think how little you're eating.

This has been a bit confusing for me too, so thanks for this

If I'm craving something I'll burn off the calories I want to eat, then I don't feel so bad.

if you enter your food consumed & the exercise done, my fitness pal subtracts the workout from your allowed food - so it seemed like common sense to me.

Plus anything below 1200 net cals is kicking you into starvation mode, it's just going to backfire later on =/

I wouldnt say under 1200 is starving most days im under that and i dont feel starved

I eat all of the food. All of it.

True facts