Calorie Goals, need some clarification

MamaRiss
MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
in Getting Started
Ok, so the goal MFP gave me is 1410 daily
Today I have eaten 1507 - 661 for exercise = 846 net ( 564 remaining)


Do I leave it at that and keep that big deficit? Or do I eat a bit more? I've already had dinner, so that snack would be biger than most of my meals.

My husband says stop eating now and apply that deficit to tomorrow, but everything I'm reading says I should eat all my calories today. As a side note, we are going out for dinner with friends tomorrow, and I want to feel free to eat drink and be merry

Replies

  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    eat. MFP is built in with the deficit already.

    it's DESIGNED to eat.
  • ammiro79
    ammiro79 Posts: 3
    Good question. I've been wondering the same thing!
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
    If you're not that hungry, have a small snack and enjoy yourself tomorrow - log what you eat out at dinner, but don't worry if you're over your calorie goal, even if you're over by a lot!

    Though it is VERY important that you don't eat at this kind of a deficit every day, it's okay to undereat for one day just like it's okay to overeat for one day, as long as in general you're getting enough food.
  • raviento
    raviento Posts: 1
    calorie intake is very confusing on different sites for ex fit day gives a calorie in take recommendation of 3900 cal where m f p gives 2000 only. how ever it is better to follow u sf d a recommended dietary values. Calorie in take is inclusive of what is gained by exercise. But as far as possible if we can for go deficit calories, it is better as it will help us in shedding extra pounds a little faster.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    calorie intake is very confusing on different sites for ex fit day gives a calorie in take recommendation of 3900 cal where m f p gives 2000 only. how ever it is better to follow u sf d a recommended dietary values. Calorie in take is inclusive of what is gained by exercise. But as far as possible if we can for go deficit calories, it is better as it will help us in shedding extra pounds a little faster.
    eating lower and lower isn't sustainable and it's a bad idea.
    by your logic, you could just eat 600 calories a day and lose a ton of weight right?

    bad idea is bad.
  • kmglennie
    kmglennie Posts: 40
    Keep in mind that it's very common to overestimate our exercise calorie-burn. I know many like to eat back only half their exercise calories to account for this.
  • linkirving
    linkirving Posts: 121 Member
    I agree about overestimating the calorie burn. The treadmill at my gym tells me I burn 150-200 calories for a 20 minute session, whereas MFP tells me 20 minutes at that pace is like 500+ calories. I always log the lower number.
  • sjeagle30
    sjeagle30 Posts: 292 Member
    This always seems to be a touchy subject. I say do whatever works best for you. People don't always have to eat their exercise calories back. What is the point of working out if you are just going to cancel it all out with food. I work out to create more of a deficit and lose at a steady pace. Some days I eat some of it back if I am hungry but a lot of days I don't. If I eat 1400 to 1600 calories, burn 500 and not eat them back I am not going to starve. Starvation mode is a myth. http://www.fattyfightsback.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html
    To me if people plan on eating them all back they may as well just eat at a deficit and not bother with working out except for the toning aspect. People can argue it all they want but just do what works for you. Everyone is different.
  • tristaj90
    tristaj90 Posts: 330 Member
    I never do. Don't eat unless you're hungry is my motto. :)
  • krennie8
    krennie8 Posts: 301 Member
    if you aren't hungry, go ahead and save them for tomorrow :) I generally have some higher days and some lower ones. I figure I'm not going to teach myself control if I force myself to eat when I'm not hungry (the need to clean my plate has always been an issue for me).
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    Thanks everyone. I'm still a bit hungry after dinner so I might have a little something with my tea. I also was a bit dubious about my calorie burn today. I participated in a Stroller Stride type workout, one lady wearing a heart monitor showed a 350 calorie burn. She is a bit shorter than me, but about the same weight ( and has been work out regularly for the last 4 months). When I entered in the exercise as general aeobics it gave me well over 500 calories burned, but that didn't seem to jive, so I switched it to low impact aerobics for 411 calories, plus a mile walk there, and another mile back ( next time I'm calling a cab!)

    And if hubby has his way I'll be joining in with his workout before bed, that'll be another 100 or so
  • howekaren
    howekaren Posts: 159 Member
    Calorie burn is always different. I work out 5 times per week, and the intensity varies from day to day. Plus as you lose weight, age, get fitter, etc., your burn changes. You can't judge by the HRM of someone else. I recommend investing in a HRM rather than relying on MFP for your calorie burn.

    As to whether you should eat your calories back every day, the body is not a system that functions on a strictly daily basis, that's why weight watchers works the way it does. It allows for the "banking" of food calories. As long as you're at a deficit over the course of several days, the body will burn fat for fuel. If you eat 500 calories less today but eat 500 extra tomorrow, it'll balance itself out. You need to have a deficit trend, not just one day in particular.

    In general, it is recommended to eat your exercise calories back as MFP has a built-in deficit that should allow you to lose weight. Keep in mind that nutritional labels and caloric content are inexact, as are caloric burns, so you should err on the side of caution. If you decide to save some calories for the next day, your body will balance it out in the end.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    Thanks. My heart rate monitor is actually in the mail, i'm overseas and with the weather back in the states things are a bit delayed. I'm really looking forward to getting a more accurate measure
  • eyecandyrayce
    eyecandyrayce Posts: 260 Member
    I will say that I don't eat my exercise calories back until the weekend.

    For example, I will go to the gym this week 3 times. Each time I go I burn a minimum of 300 calories (up to 600 calories). So that is 900 calories at least that I didn't eat back.

    The weekend comes and I allow myself to go over my calories on saturday by the amount I worked out during the week. This is what I do in order to keep from getting burned out on my diet because I love rich foods. For instance, my fiancee and I are going on a date saturday to have dinner at Olive Garden. Sometimes I even go over the calories I burned during the week.

    I am losing 1 to 1.5 pounds per week currently with MFP set for me to lose 1 pound a week.

    I would say that nobody here can do anything but give you their opinion or experiences. What happens for you could be completely different. Test it out sometime. Don't eat back some calories, eat them back the next day and see if it makes any difference at all to your weigh in at a later date.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    Well, I didn't eat back all my calories last night. I left myself at a net intake of about 950 ( it said I had another 500 left to eat). And I feel like crap this morning. Even after eating breakfast and a cup of coffee I have no drive to do anything. I've gotta walk to the store to get stuff for my salad today, so hopefully that will give me the boost I need to do a longer walk today. So I think I won't leave myself with that big of a deficit again.

    Eyecandyrayce, I like your plan, but I'm thinking I will leave myself with a deficit of no more than 200 calories every day

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