Exercise calories

ilovethefall003

good morning how many exercise calories should I be getting a day from what I’m reading it says anywhere between four and 600. That’s not active calories that’s exercise calories if that makes sense. On my Apple Watch it says I burn about 600 cal through activity, but on my fitness pal it doesn’t show that it just shows my exercise calories.

AnnPT77

There's no standard rule for how many exercise calories you "should" get for weight loss. I'd suggest figuring out the time budget you have for exercise while also sustaining a happy life balance - enough time and energy for all other things important to you, like family, job, home chores, non-exercise hobbies, etc. Then spend that time doing manageably challenging, fun - at least practical/tolerable - exercise that leaves you energized rather than exhausted for the rest of your day(s); plus gives you enough time for recovery between exercise sessions.

What that exactly is will differ from one person to the next, based on current fitness level, any physical limitations, how demanding/stressful the rest of life is, and more.

A few minutes of "whew" right after a workout is fine, but dragging through the day from fatigue is counterproductive for weight loss, and under-recovery is counter-productive for fitness improvement.

Body size also matters. As a small person myself, 600 calories of exercise for me would be either time consuming, intense, or both. For a large person, it might be less exercise than ideal, I don't know. But I know size matters.

In the long run, for a goal of general good health, the mainstream recommendation is to work up to 150 minutes per week of moderate cardiovascular exercise, 75 minutes per week of more intense cardiovascular exercise per week, or a proportionate combination of the two. Ideally, that would be spread over at least 5 days of the week. On top of that, at least 2 days per week of strength-challenging exercise is recommended. More of either type is fine, if a person's inclinations and time budget allow. But always increase exercise gradually for best results.

However many calories the exercise turns out to be - best estimate - is how many calories to include when setting calorie goals. The exact number will be what it is. It's the exercise that matters to fitness/health progress; and balancing calorie eaten with total calories burned in all ways (including exercise, daily life, just being alive) is what matters for managing body weight.

2deltacharlie

It depends a lot on your particular physical parameters, weight, age, sex, etc.

It also depends upon your background and experience with exercise.

For many people who are jumping into exercise for the first time 600 calories a day would be challenging to maintain and leave you prone to early burn out.

I'd suggest starting out at a much lower level, perhaps 200 calories/day. And then as you get more experience and learn your body you can start to increase your commitment.

You don't want every workout to leave you on the edge of exhaustion. Most workouts should leave you with a feeling of "I could have done a little more."

Maybe one day a week at the start really push to the edge but the majority of time, no. Later on let your experience be your guide.

You want to set yourself up for success. Jumping in too deep to soon will be counter productive.