Can You Delete Calories Burned From Exercise From Your Daily Calorie Intake?

Caloric intake and output is like a balance beam. Burn the same amount of calories that are consumed and your weight will stay the same. Burn more and your weight will decrease. Burn less and your weight will increase. Exercising is a way burn more calories and potentially tipping the scales in your favor.

Metabolism

The body requires a certain amount of daily calories to provide for basic body functions, including breathing, circulation and basic motor function. This caloric requirement often is referred to as basal metabolic rate. On average, most people's metabolism requires approximately 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day. In other words, the average person burns that many calories per day, without exercise.

Exercise

During exercise, additional calories in food consumption or in the body's stores of glycogen and fat are burned. In a basic sense, every calorie burned is one that can be deleted from consumed food. For example, if 200 calories are burned from a daily run, then 200 calories are consumed in a sandwich, the two balance each other out in terms of caloric gain. The calories burned from the exercise negate the calories consumed in the sandwich.

Weight Loss

It is because exercise burns calories, thereby negating the caloric gains of some of the foods eaten, that it is recommended as a contributor to weight loss. If the body has a natural need for 2,000 calories per day and 2,000 calories are consumed, body weight will stay the same. However, if 2,000 calories are taken in and 500 burned through exercise, weight loss will be the result of the caloric deficiency created by the exercise.

Considerations

Exercise does not negate all the ingredients and substances in food. While exercise can help burn off fat, protein and carbohydrates in foods, it will not eliminate sodium and other substances that can be harmful in large doses. An exercise program always should be paired with a diet that focuses on balanced nutrition. The U.S. Department of Agriculture advises the intake of daily servings of fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy and grains to get the vitamins and minerals the body needs.