Do you add or subtract calories? Looking for opinions

Kathi_613

So I am trying to gain muscle and lose fat (aren't we all)…

I work out at a gym and have been doing body scans. It tells me my recent metabolic calorie rate is 1567.2 Should I decrease this value by 300 (cause I don't want to go lower than 1200 calories as I am old) and then calculate the buckets via macros and then add in any calories earned from exercise or Should my macro buckets be calculated on 1567.2 and not add the calories burned by exercise?

nossmf

It depends on what settings you used when setting up your MFP calorie log. When you setup the log, you give it basic information (gender, current weight, goal of gaining/losing/maintaining, how fast you want things to change, etc). MFP then calculates a starting point calorie goal, which you can then either use or swap out a number you have chosen for yourself. Next, you also need to tell MFP how active you are on a regular basis.

If you set it to sedentary, MFP gives you a calorie goal which does not include exercise. Any exercise you actually do and log in MFP, it assumes you are going to eat more calories for the day to offset those burned during the workout.

If you use a more active setting (light, active, etc) then do not log any additional exercise, since the calorie burn is already factored into the MFP suggested goal calories.

Which should you do? Whichever seems easiest to adhere to. If you don't want to worry about exercise calories burned/eaten, or you want the same calorie goal every day of the week whether you exercise that day or not, try one of the active settings. If you prefer more control, or want to eat more on gym days and are willing to eat less on idle days, select sedentary. Either way, MFP will help calculate suggested macro totals, automatically adjusting up/down as you input exercise calories. (You can always change the percentages to fit your personal eating style…zero carb, or high protein, or whatever you desire.)

pridesabtch

Is your metabolic calorie rate, the same as Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, the number of calories it takes to exist. If so, this does not include any activity. You shouldn't eat below your BMR or even at your BMR.

What calorie range does MFP put you at to lose? You can also use a TDEE calculator to get an idea of what you need to consume to lose.

It will be very hard to gain muscle while in a calorie deficit, but by lifting and maintaining a calorie deficit you can maintain most of you muscle and you will look more "toned" as you lose the fat around the muscle.

Good luck!

spiriteagle99

MFP sets the basic macros as a percentage of your total food intake, so on days that you get more calories from exercise, the numbers will change.

That said, generally you don't need to worry about macros in order to lose weight except to make sure that you get enough protein to rebuild muscle and enough fat to be able to metabolize vitamins.

tomcustombuilder

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10938330/do-you-add-or-subtract-calories-looking-for-opinions

what is your height and weight?