Can I really trust my food tracker??

271lisa

I am new to this and have been exercising along with following the recommended 1200 calories per day. Can I really trust my food tracker when it tells me I can have all those extra calories because I exercised?? My instinct tells me to stick with the 1200 calories per day regardless of whether I exercise or not.

What do you think?

delicious_cocktail

Do not stick with 1200 calories regardless of whether you exercise or not. Your body needs calories to survive. It is certainly possible to harm yourself by undereating.

Further, 1200 calories is a failsafe. MFP doesn't recommend below that; it's not quite the customized nutritional recommendation that you may believe.

laursoar

I second delicious_croc.

1200 calories and then eating back any exercise calories would be the bare minimum a female should eat. If you don't eat back exercise calories on top of a 1200 target a day, you're actually more apt to see your weight loss stall quickly as your body conserves those calories in starvation mode. Eat back exercise calories all the way. You'll still be getting benefits of exercising (metabolism boost, overall health benefits, toning) but maintaining the right amount of energy for your body to function correctly.

farniente8

I say eat them back, but if you are going by the calories MFP gives you for exercise you might not want to eat 100% of them. People say MFP is off by as much as 50%, depending on the exercise they are logging. I wouldn't exercise nearly as much as I do these days if I couldn't eat those calories back! Ha.

271lisa

REALLY??? That means I have 550 calories left and it's 9:09 pm here...woo hoo!! Thanks for your help!!

DSeay88

You are right to be cautious about the exercise calories. They're a guesstimate. If you are slightly underestimating calories eaten and slightly overestimating exercise calories burned, then you can actually gain weight or just make no progress when you think you've been sticking to the program. Many people don't eat back exercise calories at all, eat a percentage of them back (50%, 75%, whatever), or "bank" them and take a cheat day once a week or every other week. Anyone who tells you there is only one "right" way to do this is probably full of it.

Pay attention to your body. Weigh yourself once a week to gauge progress. If you're staying the same, cut down your calories a bit or increase your exercise. If you're gaining, then definitely cut down your calories and maybe exercise more too. If you're losing 1-2 pounds a week, keep doing what you're doing! We can all say what has worked for us, but that's no guarantee that it will work for you exactly the same way.

My best advice: buy a digital food scale. You would be surprised by how imprecise measuring cups and spoons are.

Best of luck on your journey!

tdh1991

You have to gauge your body. Everyone is different. MFP overestimates calories burned., I also think the cardio machines do too. So, I never eat all of my calories back, mostly stuck to 1200 calories. I just wanted to lose weight faster.

amosmoses88

1200 is the bare minimum. You'll survive on it, but barely. You'll get sick and dizzy. I did. When I started, I lived by that 1200 and I was getting so sick. Like flu symptoms kind of sick. Then when I started eating more calories, I started LOSING more weight. Please do your TDEE and go from there. I swear by it. After you do your TDEE, go into the settings and change your goals manually. You'll feel a lot better and lose better. Also, drink nothing but water. WATER WATER WATER. Hope that helps!

Jewlz280

You are right to be cautious about the exercise calories. They're a guesstimate. If you are slightly underestimating calories eaten and slightly overestimating exercise calories burned, then you can actually gain weight or just make no progress when you think you've been sticking to the program. Many people don't eat back exercise calories at all, eat a percentage of them back (50%, 75%, whatever), or "bank" them and take a cheat day once a week or every other week. Anyone who tells you there is only one "right" way to do this is probably full of it.

Pay attention to your body. Weigh yourself once a week to gauge progress. If you're staying the same, cut down your calories a bit or increase your exercise. If you're gaining, then definitely cut down your calories and maybe exercise more too. If you're losing 1-2 pounds a week, keep doing what you're doing! We can all say what has worked for us, but that's no guarantee that it will work for you exactly the same way.

My best advice: buy a digital food scale. You would be surprised by how imprecise measuring cups and spoons are.

Best of luck on your journey!

PLEASE ignore this advice. DO NOT go under 1200 calories -- that is dangerous, unsafe, and will only result in future problems! If anything, get more detailed. You can use several sites (including this one) to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) or your TDEE and go from there. If anything, up your calories some. Then good a good food scale. You would be surprised how off you can be with certain foods -- pb is a prime example! I even used this example on another site. Peanut butter servings are 2TBSP, but you wouldn't believe how often people 'eyeball' only to discover later that they were actually eating closer to 4TBSP... that's a difference of almost 200 cals! So, when it comes to fats like oil, pb, butter, etc., you need to be sure and measure that. Another thing you can do is get an HRM (heart rate monitor) to wear during workouts. That will give you the best numbers to plug in. Then eat back those cals because even if you go up to say, 1400 cals, baring any medical issues, you should still be losing. Wouldn't you rather work it down slowly and have wiggle room? Options? A better chance at long term success? I'm sure you will get lots of advice and info on here that's even better than mine, but these are the two best options I think you can have if you are really worried about the numbers.

One last thing, if you are worried about the food entries, just try comparing the packages for a few weeks until you build up your food entries to what you typically eat. I've only found a few items to be inaccurate. If you are eating mostly lean meats, fruits and veggies, you're probably darn safe unless you are eating huge portions.

271lisa

What is my TDEE??

awebs89

I'd say to buy a heart rate monitor, you wear it while you exercise and it can be a better reading of how many calories you burn.

mrslcoop

What is my TDEE??

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/


ETA: It’s the number of calories you can eat in a day (at your current activity level which means exercise is built into this number. MFP does NOT build this in which is why you need to eat your exercise calories back) and not gain weight. To lose weight most recommend -15% to -20% off of your TDEE to get your weight loss calories.

bwogilvie

What is my TDEE??

Total Daily Energy Expenditure, which is the sum of your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate, the number of calories you would burn lying on the bed just breathing) and calories burned from physical activity - not just exercise, but everything else you do, from cooking to standing to walking from place to place. One decent calculator for *estimating* TDEE is:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

To go back to the original question: you should eat the calories you *actually* consume during exercise, if you're using MFP as it's designed. However, most estimates of calories consumed by exercise are exaggerated. (MFP tells me I burn nearly 900 calories in an hour of cycling at 15 mph; the reality is more like 550-600 on flat terrain.) I would suggest starting by eating 65-70% of estimated exercise calories. Compare your progress after a few weeks against your goals, and adjust as necessary: if you're losing too fast, eat back more; if you're losing too slowly, eat back less.

Isakizza

I recommend eating back about 1/2 of the burned exercise calories that MFP states. It worked for me when I did that, but not a great idea to stick to only 1200 especially if you workout.

If still unsure, consider using the TDEE -20% method. It gives you the exact amount of calories you should eat regardless of how many burned in workouts.