Calorie Counting 101

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  • cherylrodes
    cherylrodes Posts: 1
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    I have a question about MFP adding calories to my daily suggested intake after I've put in the amount of calories I've burned during exercise via my polar watch.

    Should I disregard and stick to the 1200?
  • tcip03
    tcip03 Posts: 15 Member
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    @kackie_13 a good read
  • Dare2start
    Dare2start Posts: 4 Member
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    I have a question. Let's say I get 1200 cals a day, than workout and burn 300 cals. This app automatically adds the extra 300 cals to my allowance. Does this mean I can eat the original 1200 cals plus the 300 I burned during my workout and I will still loose weight?
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Dare2start wrote: »
    I have a question. Let's say I get 1200 cals a day, than workout and burn 300 cals. This app automatically adds the extra 300 cals to my allowance. Does this mean I can eat the original 1200 cals plus the 300 I burned during my workout and I will still loose weight?
    I've read posts that suggest that you eat back 50% of those extra calories since the workout calories tend to be overestimated. With your numbers, that would put you at 1350 total for that day.
  • vovolourdes
    vovolourdes Posts: 6
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    I Vismal I do cardio and weights ,I try to avoid carbos, but sometimes I crave for that, what good carbos can I add on my diet without gain weight?

  • drsum87
    drsum87 Posts: 2 Member
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    Great post. Cheers for the advise. I never log my exercise as I don't like the idea of it adding more calories making u think u can eat more. I just keep a log of what I eat and drink and always count zero calorie foods as 5 to be on the safe side. Have only used this app for 4 weeks and already lost a stone and that's with going the gym 3 times a week and playing football twice aweek
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    cherylrodes wrote: »
    I have a question about MFP adding calories to my daily suggested intake after I've put in the amount of calories I've burned during exercise via my polar watch.

    Should I disregard and stick to the 1200?
    It depends. 1200 is not a lot of calories at all (unless you are very petite) so I'd probably eat some of those back. I do not add in exercise calories myself because I eat a higher calorie number to begin with. I base my calorie goal on my total daily energy expenditure so my workouts are already taken into consideration. Basically I'd eat some portion of those calories back, if after a while you aren't losing weight, I'd eat a smaller portion of them back.
    vovolourdes wrote: »
    I Vismal I do cardio and weights ,I try to avoid carbos, but sometimes I crave for that, what good carbos can I add on my diet without gain weight?
    I don't do much formal cardio, but am a generally active person. You can eat any carbs you want. There are no good and bad carbs. You will not gain weight if you eat fewer calories then you burn in a day regardless of what carbs you eat.
  • snowy0wl
    snowy0wl Posts: 179 Member
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    I've been calorie counting measuring for 80 days and I'm 60% to my target. I'm entering the dreaded last 10lbs to my target fat weight. I've been watching macros for the last 30 days and try to keep a minum 120gram of protien or more I'm 171.4 lbs now. I don't watch fats and carbs but I'd admit I consume more fat than carbs. I don't have hunger pains. Often I force myself to eat when my caloric deficit is too high. I maintain 500 to 800 cd at all times.

    I do a variety of exercise and cardio/swimming strength training. I basically work out when I'm not sore from Doms or 24 hours have past for a muscle group.

    Is there anything I should change or watch out for? I plan to do a bulk at some point but would like to shave off the stored 35,000 calories in my body.
  • jdhami
    jdhami Posts: 1 Member
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    Excellent post. the weighing condiment thing is an excellent idea thanks!
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    I am really impressed that Vismal keeps answering the same questions over and over and over again, despite some of them being addressed just a page before - it must be this sort of endurance that has got you that toned bod!

    I have read all the posts and all the pages. Very informative and has answered all my questions, thank you.
  • antwanettey
    antwanettey Posts: 4 Member
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    Thank you !!! I'm starting my journey and this is very helpful. ;)
  • farrahferritto
    farrahferritto Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you for posting this. I'm new to calorie counting, and have been very confused. This was very helpful!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    snowy0wl wrote: »
    I've been calorie counting measuring for 80 days and I'm 60% to my target. I'm entering the dreaded last 10lbs to my target fat weight. I've been watching macros for the last 30 days and try to keep a minum 120gram of protien or more I'm 171.4 lbs now. I don't watch fats and carbs but I'd admit I consume more fat than carbs. I don't have hunger pains. Often I force myself to eat when my caloric deficit is too high. I maintain 500 to 800 cd at all times.

    I do a variety of exercise and cardio/swimming strength training. I basically work out when I'm not sore from Doms or 24 hours have past for a muscle group.

    Is there anything I should change or watch out for? I plan to do a bulk at some point but would like to shave off the stored 35,000 calories in my body.
    This isn't really about calorie counting. I'd post this question in the forum. The quick answer is that losing the last 10 lbs is no different than the first 90. Calorie deficit = weight loss. If weight loss stalls, reexamine your accuracy.

  • MohamedElgallad
    MohamedElgallad Posts: 5 Member
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    Very helpful
  • kristigibsonzeski
    kristigibsonzeski Posts: 17 Member
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    Veggies hardly have any cals. so no I do not believe that you need to weigh them, I just do an estimate of how much I eat. I do not measure anything....I don't have time for that crap. If I stop to lose weight then I will either lower my cal. intake or up my cal. intake. You may not be getting enough cals. if you are working out a lot. I had a problem with that and had to increase my cals. by one to two hundred a day, and it worked.
  • mudmonkeyonwheels
    mudmonkeyonwheels Posts: 426 Member
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    Has anyone got a link to that awesome little video about underestimating your calorie intake if you don't weight your food? The one with peanut butter and oats? Wanted to show a friend and not having much like finding it.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    kristigibsonzeski wrote: »
    Veggies hardly have any cals. so no I do not believe that you need to weigh them, I just do an estimate of how much I eat. I do not measure anything....I don't have time for that crap. If I stop to lose weight then I will either lower my cal. intake or up my cal. intake. You may not be getting enough cals. if you are working out a lot. I had a problem with that and had to increase my cals. by one to two hundred a day, and it worked.
    Vegetables have calories just like anything else. They are not exempt from tracking. They vary in calories depending on type. Vegetables like potatoes and corn can add up quickly. I frequently eat 2-300 calories+ worth of vegetables a day. Do those calories somehow count less than 300 calories of cookies? It's fine if you don't have to weigh your food but this thread is for people who do. Stating you personally do not does not contribute to the discussion at hand which is how to track calories as accurately as possible.

    Saying to increase calories during a stall is poor advice. If you are not losing weight over the long run, it's because you are not in a deficit (many times because your tracking is inaccurate). If upping your calories caused weight to drop, it was most likely because you were retaining water. The weight lost was not fat. Eating more does not stimulate fat loss. That goes against physics. If you are indeed in a deficit, whether or not the scale immediately shows it, you ARE losing fat. Increasing calories may increase weight loss in the short term, but it will decrease fat loss. I would say it's safe to say most of us are much more concerned over fat loss than water loss.
  • Britxclarity
    Britxclarity Posts: 235 Member
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    MFP have given me 2400 cals to eat a day on the lose 2lb per week thing. I too am having problems eating all 2400. the closest i've come to it is about 1900. Am i doing more harm than good by not consuming all 2400? would I loose weight quicker eating all 2400?

    I know it sounds silly.. I just really wish I knew if my body was in a deficit or not
  • clalderson
    clalderson Posts: 1 Member
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    Thanks, I needed that.
  • TheresaYoung32
    TheresaYoung32 Posts: 6 Member
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    Research refeeds and leptin levels. If fat loss has stalled upping your caloric intake by 30% weight in protien grams 20 fat grams and rest carbs for 1 day has been proving to raise the metabolism as much at 10% for a few days after. Satiates hunger by raising the leptin levels. Lots of good info. Remember physics is an instrument of measure to what already excists. The human body has been functioning before we developed science to understand it.

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