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calorie intake

chantell586
chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can somebody please explain this to me? I always thought in order to lose weight you need to burn off some of the calories you've taken in for the day, but mfp keeps telling me I need to consume my daily calorie goal plus whatever I burn off otherwise I'm risking malnutrition. To me it seems like if you're just eating what you burn you're gonna maintain the same weight. I don't get it.

Replies

  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    When you signed up and did your MFP settings MFP already calculated your deficit for you...so when you start to burn even more ( by exercising) than it tell you to eat back some of that.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    MFP already calculates your deficit. When you add in exercise that is even more of a deficit. So you can eat those calories (or at least some of them) and still lose weight.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    dont eat all of your excercise calories back they are most of the time overestimated but half or 75% is what most people do
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    You do realize that your body burns calories just living ... right?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • chantell586
    chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
    Do I have to? I'm already finding it very difficult to consume what mfp is recommending daily and since I'm wanting to lose weight and not stay at one spot, I'd like to avoid over eating....
  • NerdyNix
    NerdyNix Posts: 111 Member
    This always confuses me too. No matter how it's explained to me. But I think it's because I did weight watchers before and with them you get a set amount of points and when you exercise you earn more points to eat but don't have to eat any of them if you choose not to. So why is it ok on WW but not on MFP?!

    I don't always eat any of mine. And have so far never eaten all of them.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    you will burn out at one point and you can replace some food for more dense foods like peanut butter or advocado

    And you didnt gain weight by not eating enough calories but eating to much
    So yes you can eat enough calories
  • mizzlarabee
    mizzlarabee Posts: 134 Member
    I believe you can change the settings. I don't even input my activity because I can't be bothered.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    and btw over eating is eating in surplus to gain weight and for 1 pound that is 3500 calories
    A training gives you maybe a couple hundred extra at the most.....or you must be a prof. athletic.

    And that is not even eating surplus
  • chantell586
    chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
    TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »
    and btw over eating is eating in surplus to gain weight and for 1 pound that is 3500 calories
    A training gives you maybe a couple hundred extra at the most.....or you must be a prof. athletic.

    And that is not even eating surplus

    I understand I gained weight by eating too many, that's why I'm afraid to eat back the calories that I have burned lol. I don't want to keep eating because mfp thinks I'm not getting enough calories just because I'm exercising. I input my calories I eat, then my exercises and calories burned and it tells me I have whatever I burned off left to consume, which just seemed bizarre to me.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    oke well up to you
    i have done my explaining
    Its your life and journey

    good luck to you :)
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    MFP set you at a deficit without factoring in any exercise. Accurately log what you eat, eat to the amount MFP calculated, and you will lose weight. The amount of fear expressed in your posts indicates you either do not understand how this works or there are some issues in your relationship with food.
  • mizzlarabee
    mizzlarabee Posts: 134 Member
    chantell586 wrote: »
    TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »
    and btw over eating is eating in surplus to gain weight and for 1 pound that is 3500 calories
    A training gives you maybe a couple hundred extra at the most.....or you must be a prof. athletic.

    And that is not even eating surplus

    I understand I gained weight by eating too many, that's why I'm afraid to eat back the calories that I have burned lol. I don't want to keep eating because mfp thinks I'm not getting enough calories just because I'm exercising. I input my calories I eat, then my exercises and calories burned and it tells me I have whatever I burned off left to consume, which just seemed bizarre to me.

    Can you just not track your exercise in MFP? That's what I did so it wouldn't offset my calories.
  • chantell586
    chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
    TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »
    oke well up to youn
    i have done my explaining
    Its your life and journey

    good luck to you :)

    Well thank you, I guess I just was confused. I get it now though haha
  • chantell586
    chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
    brianpperkins wrote: »
    MFP set you at a deficit without factoring in any exercise. Accurately log what you eat, eat to the amount MFP calculated, and you will lose weight. The amount of fear expressed in your posts indicates you either do not understand how this works or there are some issues in your relationship with food.


    Pretty much just didn't understand that it accommodated a deficit already.
  • chantell586
    chantell586 Posts: 9 Member
    chantell586 wrote: »
    TheOwlhouseDesigns wrote: »
    oke well up to youn
    i have done my explaining
    Its your life and journey

    good luck to you :)

    Well thank you, I guess I just was confused. I get it now though haha

  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    Let's start from scratch ...

    What is your height?
    Current weight?
    How many pounds per week do you want to lose?
    What is your activity level not including exercise (normal daily non-exercise activity)?
    What did MFP provide as a daily caloric goal?

    From there we can show you how this works.

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