Does anyone else do this?

cease_warren2011
cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
edited November 18 in Chit-Chat
So I've noticed that as I excercise throughout the day (and log calories burned) the calories that I've already eaten are replaced for me to reuse again. By the end of the day, when trying to complete my diary, mfp tells me that Im not eating enough and will not let me close the diary. I've started logging only half of my exercise so that im not forced to eat more. If i work out an hour, I log 30 mins etc. Is this harmful? I do consume 1200 calories a day but i try to avoid eating more than that.

Replies

  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    On the days you can't close your diary... are you consuming at least 1000 calories worth of food? Because I think that's when MFP won't let you close your diary. I ran into that after I got my wisdom teeth out and literally couldn't eat for a week.
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    That's a bug then. If you're eating 1200 it should let you submit (as a man) or 1,000 as a woman. Double and triple check. Adding exercise should not effect that.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    I wouldn't call it 'unfortunately'! That's how MFP is set up to work. If you're exercising, there's a good chance your body is going to need the extra fuel beyond your base calories to sustain good health and energy. I've been on maintenance since 2012 after losing 50+ pounds. When I was actively trying to lose, I always ate my exercise calories. I still lost weight steadily and easily. Most days I ate 1800-2100 calories.
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    UpEarly wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    I wouldn't call it 'unfortunately'! That's how MFP is set up to work. If you're exercising, there's a good chance your body is going to need the extra fuel beyond your base calories to sustain good health and energy. I've been on maintenance since 2012 after losing 50+ pounds. When I was actively trying to lose, I always ate my exercise calories. I still lost weight steadily and easily. Most days I ate 1800-2100 calories.

    ^^ This.

    You need to fuel your body, especially if you're working out regularly and burning significant calories. MFP builds a deficit in to your calorie goal so you can lose without exercise. I wouldn't recommend using *all* of your exercise calories, because MFP tends to overestimate burns, but I would use 1/3-1/2 of them. Or, since you're only logging half of your exercise... most or all of what you log.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    First- you aren't being forced to do anything.
    You don't have to log exercise. You don't have to complete your diary.
    You don't have to sync a fitness tracker. You can log manually and put whatever number you want. You can say you burned 1 calorie.

    Second- You told MFP you wanted to lose at a certain rate. MFP gave you a calorie deficit without factoring in exercise to lose at that rate. With MFP you are supposed to eat some of your exercise calories to continue to have the deficit you told MFP you wanted to have.
    If your calorie goal is already the minimum recommended 1200 and you do not ever eat any exercise calories you are likely to not be eating enough to nourish and fuel your body. Please understand that it will not keep you from losing weight to eat those calories- assuming you are logging what you consume and burn accurately enough. You still have the same calorie deficit.

    Some people only eat a portion of exercise calories to compensate for overestimated burns. If you want to log half your exercise and eat just those calories that is the same as looking at the total number of calories earned from exercise and just eating half. So burning 200 but logging 100 or logging all 200 and just eating 100 is the same and should be having 1300 calories for the day.
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    First- you aren't being forced to do anything.
    You don't have to log exercise. You don't have to complete your diary.
    You don't have to sync a fitness tracker. You can log manually and put whatever number you want. You can say you burned 1 calorie.

    Second- You told MFP you wanted to lose at a certain rate. MFP gave you a calorie deficit without factoring in exercise to lose at that rate. With MFP you are supposed to eat some of your exercise calories to continue to have the deficit you told MFP you wanted to have.
    If your calorie goal is already the minimum recommended 1200 and you do not ever eat any exercise calories you are likely to not be eating enough to nourish and fuel your body. Please understand that it will not keep you from losing weight to eat those calories- assuming you are logging what you consume and burn accurately enough. You still have the same calorie deficit.

    Some people only eat a portion of exercise calories to compensate for overestimated burns. If you want to log half your exercise and eat just those calories that is the same as looking at the total number of calories earned from exercise and just eating half. So burning 200 but logging 100 or logging all 200 and just eating 100 is the same and should be having 1300 calories for the day.

    Ok.... I'm aware that I'm not forced to do anything. This post wasn't a way for me to whine about being forced into anything. My hope was to get insight from others who use the site and get information from my peers. People who have gone through or are going through the same things. Im not really sure why you felt the need to be rude but im just on here for motivation and this site seems to have some great ppl to help with that. I'm slowly learning whats right and wrong with this life change adjustment and its difficult. I always hope to have, genuine nice people, comment with helpful tips or guidance not someone who makes it a point to be rude for the sake of being rude. I appreciate all of the helpful comments and commend those who understand and show empathy toward others who are on this journey. But if being rude is the mission, please just dont. This is hard enough to do, day by day, without the harsh feedback. I'm not trying to be mean or dismissive but I really just want to find others who understand how hard and confusing this life change is.
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    CoffeeAndContour wrote: »
    I never have a problem with eating. More exercise, more food. Bonus!

    Lol I just get scared and overthink it. Im afraid of going backwards.
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    FeraFilia wrote: »
    UpEarly wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    I wouldn't call it 'unfortunately'! That's how MFP is set up to work. If you're exercising, there's a good chance your body is going to need the extra fuel beyond your base calories to sustain good health and energy. I've been on maintenance since 2012 after losing 50+ pounds. When I was actively trying to lose, I always ate my exercise calories. I still lost weight steadily and easily. Most days I ate 1800-2100 calories.

    ^^ This.

    You need to fuel your body, especially if you're working out regularly and burning significant calories. MFP builds a deficit in to your calorie goal so you can lose without exercise. I wouldn't recommend using *all* of your exercise calories, because MFP tends to overestimate burns, but I would use 1/3-1/2 of them. Or, since you're only logging half of your exercise... most or all of what you log.
    You correct I'm sure. So my question is do i work out less or am i suppose to make my intake higher? It just feels like im cheating when the calories are put back after I've already eaten my 1200. I hope that makes since.
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    CoffeeAndContour wrote: »
    I never have a problem with eating. More exercise, more food. Bonus!

    Lol I just get scared and overthink it. Im afraid of going backwards.

    If it helps ease your mind... go to your settings and put in your current stats, and select the option to maintain your weight, then see what the calorie goal is for that. If you can stay under *that* number, then you will not go backwards and will continue to lose. Maybe not as quickly, but it might help you keep from freaking out if you go over by a little every now and then. It took me a while to stop feeling like going over my calories by 200 one day was going to set me back a lot. It never has... it's the days I get lazy and don't log that tend to be the problem.

    You'll get the hang of it. :)
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    Geocitiesuser wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    That's a bug then. If you're eating 1200 it should let you submit (as a man) or 1,000 as a woman. Double and triple check. Adding exercise should not effect that.

    For some reason once i log that ive burned calories that number changes.
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    UpEarly wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    I wouldn't call it 'unfortunately'! That's how MFP is set up to work. If you're exercising, there's a good chance your body is going to need the extra fuel beyond your base calories to sustain good health and energy. I've been on maintenance since 2012 after losing 50+ pounds. When I was actively trying to lose, I always ate my exercise calories. I still lost weight steadily and easily. Most days I ate 1800-2100 calories.

    Thank you so much!
  • cease_warren2011
    cease_warren2011 Posts: 22 Member
    FeraFilia wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    CoffeeAndContour wrote: »
    I never have a problem with eating. More exercise, more food. Bonus!

    Lol I just get scared and overthink it. Im afraid of going backwards.

    If it helps ease your mind... go to your settings and put in your current stats, and select the option to maintain your weight, then see what the calorie goal is for that. If you can stay under *that* number, then you will not go backwards and will continue to lose. Maybe not as quickly, but it might help you keep from freaking out if you go over by a little every now and then. It took me a while to stop feeling like going over my calories by 200 one day was going to set me back a lot. It never has... it's the days I get lazy and don't log that tend to be the problem.

    You'll get the hang of it. :)

    You are amazing thank you!
  • FeraFilia
    FeraFilia Posts: 4,664 Member
    edited May 2017
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    FeraFilia wrote: »
    UpEarly wrote: »
    cease_warren2011 wrote: »
    Im eating the 1200 but when you excercise it add calories back to the count unfortunately

    I wouldn't call it 'unfortunately'! That's how MFP is set up to work. If you're exercising, there's a good chance your body is going to need the extra fuel beyond your base calories to sustain good health and energy. I've been on maintenance since 2012 after losing 50+ pounds. When I was actively trying to lose, I always ate my exercise calories. I still lost weight steadily and easily. Most days I ate 1800-2100 calories.

    ^^ This.

    You need to fuel your body, especially if you're working out regularly and burning significant calories. MFP builds a deficit in to your calorie goal so you can lose without exercise. I wouldn't recommend using *all* of your exercise calories, because MFP tends to overestimate burns, but I would use 1/3-1/2 of them. Or, since you're only logging half of your exercise... most or all of what you log.
    You correct I'm sure. So my question is do i work out less or am i suppose to make my intake higher? It just feels like im cheating when the calories are put back after I've already eaten my 1200. I hope that makes since.

    You need to up your intake on those days when you work out. Your calorie goal is designed to help you lose weight *without* exercise. When you exercise, your deficit goes higher, so MFP adjusts your calorie goal to reflect that and keep you at the deficit for the rate of loss you selected.
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