Figuring out your Calories, exercise, net calories and weight loss

Let's say you are allotted 1,200 calories a day and you want to lose weight. If you ate 1,265 calories, burned 346 with exercise, your net is 919, and remaining is 281, will you lose weight? I am in my forties and female. I understand how to count calories but am confused if what I am doing is working. Having trouble losing weight. Any easy answer? I usually burn 350 calories a day working out. How many calories can I consume in order to lose a pound a week?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Ok - MFP gave you a deficit with zero exercise. So you can still lose weight by eating 1200 + 346 exercise calories.

    But, calorie burns are estimates (some estimates are too high). Many MFP users start by eating back 50-75% of exercise calories. Then give that a couple weeks. Adjust up or down as needed.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    On only 919 calories I'm not even sure how you'd have the energy to exercise. The point isn't to eat the minimum possible to survive. If MFP told you to eat 1200 (and even that is probably too low) - then your net should be 1200.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Assuming you entered that weightloss goal into mfp 1200 includes the deficit required for weightloss.

    1200 is the minimum women should eat.

    So if you eat 1200 you should lose weight.

    If you exercise you should probably eat 50-75% of what you burned back. So you net is closer to zero.

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Try to net at least 1200. Nearly every adult who isn't an elderly woman under 5' tall should be able to lose weight on this amount.