confused on the deficit?

Ok so i'm all new to this deficit talk. I have been working out on and off since high school (going on 8 years) but I never really paid attention to the nutritional aspect. I see for the most part that I'm burning more calories than I'm taking in, but on a day that I'm working out how many more calories should I take in. And what about my non-exercising days, should I cut back on calories? Ugh...I hope someone can help answer these questions for me!!!!

I'm 5'5", female, 240 lbs. I get about 1700 cals on non-workout days and 2000 - 2100 on workout days. I eat more protein on workout days too.

how long have you been doing that and have you noticed any results?

If you want to lose i wouldent eat up the calories that you burned off becaus thats just defeating the purpous. If you feel you really need it add a small meal or bar (about 200 calories) after you work out. But if you burn 500 calories at the gym and go home and eat even 350 of it there is really no point now is ther, up your protein for that day using the calories that youalready have. but to get more bang for your hard work at the gym. Dont up your calories by too much or non at all if possible

sillybunny - for one thing, it's important not to let your deficit get too large. So if your workouts increase your deficit to over 1000 (or even over 500 for some people), then it would be very important to eat back some calories. The body can only metabolize so much fat per day, and trying to force your body to lose more weight than that can result in losing muscle.

For another, there are other reasons to go to the gym (or workout anywhere), than to create a deficit - cardio vascular health, endurance, strength... all are important to overall health. It's never a waste to be more active.