Question on Intake Vs. Calories Burned

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ARScheuvront
ARScheuvront Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
So i'm new here. I'm trying to understand how everything works. Tonight is my first night working out. MFP gave me a goal caloric intake of 1370 to lose weight. I'm thinking of going to the kick boxing class tonight at the Y and I put that in just to see what it did and then deleted it. It subtracted 778 calories and changed my remaining calories to 1171. Does that mean I need to eat another 1171 calories on top of what I already ate???

Or am I ok? Sorry if this is a silly question but I just want to make sure I eat enough with the exercise so I can lose weight! :smile:

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Yes, MFP is designed for you to eat the extra calories you earn by exercising.
  • prettigirl01
    prettigirl01 Posts: 548 Member
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    sometimes I wonder about this too and think why would I eat back those calories I worked so hard to burn off but I guess its ok and I usually eat them back. some days I just don't want to so I guess its up to you
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf?hl=exercise+calories+again
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Yes, the way MFP is designed is that it gives you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in. MFP assumes you are not going to do any exercise. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit, to a possibly unhealthy level.
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
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    If you are going with the MFP method then you would need to eat back exercise calories. That being said I advise you to invest in a Heart Rate Monitor, with a chest strap. The numbers here on MFP can be relatively close for some people and WAY OFF for others. For me they are very far off, usually double of what my HRM says. IF you need to go by what MFP has I would say only eat 50% of those calories back.

    On the weekends I have difficulty eating back my exercise calories because I generally burn over 1000 each day. Saturdays are a 20+ mile bike ride and Sundays are 2.5+ mile of running/walking followed by 2 games of softball. So on the weekends I tend to be about 500 calories short of what I am allotted. So during the week if I have a 200 day overage I don't generally sweat it because I have that gap from the weekend. I tend to look at the full week and not the day.

    Hope it helps. You can add me as a friend if you like. I will help where I can.
  • AleciaG724
    AleciaG724 Posts: 705 Member
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    Yep, pretty much. I don't eat all of my exercise calories back because I think MFP has them too high, but they are supposed to be based on the info you started with: height, weight, age, activity level, etc. I typically burn 400-500 calories a day through exercise & I usually eat about 200 of them. I've been losing 2#/week following this plan so it's working for me. If/when I reach a plateau I will adjust my food & workouts. Best of luck meeting your goals.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
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    There is a pretty big discrepancy in my calorie burn numbers as well. It happens. My thyroid function is in the normal range but it is a low normal, I am assuming that will mean my metabolism is also in the low normal range. Still it's going to mean the exercise calorie numbers are off. So far it looks like they are off by about 400 calories a day. I will keep adjusting those numbers until they match the weight I am losing. I am not losing 3 pounds a week which MFP says I would be according to there numbers. Which is a good thing, since that is a bit too fast for me (I am sure a lot of people would be thrilled with that, but I don't want to have to adjust that fast mentally). In any case I will continue to exercise as much as I can and do what I can. But, I won't be eating back all those calories, I will eat back some as there are days I am a. hungrier or b. I just want extra mayo
  • ARScheuvront
    ARScheuvront Posts: 3
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    Any recommendation on a good heart rate monitor that also calculates calories burned?
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
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    Any recommendation on a good heart rate monitor that also calculates calories burned?

    Polar is very popular. I use Garmin myself. I have the Garmin strap, ANT+ antenna, foot pod and speed/cadence sensor synced with my iPhone. I am ordering a FR70 watch just to have as a back up for bad weather days I do anything outside.
  • MyzGina
    MyzGina Posts: 32 Member
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    Doesn't make much sense to eat back what u burn. Kinda seem like the whole purpose of exercising. I already have trouble eating what's given to me (or what I set) seems waaaaaayyy to much.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Doesn't make much sense to eat back what u burn. Kinda seem like the whole purpose of exercising. I already have trouble eating what's given to me (or what I set) seems waaaaaayyy to much.

    There are a lot of health benefits to be gained from exercise beyond weight loss. Overexercising and undereating can actually stall your weight loss and may lead to other problems along the way.

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