Should I use all calories earned from exercise?

curlyblue21

hi, I still have about four stone to loose have lost a stone so far! I set calories to 1200 is this too low as now my weight loss has slowed down... Should I use calories that I earn through exercise or not?

Sued0nim

Yes you should ..that's how MFP works

But the advice is to only eat back 50-75% of what gym machines or MFP database gives you as they overestimate for the majority

Also don't log things that are normal life like housework

curlyblue21

All I do is walking, I try to do about 10,000 steps a day. I did my BMR and it says to have 1,400 calories a day... I'm really confused! perhaps if I use up extras then my weight loss will start again, I have only lost a pound in two weeks and that is not normal for me, worried I'm not eating enough but 1,200 is more than enough if I choose healthy foods! Any ideas?

Sued0nim

Hormones? Sodium? All affect water weight

Weight loss isn't a straight line ...and eating more to lose weight is nonsensical, look at your logging instead ...are you weighing and logging everything every day?

For 10k steps I eat back about 350 calories, my settings are sedentary and I have a fitbit

BerryH

Congratulations on losing a stone! You're eating far too little if you still have four stone to lose, though. I recommend using MFP's default setting set to lose 1lb a week. Make your activity level Lightly Active and don't add extra calories for walking. It will allocate you far more calories and you'll still lose weight if you track carefully. If you build up to more strenuous exercise, then start adding exercise tracking separately. After doing that for two weeks, only then think about adjusting your intake up or down. Good luck!

curlyblue21

Ok will do that, I didn't realise this, so shall I turn off counting steps? Thanks BerryH

curlyblue21

So it's saying 1,660... Seems like a lot to me but will give it ago for two weeks! And I will log when I use my exercise bike, so will not need to use earned calories then surely?

karenrich77

rabbitjb wrote: »

Hormones? Sodium? All affect water weight

Weight loss isn't a straight line ...and eating more to lose weight is nonsensical, look at your logging instead ...are you weighing and logging everything every day?

For 10k steps I eat back about 350 calories, my settings are sedentary and I have a fitbit

Sounds nonsensical doesn't it. Yet I log every scrap of food that passes my lips yet I stalled. Put my calories up by 100 and lost 1.5kg 2 weeks running!

Sued0nim

karenrich77 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

Hormones? Sodium? All affect water weight

Weight loss isn't a straight line ...and eating more to lose weight is nonsensical, look at your logging instead ...are you weighing and logging everything every day?

For 10k steps I eat back about 350 calories, my settings are sedentary and I have a fitbit

Sounds nonsensical doesn't it. Yet I log every scrap of food that passes my lips yet I stalled. Put my calories up by 100 and lost 1.5kg 2 weeks running!

Not causative. That's simply because weight loss is not linear. There is no scientific proof anywhere that increasing calories leads to weight loss, please prove me wrong with a proper study

I constantly stall for 2-3 weeks then drop then stall again

As to OP that sounds about right ...eating around 1600 calories and is the same as eating back exercise calories which was your original question. Just don't drop your walking level when you change your activity and you'll be fine

curlyblue21

Ok great, thanks for your help!