question about calorie intake.

jacef89

Im on day 4 of the slimfast diet.
My daily calorie goal is 1200.
But when i log my excerise time on myfitnesspal (mostly eliptical), say i burn 300 calories.... myfitnesspal tells me my goal is to consume that 300 calories back (1500 per day in this case) why would i eat everything that i burned back? What gives?

diannethegeek

This is one of my very favorite write-ups on the subject. It might help you out: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf

StacyChrz

Hi, welcome. Your goal of 1200 calories is a net goal, after you factor in any exercise you log. Keep in mind that the estimates given by MFP or on a piece of cardio equipment are general and tend to be higher than what you are actually burning. Ideally you want to fuel your activity so that you don't lose muscle while losing fat. Some people start by only eating a portion of their exercise calories back, like 25-50%, and see how they do for a few weeks. If you feel strong and healthy and not overly hungry that might be good for you. Also, if your weight loss is happening at a healthy rate, this will depend on where you are starting from and may be a lot in the first couple of weeks but should slow down. After a few weeks, if you feel tired and run down or weak, or if you are losing more than 2lbs/wk you may want to increase the percentage of your activity/exercise calories that you eat back.

I am set at 1200 calories net and I eat back all of my exercise calories and sometimes a bit more than that. I have already lost almost 50 lbs and am okay with the slow down. When I don't work out I try to stay much closer to 1200 gross calories. My diary is open, feel free to take a look.

malibu927

MFP gives you a goal to lose weight without exercise. When you do exercise, you wind up burning more calories. In order to keep your deficit consistent and fuel your body (which is especially important on 1200 calories), you're expected to eat a portion of those calories back.