Clarification about calories in/calories out please

georgesgeri83

Question: My calorie goal is 1200. When I burn 329 on the treadmill, MFP gives me back 321 calories. If I don't log so many of those calories I get a message that I'm not meeting my calorie goal. What's the purpose of burning those calories if I eat that many again?

janejellyroll

The purpose of burning calories through exercise is that exercise is great for your fitness, health, and mood.

MFP gives you a calorie goal that puts you at a deficit without doing any extra exercise. If you increase the size of this deficit through additional activity, you may want to eat some of those calories back so that you have enough energy to fuel your daily activities. It also helps to ensure you meet your nutritional needs. For those of us who exercise regularly, we may lose too much muscle if our deficit becomes too large.

galgenstrick

when you enter your weight loss goals into my fitness pal it calculates an amount of calories to put you in a deficit to lose weight a certain rate. It does not include any additional exercise on top of whatever normal activity you have throughout the day. If you want to eat more than the allotted calories, then you need to do some exercise to earn those calories.

lemurcat12

It might help to think of it this way.

MFP gives you either the goal you ask for or the max goal you can do reasonably at net 1200, given your size. Let's say you have a goal of 2 lb per week. MFP gives you the option of meeting that goal by cutting calories for the whole amount and not exercising (eating 100 calories less than maintenance), or achieving the goal through a combination of calorie cutting and exercise (which is better for overall fitness, if it's possible for you to do this).

Back before I did MFP I read something suggesting that someone who wanted to lose 1-2 lb/week cut calories from their current intake by 500 and then exercise. That's essentially what MFP is letting you do--it starts by giving you the whole goal through calorie cutting (since it assumes no exercise until exercise is logged), but as you exercise it gives you more calories, since you are choosing to meet your goal through a combination of exercise and calorie cutting.

For most it would be unhealthy and too extreme a cut/not sustainable to cut to 1200 and then try to exercise hard on top of it. I would never do it -- I exercise hard so I either add calories back or else start with a higher calorie goal (like 1650 or at one point 1800). I'm not that big--5'3.

Yi5hedr3

You answered your own question. There really is no point to eating back calories you have worked so hard to burn! It never ceases to amaze me to see everybody excited about throwing their exercise away by eating back what they've just wasted time burning.

mkakids

Exercising allows you to eat more! You will lose weight following mfps calorie goals....even if you dont exercise.

georgesgeri83

Thanks everyone for clarifying for me. I found all of your comments to be very helpful. So, onward I shall go.