New here - and new to exercise!

MaggotPig

Hello

I've been using MFP for weight loss since August 2014 and all is going swimmingly (excuse the pun!). Prior to that I was following the weight watchers plan, but got bored of calculating points and was gaining weight again. I downloaded MFP in desperation one night, and haven't looked back since!

My weight loss journey started on 1/1/14 and to date, I've lost 6st (84lbs) through diet alone. The only exercise I do currently is walking my dog, which I don't really "count" as exercise, as I've always done it, but I do use a fitbit and have it synced to my MFP account. I tend not to use the calories earned though walking, although I will use them as a buffer if I have a particularly high calorie day.

I'm currently halfway through my weight loss journey (another 3lbs off and I will be exactly at my halfway point!) and I'm just about to sign up at my local gym, as I know that I cannot sustain this level of weight loss without exercise.

I have a heart rate monitor that I use when exercising (my previous attempt at weight loss a few years back had me doing [irregular!] exercise, and at the time, I had an issue with tachycardia that was being investigated, and was advised to use a HRM) - so I'll have an idea of how many calories I'm burning when I exercise.

What I guess I'm wondering, is how do I judge how much I should eat calorie wise vs what I've burned through exercise? Do I just aim to stay in the green each day or is there more to it than that?

alyhuggan

Your weight loss is based on calories in vs calories out.

If you burn 300-400 calories at the gym think about eating about half to 3/4 of those back if you are still currently losing weight at your calories.

MaggotPig

Thank you for your reply

I'm relatively well educated in the theory behind it all (my degree was anatomy with a large element of physiology) but I'm aware that it doesn't always work like the textbook says it should! I'm losing well at the moment, averaging 1.3lbs a week (my calorie count is set with the aim to lose 1lb a week).

I know that I have a long road ahead, and what I don't want to do is be eating too few calories too soon, and then reach a point where I'm struggling to reduce my intake further when the scales stop moving.