I NEED URGENT HELP !!

I'm at my family's house and I was telling them that I've been losing weight. And she was saying that you are supposed to burn more calories than you consume. Is this true? I argued with one of them for like 15 mins
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Replies

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    ^^^ This.
  • honeyseymour123
    honeyseymour123 Posts: 34 Member
    But then wouldn't you not die? But what happens if you don't do exercise that day? I'm worried now
  • honeyseymour123
    honeyseymour123 Posts: 34 Member
    When u mean burn, is that like the calories you lose will doing exercise? Sorry I'm really really confused
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    But then wouldn't you not die? But what happens if you don't do exercise that day? I'm worried now

    No, that is why your body stores excess calories as fat.

    If you don't eat enough for a long enough period of time you can develop malnutrition or starve, but that is pretty easy to avoid in the developed world.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    exercise, breathing, living, moving, everything your body does burns calories
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited May 2016
    If you didn't get out of bed all day, your body would burn calories all day just staying alive - breathing, heart beating, brain functioning, digestion, cell reproduction. That's why we have to eat, to fuel body processes.

    For example, my BMR (base metabolic rate - the calories my body uses daily just to be alive) is @ 1,350. When I add in my normal daily activities, my body burns @ 1600-1700 calories. Exercise adds more. So I have to eat less than 1600 cals per day to lose weight.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    You came to a discussion board where people say "CICO" to say you need help winning an argument with someone who says "CICO".
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    When u mean burn, is that like the calories you lose will doing exercise? Sorry I'm really really confused

    It's not just exercise calories. If you laid in bed all day and didn't move, your body would still burn calories. If you have been losing weight, you are burning more than you are eating. Congratulations, you are doing it right!
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    Just being alive burns calories, so those count.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    When you eat fewer calories than your body uses to get through the day ("burn"), you will have a calorie deficit and lose weight.

    When the calories you eat are in balance with the calories your body uses to get through the day, you will be in calorie balance and you will maintain your weight.

    When you eat more calories than your body uses to get through the day, you will have a calorie surplus and you will gain weight.
  • ianecock
    ianecock Posts: 5 Member
    OK, I've seen everyone post "if you burn more than you eat you lose weight". I'm at the point where I'm not losing any weight, I'm gaining. I've been on a 14-1500 calorie diet for two weeks and I've lost about 15 pounds. I stepped on the scale two days ago and was at 223.4, today I was at 225.5. I work out at least two times a day burning around 4-5000 cals a day (all burn including sedentary burn). What am I doing wrong? If you are supposed to burn more than you eat to lose weight, why am I gaining? How do I get over that hump?? I'm on a time restricted weight loss plan too. I need to lose ten pound in about 10 days..
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    ianecock wrote: »
    OK, I've seen everyone post "if you burn more than you eat you lose weight". I'm at the point where I'm not losing any weight, I'm gaining. I've been on a 14-1500 calorie diet for two weeks and I've lost about 15 pounds. I stepped on the scale two days ago and was at 223.4, today I was at 225.5. I work out at least two times a day burning around 4-5000 cals a day (all burn including sedentary burn). What am I doing wrong? If you are supposed to burn more than you eat to lose weight, why am I gaining? How do I get over that hump?? I'm on a time restricted weight loss plan too. I need to lose ten pound in about 10 days..

    Ditto what @CurlyCockney said. No one is going to tell you how to do something so unreasonable and unhealthy.

    But, just out of curiosity....what happens if you don't lose the weight in 10 days?
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    edited May 2016
    ianecock wrote: »
    OK, I've seen everyone post "if you burn more than you eat you lose weight". I'm at the point where I'm not losing any weight, I'm gaining. I've been on a 14-1500 calorie diet for two weeks and I've lost about 15 pounds. I stepped on the scale two days ago and was at 223.4, today I was at 225.5. I work out at least two times a day burning around 4-5000 cals a day (all burn including sedentary burn). What am I doing wrong? If you are supposed to burn more than you eat to lose weight, why am I gaining? How do I get over that hump?? I'm on a time restricted weight loss plan too. I need to lose ten pound in about 10 days..

    Your weight will naturally fluctuate daily. You really have more of a "weight range" than one true weight. You could have had a high sodium day , or your muscles could be retaining more water to help repair themselves or you could even just may be storing more waste material than the other day. Also, did you weigh yourself at the same time of day? I can gain about 5 lbs. from my morning weigh in to a weigh in in the evening - on the same day.

    Some other things to consider:
    * Are you weighing your food to make sure you are really eating only 1400 - 1500 calories a day? Even using measuring cups in not completely accurate.
    * How are you getting your burned calories? My husband works a very active job (he gets 30K steps during his 9 hour shift along with heavy lifting, plus he works out 6x week for 60 minutes (at 200lbs) and he burns an average of 4K.
    * You have only been dieting for 2 weeks - that is not enough time to have a "hump". Most of the 15 pounds you have lost so far will be water weight.
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    ianecock wrote: »
    OK, I've seen everyone post "if you burn more than you eat you lose weight". I'm at the point where I'm not losing any weight, I'm gaining. I've been on a 14-1500 calorie diet for two weeks and I've lost about 15 pounds. I stepped on the scale two days ago and was at 223.4, today I was at 225.5. I work out at least two times a day burning around 4-5000 cals a day (all burn including sedentary burn). What am I doing wrong? If you are supposed to burn more than you eat to lose weight, why am I gaining? How do I get over that hump?? I'm on a time restricted weight loss plan too. I need to lose ten pound in about 10 days..

    It all comes down to calories in calories out. You burn so much, you eat some much. Now how are you certain you are really eating 14-1500 calories a day? How are you certain your total daily energy expenditure(burn) is 4-5000 a day? That sounds high. Are you doing many many hours of cardio? Basically if you are not losing there is a mistake in your calculations somewhere. You are either eating more than 14-1500 hundred calories you think you are and/or burning less than 4-5000 calories a day. Because if you were in such a big calorie deficit you would be lose pretty quickly...
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  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2016
    When u mean burn, is that like the calories you lose will doing exercise? Sorry I'm really really confused
    Burn more calories than you eat= calorie deficit.
    The 'burn more calories' is your Bmr (calories your body burns just by existing which includes body functions, sleep, etc), general activities (household chores, movement, walking from room to room, any movement other than exercise) plus exercise calories. This is what is called TDEE or total daily energy expenditure. To lose weight, you must eat below your TDEE to create a deficit...eg, if your daily averageTDEE is 2200 and you eat 1700, you've created a 500 calorie daily deficit. In a week, you'd technically lose 1lb (but weight loss isn't linear, so sometimes you'd lose less/more or stay the same) since 500x7=3500.

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Please read the sticky posts at the top of this forum. They're the best and most informative posts on MFP. They will answer all the basic questions youve been asking. You clearly need to become better educated about this process. Once you understand the basics, it will all make sense!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Grab your forearm. Is it warm? You are burning calories. There is a base burn rate especially for you based on how big you are. You must eat less than your burn rate to lose weight. You lose your argument with your family.
  • honeyseymour123
    honeyseymour123 Posts: 34 Member
    This cannot be real.

    It is real I'm just not smart lol
  • lalepepper
    lalepepper Posts: 447 Member
    When people say "burn more calories than you consume" they mean your active and basal metabolic rate combined. You burn calories just by living. I could see the confusion if you think they mean burning more calories through exercise than you consume. That wouldn't be healthy!
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    I have an idea--Follow the MFP formula and don't worry what anyone says to you. If you follow the formula and stick with it, you will likely lose weight. Most of us do. If you don't lose weight after a month, worry about that other stuff then.
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
    This cannot be real.

    :s
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited May 2016

    Once your body burns up the food calories it starts consuming your fat reserves for fuel. Think of your body like a furnace. It has to get the fuel and nutrients somewhere. But you don't die as soon as you run out of food. You can live off of body fat reserves as well. You want to eat less food than you burn so that you can slowly metabolize the stored body fat.
  • ianecock
    ianecock Posts: 5 Member
    ianecock wrote: »
    OK, I've seen everyone post "if you burn more than you eat you lose weight". I'm at the point where I'm not losing any weight, I'm gaining. I've been on a 14-1500 calorie diet for two weeks and I've lost about 15 pounds. I stepped on the scale two days ago and was at 223.4, today I was at 225.5. I work out at least two times a day burning around 4-5000 cals a day (all burn including sedentary burn). What am I doing wrong? If you are supposed to burn more than you eat to lose weight, why am I gaining? How do I get over that hump?? I'm on a time restricted weight loss plan too. I need to lose ten pound in about 10 days..

    Nobody is going to recommend an unhealthy weight loss rate for you. Re-evaluate what you think you "need".

    I know it's not healthy or wise, but I just got laid off and in order to get another job I need to be at 215 pounds. Right now the end game is weight loss any way possible. I've got about 14 days to get down to 215 pounds or I don't have a job.