Calorie Counters...

Joey1982

Hey All, Quick question regarding Calorie Counting. I've been trying to put together a realistic plan for me to follow for the next few months and set a realistic goal for the end of summer and I've been using the guideline that 3500 calories = 1 pound (approximately of course)

My confusion comes when I try to apply this to my weekly exercise schedule that I like to change up every week. Which calories do you use when calculating the amount of 3500 lost calories.

- Is it every 3500 calories lost during working out? (The problem I see here is that sometimes I end up eating some of these calories. )

or

- Is it the calories that are left at the end of the each day on the food diary (with of course include the workout calories)?
(The problem here is that my goal for the day is 1200 calories which I believe already removes some of the 3500 calories for the week to keep me on track.)

I'm not sure why I'm having such difficulty with this question but if anyone has any insight I would love to hear what you do! Thanks!

raspberrymerlot

I would say that at the end of the day, it is the net calorie deficit that will add up to a pound lost. I would also agree that the 1,200 calories a day have a 'loss' factor built in.... Would you not then start with the amount of calories you require to maintain your current weight, and deduct the 3,500 from there?

Mindful_Trent

Ok, I'll try to explain... Go to Goals (under your homepage) and look up your "From Normal Daily Activity". This is how many calories MFP estimates you burn every day. To lose weight, you have to eat less than your daily activity.

Based on your weight-loss goals, MFP has given you a daily calorie goal and your daily deficit (to reach your goal).

Any exercise you do adds to your calories burned from normal daily activity... Whether or not you eat the extra calories is a big debate on here. I do, but it's a personal decision.

So... for example, My "From Normal Daily Activity" is 2300. I want to lose 2 lbs a week, which is 7000 calories - this comes out to 1000 calories a day. This means I have to eat 1300 calories to have 1000 calorie deficit a day. (2300 daily activity minus 1300 calories eaten = 1000 more calories burned than consumed). Over seven days that comes out to 7000 calories, or two pounds loss.

If I workout today and burn 500 calories, that gives me 2800 calories burned, so I can eat 1800 calories instead of 1300 and still have the 1000 calorie deficit.

Hope this helps and didn't just confuse you more!

Joey1982

This was very helpful! Thank you very much, I really appreciate it!!!