How many calories should I be having?

Becky170467

I have a desk job & the only exercise up to now I got was walking the 15 minutes to work from where I park my car or if I took friends' dogs for walks. I've now signed up to a local gym and intend to go 3 times a week plus 2-3 exercise classes like Pilates & Zumba. I've been having 1200 cals daily but the gym said that's not enough & I'm going to get fatigued. So, how much should I increase my calorie intake? I've got off to a good start going to the gym 3 times & 2 exercise classes in 4 days - but I don't want to burn myself out.

TeaBea

The way MFP works.....you got 1200 based upon "I want to lose XX pounds per week." It's a default minimum AND that number is before exercise. This way people who cannot exercise will still lose weight when eating 1200.

Log your workout sessions in MFP under cardiovascular and MFP will give you more calories. These calories are estimates based upon your size and length of workout. You should be eating a portion of these calories back. Ideally this gets you to your original deficit.

Because calorie burns are estimates most people start by eating a percentage 50-75%. Then over time adjust this % up or down as needed.

999tigger

Enter your details into MFP and it will tell you how many calories to eat. log and weigh your food.
When you do exercise and then enter it into MFP it will give you further calories to eat. Start by eating 50% of those back and adjust as needed. Its only 50% becaise soemtimes MFP overestimates what you burn, so its a conservative approach to eat 50%.

Fuel your workouts bu eating a bit of carbs beforehand and keeping up your protein intake during the day.
Keep hydrated and have at least one full rest day a week.