Fitness pal question. How many calories can I eat?

Csparrow2014

I am still really confused as to how many calories I can eat. I start out the day with an allotment of 1200 calories once I work out it goes to 1800 calories that I can eat. Why? Would I only eat 1200 or 1800? I am trying to lose weight not maintain. Very confused.

rowboc22

i may be wrong but the way i understand it is your 1200 is what the app expects your body to consume just doing normal day to day activity and still allow you to lose weight so if you then go an do exercise you are burning more calories than you would without doing the exercise so you can consume more calories without puting on weight. again i may be wrong and it may not have explained it very well so if anyone else can shed some light or explain it better?

wyattj99

With working out yes it gives you more calories to eat which is okay. I try not to go that close but I'm glad it gives me those calories to eat cause with the workouts I'm hungry!

PRMinx

MFP already has you at a deficit to lose weight. You are shooting for a net goal of 1200 calories meaning that if you burn 600 during your workout, in theory you want to eat those calories back.

Now, since most people under estimate what they eat and overestimate what they burn, you may not want to eat back ALL the calories. I try to give myself a little buffer (200 cals) for logging errors.

monkeywizard

I spoke with a nutritionist friend over the weekend and asked "if my goal is 1600, and I exercise for 600, should I eat 2200?" she recommended sticking with the 1600 and not adjusting for exercise. especially since i'm trying to lose weight.

Ericancan

If you are not active besides exercising for a workout...say you sit on the couch all day everyday until it is time to work out, your body does not need very much fuel (calories) to survive like brain function, heart, and lungs etc. going below 1200 calories per day could put these systems at risk. If you work out on top of only eating 1200 calories you could be robbing your systems of energy (calories). So first set the caloric intake to bmr then adjust for active lifestyle, then, add more for exercises. If you subtract 500 from that number you will loose wt. If you keep it the same you maintain. I will put what I did in the next post.

brettvice

Yeah I don't think you should eat 1800 even if you are burning off 600 during exercise. Stick to 1200 will let you see an extra pound of weight lost every 6 days. with 3500 calories = 1 pound. 1200 should keep you feeling full as well as long as its all good foods and high in proteins.

Tedebearduff

Why does everyone stave themselves at 1200 calories ... I will never understand this ... this number only applies to people who are less then 5 feet tall imo.

PRMinx

Yeah I don't think you should eat 1800 even if you are burning off 600 during exercise. Stick to 1200 will let you see an extra pound of weight lost every 6 days. with 3500 calories = 1 pound. 1200 should keep you feeling full as well as long as its all good foods and high in proteins.

NO.

brettvice

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

PRMinx

I spoke with a nutritionist friend over the weekend and asked "if my goal is 1600, and I exercise for 600, should I eat 2200?" she recommended sticking with the 1600 and not adjusting for exercise. especially since i'm trying to lose weight.

Wrong.

MFP already has you at a deficit to lose weight. You should absolutely feel comfortable eating some of those calories back.

PRMinx

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

brettvice

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

someone thinks they know everything about everything haha. I have trained hundreds of people over years and have studied nutrition and fitness but you clearly know more obviously

Tedebearduff

I spoke with a nutritionist friend over the weekend and asked "if my goal is 1600, and I exercise for 600, should I eat 2200?" she recommended sticking with the 1600 and not adjusting for exercise. especially since i'm trying to lose weight.

Wrong.

MFP already has you at a deficit to lose weight. You should absolutely feel comfortable eating some of those calories back.

^ this ignore what everyone else said

SO much bad info it's hilarious ...

Tedebearduff

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

someone thinks they know everything about everything haha. I have trained hundreds of people over years and have studied nutrition and fitness but you clearly know more obviously

You're right she does know better.... Glad you can admit that your wrong

Csparrow2014

Thank you all for your advice. I will probably eat a little more but not eat all the calories back to adjust for errors.

jonnythan

I spoke with a nutritionist friend over the weekend and asked "if my goal is 1600, and I exercise for 600, should I eat 2200?" she recommended sticking with the 1600 and not adjusting for exercise. especially since i'm trying to lose weight.

Yeah, "nutritionist." An unregulated term that doesn't actually imply any sort of accredited education, knowledge, or certification. Nice.

Ignore your "nutritionist friend."

jonnythan

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

someone thinks they know everything about everything haha. I have trained hundreds of people over years and have studied nutrition and fitness but you clearly know more obviously

For someone who has spent so much time studying nutrition, you sure didn't learn a lot about it.

Seriously, just stop. Your advice is bad. It might go over well with the newbies seeking your advice, but around here that's not going to fly.

PRMinx

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

someone thinks they know everything about everything haha. I have trained hundreds of people over years and have studied nutrition and fitness but you clearly know more obviously

It seems I do know a little more than you. Let's go down the list:

1. 2000 for girls is a complete generalization and a poor one at that. Calorie burn and consumption per day is based on height, weight and activity level for the most part. I'm pretty sure this varies from person to person.

2. If I ate a 1200 calorie diet with the amount that I work out, I would be passing out on the way to work. OH! And I would also be losing muscle and not reaping any of the strength benefits I pursue at the gym. Sounds awesome. I've always wanted to be skinny fat...good times! :drinker:

3. If I didn't work out, I could still lose a half pound a week on a 1400 calorie diet and NOT BE MISERABLE. Sometimes, fast and furious loss leads to fast and furious regains. I'll take my slow and steady progress, complete with strength gains and overall fitness, and keep the weight off. Also, I like chocolate.

BamaBreezeNSaltAire

Yeah I don't think you should eat 1800 even if you are burning off 600 during exercise. Stick to 1200 will let you see an extra pound of weight lost every 6 days. with 3500 calories = 1 pound. 1200 should keep you feeling full as well as long as its all good foods and high in proteins.

NO.

^^ +1


READ THIS:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Ericancan

My bmr according to mfp is 1443 cal at rest per day, I am lightly active so multiply by 1.2= 1731.6 active x1.5 heavily active x1.7...I breastfeed so my body needs 500 more calories per day that makes 2231.6 If I stop here and subtract 500 cals from my diet my body will be forced to make up the difference by turning my fat into energy...burning it. So 2231.6-500=1731.6 that is a good goal for me. If I workout on top of that I would eat the calories back because I am already working on less than my body requires and I don't want to go under 1200 calories.( My babies bmr and wt gain suggest he eats 500cals/day...very cute and very chunky )

Jacwhite22

I am still really confused as to how many calories I can eat. I start out the day with an allotment of 1200 calories once I work out it goes to 1800 calories that I can eat. Why? Would I only eat 1200 or 1800? I am trying to lose weight not maintain. Very confused.

Those are all estimates. Start at a number. Maybe 1800......eat that every day for 4-6 weeks. Are you losing weight? Keep doing it. no? Lower it by 2-300.......repeat.

Jacwhite22

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

never go full r........nm.....I'm already riding on two strikes. We'll agree to disagree.

LishieFruit89

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Just...stop.

someone thinks they know everything about everything haha. I have trained hundreds of people over years and have studied nutrition and fitness but you clearly know more obviously

If you told me to eat 1200 calories, I'd laugh in your face and fire you as my trainer.

Eff that noise. Food is delish.
Id rather a slower weight loss and eat cookies than 1200 cals and *maybe* get that extra pound a week

Jacwhite22

I spoke with a nutritionist friend over the weekend and asked "if my goal is 1600, and I exercise for 600, should I eat 2200?" she recommended sticking with the 1600 and not adjusting for exercise. especially since i'm trying to lose weight.

If you are a dude.....who weighs 200lb +......I'm assuming....don't get mad if I am wrong. Please do not target 1600 cals. It's not enough.

rml_16

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

So a 6' tall, large-framed and heavily muscled woman should eat the same as a 5' tall, small-framed, less-muscled woman?

neenorROAR

I am still really confused as to how many calories I can eat. I start out the day with an allotment of 1200 calories once I work out it goes to 1800 calories that I can eat. Why? Would I only eat 1200 or 1800? I am trying to lose weight not maintain. Very confused.

Those are all estimates. Start at a number. Maybe 1800......eat that every day for 4-6 weeks. Are you losing weight? Keep doing it. no? Lower it by 2-300.......repeat.

This.

It's trial and error, really. Find what works for you, but remember that you don't have to go hungry to lose. "It's a marathon, not a race" as my good MFP buddies often remind me (:

devil_in_a_blue_dress

not for girls. they only burn off 2000 in a day in average. reducing to 1200 will only show results of 1-2 pounds a week which is what they should aim for. unless they are heavily overweight in which case they will loose a lot more initially

Do I look "heavily overweight" to you?



No? Good because I am not.

I eat 1,700-1,800 to lose A POUND a week. I am 5'3.

You don't know nearly as much as you think you do.

OP -- listen to the people telling you trail and error.

Ericancan

my ticker is broke i lost 2 pounds been at it for one week. I have not been following the diet part very well and probably should slow down on the wt loss...would like .5 pounds per week.

cookiealbright

I eat back some of my excercise calories, but not all of them. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:

PRMinx

Thank you all for your advice. I will probably eat a little more but not eat all the calories back to adjust for errors.

Good plan.

As you get better at logging (especially if you have a food scale), you can work on that buffer. I don't have a food scale because I worry it will trigger me...but I think they are great and necessary for people who can work with them.

Ultimately, the more I work out, the more I try to listen to my body. If I can't get through a workout, I know I didn't eat enough the day before. If I'm waking up in the middle of the night starving, then I know I need to adjust.