Fitness pal question. How many calories can I eat?

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Csparrow2014
Csparrow2014 Posts: 27 Member
in Introduce Yourself
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.
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Replies

  • rowboc22
    rowboc22 Posts: 15 Member
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    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
    wyattj99 Posts: 454 Member
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    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
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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
    monkeywizard Posts: 222 Member
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    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
    Ericancan Posts: 13
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    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
    brettvice Posts: 3
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    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
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    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
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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
    brettvice Posts: 3
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    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
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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
    brettvice Posts: 3
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    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
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    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
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    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
    Csparrow2014 Posts: 27 Member
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    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
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    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
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    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
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
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    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
    BamaBreezeNSaltAire Posts: 966 Member
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    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
    Ericancan Posts: 13
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    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 :) )

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