Confused....

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Hi everyone I'm new here. I'm confused....my body needs 1200 calories a day. I workout during the day and so when I log in my food diary it seems that I have earned extra calories. What does it mean? Is the deficit good? What if I eat less than 1200 calories a day and the effect of workouts? Yeah another question...how come when I log in to MFP the day does not start automatically. I have to go to the calender to go to the next day.
Please help me. Thank you.:smile:

Replies

  • fxst78
    fxst78 Posts: 221 Member
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    Hi and Welcome. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories no matter what. Never eat below 1200 as this is the absolute minimum your body needs for you to survive and it already takes into account the deficit required for weight loss. If you exercise you "earn" more calories to eat and you should eat those calories aswell, otherwise your net calories will drop below 1200. Anything below 1200 will put you in starvation mode and will stop your body from shedding fat.

    To fix your day issue you need to adjust the local info. Where are you located? If you are in a different time zone to MFP then it may still be "yesterday" on the server untill you change your local details.
  • sukanda
    sukanda Posts: 5
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    Thank you. I kinda figured out my second problem, I changed my time zone.
    With regards to the calories, you mean that if I exercise and earn calories I should make sure that I have eaten them? If I cannot do that because i feel full with my four meals, Is this bad?
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
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    Hi and welcome! :drinker:
    You should really eat the exercise cals! One of the most important things in this is to keep the daily deficit steady and optimal.
    Here is a must read post about this. It's a bit long but will clear things up quite nicely!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • sukanda
    sukanda Posts: 5
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    Thank you so much. The article was of much help.
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
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    Peoples opinions and results will vary with the calories.
    Some eat their exercise calories, some do not.
    I personally eat about half of mine. (figure I save room for human error on calculating my food and exercise burn) Unless I'm hungry, then I'll eat all of them.
    You'll learn what works for you.
    Just try to stay above the 1200 mark. Anything below that is not healthy for you.
    Good luck with your journey!
    Steph