Help!!!

89GermanG

I was wondering how you guys know how many calories you can eat? I'm 5'2 and 189lb and I eat 1430 calories a day. Is that to much?

Scott7609

It depends on how active you are

89GermanG

Let's say my calorie goal is 1400 a day and I burn 500 at the gym MFP wants me to eat the 500 I burned. How can I lose weight when I eat what I burned?

Scott7609

No don't eat another 500 .. The more active you are the more you're gonna lose .. When you complete your diary for the day MFP will tell you if you're not eating enough.. It's a great app

kami3006

It assumes your deficit will come from your eating and you will exercise for health. Many of us eat the majority of our exercise calories back and lost just fine while also having the energy to fuel better workouts.

The calorie goal given is without exercise so if you do more it makes sense that you would eat more. Try eating half back in case the estimated calorie burns are inflated.

SueInAz

You should be eating at least half of your exercise calories to the point that you are netting (calories eaten - exercise calories) at least 1200 calories per day. MFP is set up so that you can lose weight without exercise. Not everyone can exercise, after all. So, in the calorie goal MFP is giving you, the deficit needed to lose weight at the rate you specified in your goals (.5 to 2 pounds per week) is already built into your calorie goal for each day. When you exercise, you earn calories to eat because eating them maintains the deficit needed to meet your goal.

If you choose not to eat any of the exercise calories you are "earning" you may lose weight a little more quickly but that is not necessarily a good idea. When we eat too far under our maintenance calories on a regular basis our bodies think we're starving and won't have access to food any time soon. Rather than take all of the energy it needs from stored fat your body will start breaking down lean muscle mass for fuel, especially if you aren't using those muscles aggressively, like in a weight lifting program. So what you end up with at the end is a lower weight on the scale but a higher body fat percentage than you would have (since you lost lean muscle mass). If you then put some of that weight back on (and aren't lifting heavy weights) it's going to be all fat which means your body fat percentage will be even higher than before and it'll be even harder to lose weight the next time around.

89GermanG

Thanks, guys!

Scott7609

You're welcome hope we helped