New here with a very important question!

juliana1977

Hi there!
I really need to understand this:
I was set up for 1200 calories a day
So I had like 40 left until I added my workout.
It is saying I burned 361 in 35 minutes of swimming. And now I have 400 calories to eat! Honestly???? Should I eat??? I don't want to... I have a lot of fat that my body can use, I don't need more food. I do need like a class of milk before going to bed (calcium intake), but that is only 90 calories.
Should I always eat the calories from my workouts? Can I trust the exercise calculator?
I always had the hardest time in the world to loose weight and people told me before it is b/c I am radical and eat to little not enough. Hello but I am trying to loose and not to gain!! : )
Heeeeeelllllpppppp!

Mindful_Trent

MFP is designed around the idea of having a set calorie deficit. So if you're trying to lose 2 lbs/week, that's 1000 calorie deficit per day. MFP builds that deficit into your eating goals BEFORE any exercise is considered. So, to keep that same deficit, you are supposed to eat the additional calories earned through exercise.

Example:

Person A normally burns 2500 calories per day based on their height/weight/age/gender and normal daily activity level
So to lose 2 lbs/week, they need to eat 1500 calories/day (2500 - 1000 = 1500)

If they workout and burn 500 calories, then they've burned 2500 + 500 = 3000 calories. If they only eat 1500, their deficit will now be 1500 instead of the 1000 that is planned.

You may be thinking that a higher deficit is better, but that's not really the case. Slower weight loss is better - it is more likely to stay off, and it can ward off health problems from losing weight too fast. 2 lbs/week (1000 calorie deficit per day) is the highest amount recommended unless you're under doctor supervision.

SO to answer your question: YES you're supposed to eat those calories, especially if you're only on a base of 1200 per day. You need to keep your net calories (calories eaten minus exercise calories) at a high enough level to keep your metabolism from slowing down. If you eat low net calories for a long period of time consistently, then you will lower your metabolism and weight loss will be difficult.

That said, one day of not eating them won't hurt - just try not to do it regularly. When you know you'll be working out, plan ahead and eat a heavier lunch or breakfast. Also, you don't necessarily need to eat ALL of them - it's very easy to overestimate exercise calories (I find MFP tends to be pretty high estimates), and if you eat all of them, that can slow weight loss because you're decreasing your deficit. I aim to eat 50-75% of mine.

sbwildman

I've always heard that it's important that women eat at least 1,200 net calories a day. That keeps your body from going into starvation mode-- which means it holds on to fat.

MFP's exercise calculator is very generous. I got a heart rate monitor for Christmas and I personally burn fewer calories than MFP says I do.

As long as you're eating less than you were previously (and exericising more!) you'll start seeing results. But don't be too obsessive about numbers. Doing so can be very discouraging at the beginning!

Good luck!!!

Samantha0905

I acutally was wondering the same thing! I'm glad this was put out there because I felt like if I ate the extra calories, my workout was pointless..

juliana1977

WOW!! I have a lot to learn!!!
Thank you guys so much!! It helped a lot! Ik so I will drink my milk, instead of plain white milk I will go for chocolate milk! That will do the trick and make me very happy! ; )
For now I will need to stick to the number or I will go nuts! I just need a little obession right now, lol.

juliana1977

I acutally was wondering the same thing! I'm glad this was put out there because I felt like if I ate the extra calories, my workout was pointless..

This is exactly what I was thinking!!

NightOwl1

Yes, you need to eat those calories back, at least most of them, especially if you are on a 1200 calorie a day diet. If you don't have enough net calories (calories eaten-calories burned), you will not be giving your body enough fuel. You'll lose weight quickly for a few weeks, and then your body will just stop, because it will feel like it is starving and it will be saving up any calories consumed as additional fat. The idea of eating more to lose more weight may sound crazy, but it's true!

Working out, in addition to burning calories which allow us to eat more, also help raise your metabolism, tone your muscles, and have many other health benefits. So keep up with your workouts, just try to eat a little bit more throughout the day. One day of low calories isn't the end of the world, so don't stuff yourself tonight if you don't feel like you can eat, but in the future, try to eat more calories throughout the day to compensate for exercise.

Samantha0905

I think I get annoyed because if I do 1200 or under it will say keep this up for 5 weeks and you'll weight 154.. then if I eat the extra it will say in 5 weeks I should weigh 157. I know its only a couple pounds but ehhh.. should I just ignore that??