this may be a dumb question but....

wagsgirls

this may be a dumb question but i'm asking anyway! one of these days i may understand all of this stuff! now when you put in your excercise whatever it may be then the cals that you burned are subtracted and you are then supposed to eat them again (which still baffles me but whatever works!) ok so what about the cals that you burn in your everyday life? couldn't they actually add up depending on your job or what you do that day? just curious.

wagsgirls

this may be a dumb question but i'm asking anyway! one of these days i may understand all of this stuff! now when you put in your excercise whatever it may be then the cals that you burned are subtracted and you are then supposed to eat them again (which still baffles me but whatever works!) ok so what about the cals that you burn in your everyday life? couldn't they actually add up depending on your job or what you do that day? just curious.

proudmama0118

When you set up your goals MFP asks you your activity level, that is where you account for this and it figures your calorie goal based on that.

rheston

When you set your goals MFP did some calculations based on activity to come up with a calorie count and then when you do the exericises it basically tells you that you earn those calories in order to keep up with your stated earlier goals. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way for everyone. These sites come with basic calculators and then spit out a generic response but that's not necessarily the exact guideline everyone must or should follow.

The basic rule of thumb to remember is that to lose 1lb of fat you need to burn 3500 calories.

I've had correspondence with others on MFP who experienced problems with the calculations and the effects it was having on them. When I added in my exercise calories to my diet I gained weight I didn't lose it and that's what others experienced. What works for me, and it appears now for others, is that you eat your basic caloric intake as provided by MFP and do not eat up to your exericise calories. BUT you do need to pay attention to your body and if it tells you it's hungry you need to feed it and somewhere between what this site tells you and what your body tells you there will be a balance of what actually works for you.

Sorry to be long winded but I know there are differences of opinion out there and unfortunately those opposing recommendations have actually set people back in their weight loss effort instead of helping them. I hope this helps a bit.

staliajones

So one of the main reasons why you take in the calories you burned during exercise that day is because you are already on a reduced caloric 'diet'. If you fail to eat those calories, then your body can go into what is referred to as 'starvation mode' and instead of shedding excess weight, it will hold on to everything is can. It is a natural mechanism and the only way you can begin to see negative numbers is if you eat your calories for the day. I know it seems strange - why eat what you burn and yes, you would probably see a decrease in weight for a brief moment, but it will not continue that way. You can also do a google search for what you typically burn throughout the day. Most sites will ask for your height, age, the type of job you do (mainly sitting, standing, etc) and base the results on that information. From there, you subtract 'x' amount of calories like MFP does when you set up your account.

But like rheston just said, it really does depend on each individual and if your body is telling you that it needs food, well, then eat! I know that I have to eat close to 1600 calories a day (after working out) because I feel really bad and hungry if I don't. But my body is dropping in size (not necessarily that much weight) and I am sure that it wouldn't be the same for everyone...including rheston!