Possible stupid question but need help

benn8895

Ok. So this may sound stupid but I definitely need clarification. I'm trying to lose weight. For calories on here they have me at 1350 because I put in that I am lightly active since I get between 6000-10000 steps a day. Sometimes that number includes a 45 min jog in which I usually burn over 400 calories. Sometimes the job puts me above 10000 steps. I always log the jog as exercise so it ups the calories that I can eat a day. Should I eat those calories? I get really confused on the calorie part of all of this. I dont want to eat to little but I also dont want to eat to much thinking I'm burning more. Three years ago I remember my doctor telling me to eat 1200 and workout hard 3-5 days a week to lose weight and she never said to eat calories back. But now everything on here says to eat them back. Sorry for the length but I really want to do this right so I have success and there is so much conflicting info on here and online. Thanks for any help!!!

janejellyroll

MFP is designed for you to eat those calories, yes.

1,200 is typically not enough for a woman that is working out hard 3-5 days a week.

TavistockToad

your activity setting should not include purposeful exercise, so yes, you should include your running calories and eat them back.

running is easy to calculate the calories burnt fairly accurately too:

body weight in lbs x 0.63 x distance in miles

apullum

It sounds like your doctor gave you some generic advice that may not be ideal for your situation. Unless you're short, sedentary, and/or older, 1200 is not going to be enough calories for you.

Set your rate of loss for a reasonable pace--most people choose 1 lb/week unless they want to lose more than about 75 pounds or less than about 25 pounds. 2 lb/week can be appropriate for people with a lot to lose; if you don't have much to lose, 0.5 lb/week is best.

MFP's calorie goal also does not include intentional exercise; it only includes the activity level you put in your goal setup, which should cover your steps. Log your workout calories separately and eat those back.

Maxxitt

I'm a big fan of keeping suffering at a minimum if I can. Do eat your exercise calories back (or at least half of them) and track your data for 6 weeks (this amount of time helps you track what happens with the common hormonal monthly shifts). If you are losing as expected, then keep going. Or, you can make adjustments.

quiksylver296