Do you eat back exercise calories ?

[harrietsunshine]

I'm currently on a 1390 cals a day plan.
I walk 4 miles a day and other small walks too so get to around 12,000 or 13,000 steps.
MFP normally gives me back 125 calories so it gets me just over 1500 cals a day.

I think I would struggle without eating those back?
Will they be a massive hindrance to me?

I'm 140lbs at 5ft 7 female and 35

4 miles a day plus extra steps
I have no idea what amount of cals I should be eating to still loose weight.

Any help would be great

Have you thought about changing what you eat? So more protein, less carbs. Smoked salmon & an egg for breakfast rather than toast or fruit & yogurt rather than cereal. You aren’t overweight, I assume you just want to be leaner/more toned & slightly lighter.

I think it’s important to replenish the exercise calories, muscle is important part of weight loss (well, becoming toned which is what everyone wants instead of strict weight loss). So yes you eat them back but make sure high protein for recovery x

On my app (Calorie counter) I’m on 1200 cals a day and it adds any steps and exercise and gives them back to me so I’m still meeting my days goals - so get to eat a bit more if I exercise. HIIT and weights burn more than walking.

Yeah I've changed my diet a little.
Adding things like eggs and fish and meat/veg etc
Just really want to be a bit slimmer and toned etc.

No.Im following 1200 calories a day plan via MFP and burnt off 330 calories this morning.I put the exercise calories into mfp under "snack" to remove them from my remaining allowance.

For me only eating treats one day a week made a huge difference, with one day off you aren’t depriving yourself and just choose the thing you’d like most that day.

Yes I eat mine. It encourages me to exercise, which is good for many reasons including mental health and raising metabolism, both of which help weight loss. And it enables me to enjoy treats and feel more sated so helping me to stick to my calorie allowance. If I didn't eat the calories I'd be starving and dissatisfied tbh. It works for me and means I can plan a long exercise session and then look forward to eating something indulgent later.

I don't eat back "step" calories but try to eat back calories from deliberate exercise (running or weights type sessions or a big day hike)

Asking as you are in a calorie deficit ie eating less that you are burning then you will lose weight.

If you are still hungry eat your calories in food thats nutritionally dense so lots of carbs before exercise and protein after.

As long as, not asking!

To lose a pound a week you need to be in a deficit of around 500 cals per day. It does not have to be exact each day so you can average it out over a week, eating a bit more on days when you exercise and are hungry and less on others.

You should take your exercise calories into account but bear in mind that wearables, gym machines etc typically over estimate the amount you burn. I normally chop off about 20% of their estimate and it works out as roughly right for me.

I don't eat my exercise calories back. I keep them there to make me feel better.

I also read that MFP really overestimates the number of calories burned.

You should be able to - try it.

If you find you aren’t loosing then I’d increase protein and fibre and reduce sugar/refined carbs before I further cut calories, as less than 1500 is really quite low.

"Step" calories aren't exercise calories in my book, so no - I wouldn't eat more just for walking around a bit.
I eat more on the days I go for very long runs because I need more calories to fuel that. However, given I burn around 2,000 calories on a long run, I certainly don't eat that many back, so I'm still in deficit on those days.