Eating and burning calories

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emmamoly2019
emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
in Getting Started
Morning everyone!
I need some help please?
MFP has set my calorie intake at 1200. When I input my calorie burn, it adds it to the amount of calories I need to eat.
I'm a little confused! If I have my full 1200 calories a day but go to the gym and burn 800 calories, do I need to then make sure I eat those calories again?
I thought I needed a calorie deficit, so burn more calories than I eat?

If some one could help me that would be amazing 😊
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Replies

  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    x100 the above.
    also, how much weight do you have to lose and what rate of los did you select?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Yes you should eat them. MFP is a NEAT calculator meaning it calculates a calorie goal independent of any exercise you would do. If you don’t exercise at all, and eat at the calorie target MFP provides you should lose weight at the rate you selected over time. When you exercise you are meant to log and eat back those calories so that you NET 1200. In your scenario, if you burn 800 cals and eat 1200 you are netting 400 cals which is far too low.

    That said - a couple of points.

    Some people find the exercise calorie burn estimates to be inflated so they often start by eating back 50-75% and monitoring progress to ensure it’s accurate for them. In your case 800 is a lot - what sort of exercise are you doing and where did you get the number from?

    1200 is the lowest recommended calorie amount for women and most people don’t need to go that low in order to lose. What are your stats? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you choose?

    Read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section they have a wealth of information.

    Thank you for replying .
    I started my weightloss journey last year and so I've lost 6 1/2 stone (87 lbs) I did this by going to the gym 6 days a week and eating low fat food/cutting rubbish out.

    My weightloss has slowed down now (I knew it would) so I've decided to calorie count. I've put my stats into MFP and they've said 1200 cals a day. I go to the gym 4 days a week now and burn approx 750-900 calories. I have a active job and walk a few miles a day

    So, following your advice, I need to up my calories on the days I go to the gym?

    Thank you again for your reply, it's very much appreciated

    Emma
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    Panini911 wrote: »
    x100 the above.
    also, how much weight do you have to lose and what rate of los did you select?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

    Hiya, I'm wanting to lose another 2 stone minimum. I've lost 6 & 1/2 stone so far (in 11 months)

    I selected to lose 1-2 lbs a week

    Emma
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    emmamoly2019 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Yes you should eat them. MFP is a NEAT calculator meaning it calculates a calorie goal independent of any exercise you would do. If you don’t exercise at all, and eat at the calorie target MFP provides you should lose weight at the rate you selected over time. When you exercise you are meant to log and eat back those calories so that you NET 1200. In your scenario, if you burn 800 cals and eat 1200 you are netting 400 cals which is far too low.

    That said - a couple of points.

    Some people find the exercise calorie burn estimates to be inflated so they often start by eating back 50-75% and monitoring progress to ensure it’s accurate for them. In your case 800 is a lot - what sort of exercise are you doing and where did you get the number from?

    1200 is the lowest recommended calorie amount for women and most people don’t need to go that low in order to lose. What are your stats? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you choose?

    Read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section they have a wealth of information.

    Thank you for replying .
    I started my weightloss journey last year and so I've lost 6 1/2 stone (87 lbs) I did this by going to the gym 6 days a week and eating low fat food/cutting rubbish out.

    My weightloss has slowed down now (I knew it would) so I've decided to calorie count. I've put my stats into MFP and they've said 1200 cals a day. I go to the gym 4 days a week now and burn approx 750-900 calories. I have a active job and walk a few miles a day

    So, following your advice, I need to up my calories on the days I go to the gym?

    Thank you again for your reply, it's very much appreciated

    Emma

    Wow congrats on your success so far!

    How much weight do you still have to lose?
    What rate of loss did you choose?
    What activity level did you select?

    For sure you should eat more on days you go to the gym but I’m not convinced 1200 is the right baseline target for you.
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    emmamoly2019 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Yes you should eat them. MFP is a NEAT calculator meaning it calculates a calorie goal independent of any exercise you would do. If you don’t exercise at all, and eat at the calorie target MFP provides you should lose weight at the rate you selected over time. When you exercise you are meant to log and eat back those calories so that you NET 1200. In your scenario, if you burn 800 cals and eat 1200 you are netting 400 cals which is far too low.

    That said - a couple of points.

    Some people find the exercise calorie burn estimates to be inflated so they often start by eating back 50-75% and monitoring progress to ensure it’s accurate for them. In your case 800 is a lot - what sort of exercise are you doing and where did you get the number from?

    1200 is the lowest recommended calorie amount for women and most people don’t need to go that low in order to lose. What are your stats? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you choose?

    Read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section they have a wealth of information.

    Thank you for replying .
    I started my weightloss journey last year and so I've lost 6 1/2 stone (87 lbs) I did this by going to the gym 6 days a week and eating low fat food/cutting rubbish out.

    My weightloss has slowed down now (I knew it would) so I've decided to calorie count. I've put my stats into MFP and they've said 1200 cals a day. I go to the gym 4 days a week now and burn approx 750-900 calories. I have a active job and walk a few miles a day

    So, following your advice, I need to up my calories on the days I go to the gym?

    Thank you again for your reply, it's very much appreciated

    Emma

    Wow congrats on your success so far!

    How much weight do you still have to lose?
    What rate of loss did you choose?
    What activity level did you select?

    For sure you should eat more on days you go to the gym but I’m not convinced 1200 is the right baseline target for you.

    Thank you 😊
    I'm wanting to lose another 2 stone
    I selected 1-2 lbs loss a week and I selected mid activity I think
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    emmamoly2019 wrote: »
    Panini911 wrote: »
    x100 the above.
    also, how much weight do you have to lose and what rate of los did you select?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

    Hiya, I'm wanting to lose another 2 stone minimum. I've lost 6 & 1/2 stone so far (in 11 months)

    I selected to lose 1-2 lbs a week

    Emma

    Since you don't have much left to lose you should select to lose 1 pound per week because 2 pounds is too aggressive and can result in the loss of lean body mass when you get closer to goal.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    for 2 stones (28lbs) 2lb/week is pretty high - i'd opt for 1- 1.5lb/week max. definitely down to 1 when you hit 20lb to go.
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
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    Panini911 wrote: »
    for 2 stones (28lbs) 2lb/week is pretty high - i'd opt for 1- 1.5lb/week max. definitely down to 1 when you hit 20lb to go.

    Thank you, I have changed it now 😊
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    NovusDies wrote: »
    emmamoly2019 wrote: »
    Panini911 wrote: »
    x100 the above.
    also, how much weight do you have to lose and what rate of los did you select?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

    Hiya, I'm wanting to lose another 2 stone minimum. I've lost 6 & 1/2 stone so far (in 11 months)

    I selected to lose 1-2 lbs a week

    Emma

    Since you don't have much left to lose you should select to lose 1 pound per week because 2 pounds is too aggressive and can result in the loss of lean body mass when you get closer to goal.

    Thank you, I have changed it now 😊
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Great job for taking onboard all the advice . One thing I just thought of - have you tried logging what a typical day of eating was for when you were losing weight previously, to get a feel for how many calories that was? Could also give you some idea of what your numbers should be if your rate of loss was fairly consistent with that approach.
  • emmamoly2019
    emmamoly2019 Posts: 8 Member
    Options
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Commander_Keen wrote: »
    emmamoly2019 wrote: »
    Morning everyone!
    I need some help please?
    MFP has set my calorie intake at 1200. When I input my calorie burn, it adds it to the amount of calories I need to eat.
    I'm a little confused! If I have my full 1200 calories a day but go to the gym and burn 800 calories, do I need to then make sure I eat those calories again?
    I thought I needed a calorie deficit, so burn more calories than I eat?

    If some one could help me that would be amazing 😊

    listen to your body. If you need to eat, then eat. if you don't then don't.
    Some people do, some people don't.

    So you think eating 1200 and burning off 700-900 cals is a good idea?

    Many of the signs of under fueling your body don’t show up for months. It’s not as simple as “listen to your body” when the adverse effects are things like loss of lean body mass, bone density, hair loss, brittle nails, fatigue and sallow skin...

    OP you’re on the right track. As active as you are you need to fuel that activity.

    Very helpful thank you. I have terrible brittle nails that started about 6 weeks ago and didn't even think it could be connected
    Thanks again
  • RovP6
    RovP6 Posts: 108 Member
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    I'm going to be what some might say a little controversial and suggest you increase your calories for a few weeks. Your metabolism is very adaptive and unless you're suffering from hormonal problems it adapts quite quickly to what you put into it. You seem to be caught in the classic " if cutting 500 calories is good then cutting 1000 calories is better" trap. Whilst that may be true for a short period, your metabolism will eventually adapt to fuel your body effectively with that lower number of calories, making it harder to lose more weight without running the risk of severe undereating. It might be worth setting MFP to gain 1/2lb to 1lb per week for a couple of weeks to stimulate your metabolism to respond again. Once you've done that set it to maintain for a further 2 weeks before setting it back to lose 1/2lb to 1lb per week. This is what's commonly known as a reverse diet and some people have actually experienced increased weight loss following a period of what they believe is a calorie surplus. I'm not saying this will work for you because we're all different and the underlying rule is to do what works for you. But for the sake of a month it's worth a try. Remember that you will not undo all that good work in 4 weeks. Don't take my word for it though, have a look here: https://boomboomperformance.com/video-blog-the-purpose-of-reverse-dieting/

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