calorie goals and exercise...

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karabarasf
karabarasf Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am slightly confused by the calorie goals and the net calories.

If my goal is 1,200 calories and I burn 300 calories exercising, I will net 900 calories.

Am I supposed to eat 300 additional calories because the goal is 1,200?

or am i supposed to eat 1,200 calories BEFORE exercise. Then if I exercise and net 900 calories I"m not supposed to eat more since I already ate the 1,200 before exercise?

I know the lower the calories I net, the faster/greater the weight loss, but I still want to be healthy about it. Does anyone know?

Thank you!

Replies

  • shraniken
    shraniken Posts: 37 Member
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    Wait, if you're daily goal is 1200 and you burn 300 exercising, wouldn't your net be 1500?

    I never eat back my exercise calories, so I don't bother recording it... But I thought that was how it worked.
  • JossFit
    JossFit Posts: 588 Member
    edited February 2015
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    The MFP system sucks to be completely honest. A better way to approach it is to figure out your TDEE and then set your diary to custom in order to meet your requirements.

    Don't mess with 'eating back calories' and all that nonsense, as this program cannot accurately tell you how many calories you burned during a workout.

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • klund13
    klund13 Posts: 98 Member
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    She is netting 900 because she is not eating back her calories.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    shraniken wrote: »
    Wait, if you're daily goal is 1200 and you burn 300 exercising, wouldn't your net be 1500?

    I never eat back my exercise calories, so I don't bother recording it... But I thought that was how it worked.

    No, it would be the opposite, 900 (you subtract the burn from the intake).

    OP, the way MFP is set up, you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories. However, due to overestimation of burns, many only eat back 50-75% of them.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Your net is 900 after exercise. MFP is setup to have your daily goal with a deficit built in. So when you exercise you are increasing that deficit. Too big of a deficit isn't healthy. So you can eat back your exercise calories. As a female you really shouldn't net much below 1,200. Your body needs calories to operate. Therefore yes, eat back your calories. Aside from being healthy, it will also keep you from being hungry and having binges.

    My heart rate monitor and MFP seem to estimate the same burn for exercises. I still only eat back about 50% because I usually have one or two un-logged ("cheat") meals a week. Plus it's hard to be super accurate on your burn. However, I am also a solid 25-30 pounds from my goal weight so I can afford a larger deficit. If you are at 1200 calories I'm assuming you are not far from your goal weight? It all plays a factor....
  • karabarasf
    karabarasf Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you - all your comments were helpful. Sorry I should have been more clear and said "net calories consumed" would be 900 and not just "net" - i can see where it could be interpreted as total calories allowed to eat. :smile:

    I am currently 11 lbs from my goal so 1,200 is the calorie goal for me. I always remember 1,200 as being the minimum amount of calories but then I got confused about how exercise factors into that.

    I am sure there is a certain error rate on the calorie burn just for the fact that I don't necessarily know if I'd be "exactly" moderate or brisk or whatever. But for me it's great to be able to track things and at least have a pretty good ballpark.

    Funny you mention binges....When I look back at my log I exceed my calorie goal when I've been under the previous day! It's hard for me to be consistent each day.
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    As you get closer to your goal weight (within 10 lbs), its best to slow down the weight loss to 1/2 lb a week. It may be that 1200 calories is too low for the stage of weight loss that you're at.
  • agulamali
    agulamali Posts: 44 Member
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    PaytraB wrote: »
    As you get closer to your goal weight (within 10 lbs), its best to slow down the weight loss to 1/2 lb a week. It may be that 1200 calories is too low for the stage of weight loss that you're at.
    I agree. 1/2 lb per week will equate to a deficit of about 250 calories per day. So if MFP suggests 1,200 without exercise for 1/2 lb of weight loss per week, then your daily maintenance without exercise is about 1,450 and adding 300 for exercise puts you at about 1,750 maintenance for that day.

    So you can eat probably around 1,500 that day and still be on track to hit your goal.
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    karabarasf wrote: »
    T
    Funny you mention binges....When I look back at my log I exceed my calorie goal when I've been under the previous day! It's hard for me to be consistent each day.

    Yeah since I've upped my training (I'll burn 1500-2k calories in a workout) I have started to force myself to eat more those days or treat myself to a high calorie treat. Otherwise I find myself knawing my arm off on rest days. Trying to track weekly intake just doesn't work for me mentally. If I give my body the fuel it needs when it needs it then I'm not hungry when I'm doing nothing.
  • karabarasf
    karabarasf Posts: 4 Member
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    ah-ha....maybe i do need to eat more (!) am i crazy to say this makes me nervous?? eek. but i will try to make good choices as not to derail myself.

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