CALORIES IN/CALORIES OUT

standy73

MFP has me on 1500 daily... trying to lose kg’s ...should i be eating ALL 1500? Or have what ive heard ‘defecit’?? To lose kg’s?? Just starting counting ‘CICO’ listen to alot of ‘Jillian Michaels’ INSPO👍🏼

csplatt

If you plugged in all your data to MFP and selected a goal (number of pounds per week), then you get to eat all 1500

Lietchi

Did you already enter your personal stats and choose a weight loss rate? Then yes, you should eat all of those 1500 calories since it already includes a calorie deficit (based on the weight loss rate you chose).

sijomial

1500 + exercise is the daily goal you got by selecting the rate of loss you picked when you did your goal set up, that's where you decided your calorie deficit.

standy73

ThankU guys, im in kg’s im Australia 🇦🇺 Yes ive connected to my Garmin watch its connecting daily👏🏼 Counts my steps & i can add exercise too ( but not boxing i find bizaar)
Problem i finding is my Zumba class are night adding many deficit cals which i complete day then find it wont calculate as i have 1000’s remaining ( ZUMBA) burns alot steps!!!!

callsitlikeiseeit

yup eat all 1500. plus some exercise.

for zumba, which I used to do all the time before we moved to where we are now, I would only eat back 300-400. i know the burn says a lot more, but I also always give it a giant dose of salt as far as accuracy goes (with any exercise, not just that).

ironically I have a zoom zumba session planned for tomorrow. Im not sure how I will like that, but am going to give it a try and see.

paperpudding

standy73 wrote: »

ThankU guys, im in kg’s im Australia 🇦🇺 Yes ive connected to my Garmin watch its connecting daily👏🏼 Counts my steps & i can add exercise too ( but not boxing i find bizaar)
Problem i finding is my Zumba class are night adding many deficit cals which i complete day then find it wont calculate as i have 1000’s remaining ( ZUMBA) burns alot steps!!!!

Are you sure that you are calculating zumba calories correctly??

Cant quite see a nightly zumba class adding thousands of calories.

Ddsb11

A calorie deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories than your body expends. A calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is 3500 calories per week, which = a 1 lb loss per week.

Now that you have your MFP calorie goal, closely aim for that and make sure you are weighing and logging accurately. Exercise is typically exaggerated by MFP and calorie counters so eat back 50% (give or take) until you see your rate of loss over time, then make adjustments.

standy73

Thanks guys 🙏🏼Zumba on garman watch works out 7,000-8,000 steps that in calories come straight off MFP but always leaves such a large gap (sometimes 1400) after eating 1500... that's good though right??

Lietchi

standy73 wrote: »

Thanks guys 🙏🏼Zumba on garman watch works out 7,000-8,000 steps that in calories come straight off MFP but always leaves such a large gap (sometimes 1400) after eating 1500... that's good though right??

No, it's not good, it would mean you're undereating severely, which isn't healthy. How many calories are you getting from the zumba class alone? Not 1400 I presume? Which would mean you're getting extra calories also from being active throughout the day?
What activity level and weight loss rate did you choose on MFP? What are your stats?

standy73

Exactly ive been working all day today so on top of 1500 i have 200 cals ... now about to do Zumba 60min high active will set me another gain of 1000 cals😲🤨
Ive already eaten brekky lunch snacks accounted it all added another shake in case too🤦🏻‍♀️
My is how best to calculate daily carbs, protein & fat??

Lietchi

Well, 1000 calories for your zumba class is highly unlikely. As someone else said, 300-400 calories seems more likely, so that would mean leaving 600-700 calories 'unused' at the end of the day.

For macros, I don't use percentages, I aim for 100gr protein or more and a minimum of 50gr fat (I'm usually higher) and then carbs take up whatever is left.

Avidkeo

I echo others, I would be very wary of 1000 calories for zumba. I run, and 1hr of continuous running only gets me about 600 calories. Zumba would be far less than that.

ninerbuff

standy73 wrote: »

Exactly ive been working all day today so on top of 1500 i have 200 cals ... now about to do Zumba 60min high active will set me another gain of 1000 cals😲🤨
Ive already eaten brekky lunch snacks accounted it all added another shake in case too🤦🏻‍♀️
My is how best to calculate daily carbs, protein & fat??

Just to put it into perspective, Michael Phelps would swim an Olympic pool lap in like 60 sec. The burn from that was like 27 calories. Mind you he's going full speed. So unless you're doing that kind of intensity, you're likely NOT burning 1000 calories an hour. Most Zumba classes will burn 300-500 dependent on the intensity of the person.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

lgfrie

Another vote for "there is no way you're burning 1,000 calories in a zumba class".

300-400 sounds about right.

When in doubt with exercise calories, all things considered and stipulating in advance that it's so dependent on your age, gender, weight, exercise intensity level, and other variables, 300-400 per hour if you're sweating is a good starting point, imho.

Speakeasy76

Just for perspective, I'm a 44-year old 143 lb female with a resting HR of like 55, and probably about 24% body fat. Today I did 56 minutes of Zumba. My Fitbit says burned 430 calories, which I think may even be a little high.

ndj1979

paperpudding wrote: »

standy73 wrote: »

ThankU guys, im in kg’s im Australia 🇦🇺 Yes ive connected to my Garmin watch its connecting daily👏🏼 Counts my steps & i can add exercise too ( but not boxing i find bizaar)
Problem i finding is my Zumba class are night adding many deficit cals which i complete day then find it wont calculate as i have 1000’s remaining ( ZUMBA) burns alot steps!!!!

Are you sure that you are calculating zumba calories correctly??

Cant quite see a nightly zumba class adding thousands of calories.

1000 calorie Zumba viburnum sounds legit..

ndj1979

OP you need to net 1500 calories if you are doing mfp method. However, I concur with others that you are not burning 1000 calories via Zumba. I would only eat back 25% of those calories.

standy73

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

yup eat all 1500. plus some exercise.

for zumba, which I used to do all the time before we moved to where we are now, I would only eat back 300-400. i know the burn says a lot more, but I also always give it a giant dose of salt as far as accuracy goes (with any exercise, not just that).

ironically I have a zoom zumba session planned for tomorrow. Im not sure how I will like that, but am going to give it a try and see.

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

yup eat all 1500. plus some exercise.

for zumba, which I used to do all the time before we moved to where we are now, I would only eat back 300-400. i know the burn says a lot more, but I also always give it a giant dose of salt as far as accuracy goes (with any exercise, not just that).

ironically I have a zoom zumba session planned for tomorrow. Im not sure how I will like that, but am going to give it a try and see.

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

yup eat all 1500. plus some exercise.

for zumba, which I used to do all the time before we moved to where we are now, I would only eat back 300-400. i know the burn says a lot more, but I also always give it a giant dose of salt as far as accuracy goes (with any exercise, not just that).

ironically I have a zoom zumba session planned for tomorrow. Im not sure how I will like that, but am going to give it a try and see.

cwolfman13

standy73 wrote: »

Exactly ive been working all day today so on top of 1500 i have 200 cals ... now about to do Zumba 60min high active will set me another gain of 1000 cals😲🤨
Ive already eaten brekky lunch snacks accounted it all added another shake in case too🤦🏻‍♀️
My is how best to calculate daily carbs, protein & fat??

You should eat some of those zumba calories back...but you're definitely not burning 1K calories in 60 minutes of Zumba. Watches and gadgets, etc are all giving you an estimate....but that's grossly overinflated. Generally speaking, an hour of good intensive cardiovascular exercise is usually going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 300-500 calories depending on what you're doing. 1K calories in an hour of exercise is elite athlete territory...and even then, that would be a very hard training day.

gossipgirl1970

You say you have a garmin i have too and I use the calories in/out on that rather than what my mfp says x

TwistedSassette

It sounds like maybe you're saying that your Garmin is double counting calories when you do Zumba - counting some calories for the actual Zumba but also giving you a higher calorie burn for the extra steps it counts during Zumba class?
I would try going into your exercise diary and checking what adjustment is coming across from your Garmin (I have an Apple Watch, so mine appears as "MFP iOS calorie adjustment" - I assume you'd see something similar for your Garmin). Just click on the little information flag next to it and you'll see how it's calculated - here's an example of mine for my iOS adjustment:

If you think this is giving you too much credit, delete the entry (there's a little red button on the right to do this). Then make sure your Zumba activity is showing the right amount of calories (if it looks a bit high still, you can click on it and edit the calorie burn to that 3-400 range that seems more accurate).
I'm no expert on Garmins, but I suspect that it's not recognising that it's double-counting on your activity.

standy73

Thanks guys, yes i definitely wasnt eating the extra mow i know is 300-400 ishhh what do they mean
“eat back”? They said eat all 1500! Whats eat back all bout??

goal06082021

standy73 wrote: »

Thanks guys, yes i definitely wasnt eating the extra mow i know is 300-400 ishhh what do they mean
“eat back”? They said eat all 1500! Whats eat back all bout??

It means eat the calories you burned exercising.

Suppose your budget for the day is 1500 calories. If you eat 1500 calories and then burn 300 calories exercising, your net calorie intake for the day is actually 1200. So, you need to eat 300 more calories, to bring your net intake to 1500.

MFP's method expects you to eat back calories burned doing purposeful exercise, so that your net intake is whatever number it gives you. Not doing that results in a higher deficit than MFP calculated for you, which may not be a safe or sustainable rate of loss. Side effects of eating too little range from "feeling kind of crappy" to literal organ failure, so, y'know, don't do that.

RGv2

standy73 wrote: »

Thanks guys, yes i definitely wasnt eating the extra mow i know is 300-400 ishhh what do they mean
“eat back”? They said eat all 1500! Whats eat back all bout??

You're making it harder than it needs to be. When you put your stats and activity level, MFP calculates about how much it takes for you to maintain (TDEE/Maintenance). Then when you put in your weekly goal of loss it figures out how many calories to take off your TDEE to lose your goal.

So, hypothetically: A person puts in all of their info and gets a TDEE of 2000 calories with the goal to lose 1lb per week (-500 calories) for a goal of 1500.

2000 TDEE - 500 cal deficit = 1500 daily calories to lose 1lb per week.

Now, lets say this person has a gym session that burns 300 calories. Now, that TDEE goes up by 300.

2000 + 300 = 2300 calories new TDEE.

Now, the goal is still to lose 1lb a week, so:

2300 - 500 = 1800 daily calories to lose 1lb per week. That's what it means by "eat back" your exercise calories.

standy73

Okay so ATM i am doing x2 60min zumba classs... in my MFP goals it still has me as ‘LIGHTLY ACTIVE’ and 1450cals
Shoukd i change it to MOT VERY ACTIVE?? 1240calories🤔🤔

goal06082021

OK, so let's try simplifying this.

One. Stop wearing your Garmin, it's muddying the waters here in a way that is not serving your goals.

Two. Go through the guided setup again. When you get to the Activity Level question, base your answer on what you do all day BESIDES Zumba. If you work outside the home, what kind of job do you have? If you don't work outside the home, about how many waking hours per day do you spend sitting down?

Once you have that reconfigured, eat that many calories every day, plus however many you burn doing Zumba (or half or 75% of those calories, since MFP tends to overestimate). An hour of sustained high-intensity cardio will burn 400-500 calories on average; probably good to err on the side of underestimating, so let's call it 350 calories per Zumba sesh, that's 500-700 extra calories per day on top of your MFP goal that you should eat.

Do that for 4-6 weeks and see what the data say.

standy73

ThankU
I have stopped sync’g now i know its BS really🤔
I still record what im eating makes me accountable.
Just seems these calorie counting cant be trusted! Only things certain is the scanning on products i know for certain if im correct👍🏼 But i visited docs also said 1500 was way too high originally had activity set to ‘very active’ =1500 cals i DIDNT drop ANY weight! (Wk1-4)
Lowered activity to ‘lightly active’ =1490 still NO CHANGE to weight (wk4-6)
TODAY I thought may ill change activity to ‘not very active’
=1200cals...
SEE WHAT HAPPENS NOW

goal06082021

standy73 wrote: »

ThankU
I have stopped sync’g now i know its BS really🤔
I still record what im eating makes me accountable.
Just seems these calorie counting cant be trusted! Only things certain is the scanning on products i know for certain if im correct👍🏼 But i visited docs also said 1500 was way too high originally had activity set to ‘very active’ =1500 cals i DIDNT drop ANY weight! (Wk1-4)
Lowered activity to ‘lightly active’ =1490 still NO CHANGE to weight (wk4-6)
TODAY I thought may ill change activity to ‘not very active’
=1200cals...
SEE WHAT HAPPENS NOW

You haven't been doing any of this long enough to know if it's working. What did you base your "very active" activity level on originally?

standy73

Some full weeks i was boxing a few days + 2 zumba class’s
Friday last Here in Melb, Australia 🇦🇺 We had a snap 5 day lockdown i had zumba EVERY DAY... now im back to two days only zumba.. kids after school, working, kids sports taking it week by week what i can do🙏🏼

AnnPT77

standy73 wrote: »

ThankU
I have stopped sync’g now i know its BS really🤔
I still record what im eating makes me accountable.
Just seems these calorie counting cant be trusted! Only things certain is the scanning on products i know for certain if im correct👍🏼 But i visited docs also said 1500 was way too high originally had activity set to ‘very active’ =1500 cals i DIDNT drop ANY weight! (Wk1-4)
Lowered activity to ‘lightly active’ =1490 still NO CHANGE to weight (wk4-6)
TODAY I thought may ill change activity to ‘not very active’
=1200cals...
SEE WHAT HAPPENS NOW

No, scanning products is not certain. The database is still crowd sourced, i.e., regular MFP users create the food entries, even the bar coded ones. They may've entered them incorrectly, they may be for outdated formulations of the product, maybe even for another country's version of the product, etc. Compare to what the product label says the first time you use a bar code, make sure the entry is correct.

Frankly, the learning curve for logging accurately is one of the biggest issues for most people who don't lose weight as expected on X number of calories (at a calorie level that should work). This is not a personal criticism, it's just a recognition that all of us go through a learning process with logging (food *and* exercise).

Your food diary is private. If you make it public to other MFP users, some of the old hands may be able to take a look and help you refine your logging practice.

In the short run, make sure you're logging every BLT (Bite, Lick, Taste), not forgetting oils used in cooking, dressings, beverages, condiments etc. If you include a "cheat day", log that, too, even if you have to estimate. Measure or weigh your portions, especially for calorie-dense things. (Weighing on a food scale is preferred, not just because it's more accurate but because it's also quicker and easier once you learn the tricks. A food scale only costs about the price of a takeout pizza, so it's not prohibitive for most people.)