Exercise Goals?

Lythy89

Hey All,

I was just wondering whether everybody here aims to reach the calorie goals on your exercise tabs? I normally try to slightly underestimate what exercise I do so im definitely not over eating my calories back (if I decide to that day)

I will be buying a monitor like a PT4 at some point when I can afford it! which will obviously help me keep a good track on the exact amounts.

Am I right in thinking the main Calorie deficit on the diary page is the most important for weightloss? and any exercise you do is a bonus?

Thanks in advance, hope everyone is having a stress free day!

erickirb

Exercise should be a net some game, eat back what you burn. MFP gives you a deficit to lose your goal amount of weight assuming no exercise, to ensure your deficit is not too large you should be eating those burned calories back.

sabified

I'm not really sure what info you're trying to get at here...

In general, I've started to not feel "good" about my workout unless I get at least a 500 cal burn in... but I'm also starting circuit and weight training, which burn less so am trying to stop caring about the calorie amount as a goal and returning to keeping my goal as going at least 5 times/week. I'm in the same boat where I don't yet have a HRM and so use the treadmill/MFP numbers for what the burns are. I've read that treadmills tend to be 15% off with their accuracy so have started quick entering that amt to make sure I don't eat it back. With the weight/circuit training, I go by perceived effort... if I don't feel I've worked out as well as I could have I cut the time back or if I feel I really killed it give myself full time. Obviously, I have no idea if this is accurate, but it's been working for me so far.

With regards to calories, if you're following MFP's guidelines, you definitely want to eat back the exercise cals. If you're really wary of the burns it gives then eat back at least half- but don't leave them off entirely.

I also have an equation I've found which I sometimes use when I really want to know what my calorie burns are...

[(agex0.074)-(weightx0.05741)+(hrx0.4472)-20.4022]x time / 4.184

This equation usually gives me burns which are much MORE than what the treadmill says, but I seem to have very high heart rates while running. I'm not sure if it's a good one to use or not, and I tend to go with whatever number is lower just to be on the safe side.
(And I might just be rambling by this point, but when on the treadmill I use the heart rate sensors and when circuit/weight training I count my heartbeat for 15 sec and multiply by 4 to get heart rate.)

hmroebuck

Yes I enter my exercise, and yes I eat those extra calories. My BMR is 1425 and my calorie goal is already below that. If I didn't eat my exercise calories I'd be at like 600 net calories, no bueno. I'd never have enough energy to make it through the day.

Lythy89

Ah right I see what you mean....You obviously don't want the deficit to be to big which is why you try to eat at least some of them back?

I struggle working out my exercises with MFP a lot of the time but I know im more active than my diary states . I was just worried that not inputting all of my exercise into the diary meant I might not be hitting my weekly calorie target for exercise as I cant accurately track it = as Erickirb pointed out, it might be making my calorie deficit larger than expected which I spose is a bad thing in the long run.

I will just stick to around my calorie limit and try to input what exercise I can on MFP and see if it works in a week or 2. According to my scales at home I lost 4lbs in the past 13 days (since starting this again). So I guess it's working already when I think about it!

Thanks again

Lythy89

Yeah see mine is 1917 I believe! and my calorie goal is 1850 according to MFP. so pretty close!