Why am I given more calories to my daily allowance once I wo

fatmissymoe

I need help. I do not understand why I am given more calories on my daily calorie allowance once I log my excericse. For example I am allowed to eat 1300 calories per day. I have used all of my 1300 calories. I work out & it tells me I have 484 more allowed calories. IF I was only to eat 1300 to begin with - why would I want to eat another 484 calories (minus the fact that I am hungry-lol). Isn't that the point of cutting my calories?? To NOT eat too much??? Could someone please explain this to me in a very very simple way. THANKS!!

yacker678

Good question. I don't get it eitheer. Isn't it better to not eat the extra calories from working out?

LuckyLeprechaun

1300 is already a reduced amount of calories, and you'll lose weight if you eat your 1300. But if you exercise, say you burned 500 calories, then you're asking your body to run on only 800 calories. That's too low. So, in short, exercise buys you more calories to eat because you are already at a deficit...trust me, it may sound crazy but it totally works!

toots99

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

1FitMomof4Girls

You can choose to eat back your "excercise" calories if you want too.
Some folks do and some do not!

I see how I feel, some days I don't need them and other days I do. Or I just want a treat!

The choice is yours.

skygoddess86

The web site already has you set at like a 500 calorie a day deficit depending on how much you want to lose a week, so exercise calories should not be added to that deficit therefore they are added to your food allowance.

kappyblu

toots99 posted a great link about this. This question is asked all the time. MFP calculates your targeted weight loss per week into your daily calories. Your body needs fuel to run. If you eat your 1300 calories, and then you exercise say 400 of them, you have only supplied your body with 900 calories for that day. Not good. For example: I'm pretty heavy so the calories my body needs to maintain my current weight is over 3,000. Well...to lose 1 1/2 pound per week it gives me a number lower than that to consume each day. Any exercise calories should be eaten back. (I usually eat back about 80% of them) My weight loss has been constant and steady and that is the way to go to lose weight and keep it off for good.

yacker678

Got it thanks for the information. I needed that. I am working out a lot. Sometimes I burn over 1,000 calories it just seems weird to eat that many extra calories. I usually don't eat that much.

merB89

Its all about your net calories or total calories in minus total calories out (exercise). If you're on your homepage there's an equation at the top that adds and subtracts the numbers so you can see. The calories that MFP keeps track of is your net calories. And thats true that you do want a calorie deficit, but thats already built into the program when you told it how much weight and how fast you want to loose it. So don't worry about making the calorie deficit by not eating what you exercise, its already taken into account

LuckyLeprechaun

1000 calories is a lot to burn, unless you're working out very intensely or for a long time, youu could be over estimating your calorie burn. (just cautioning you, because I over estimated for a long time until I got a heart rate monitor to check for sure what I was burning.

beautifulnow

think of calories as money....say you want to save money and your daily amount is 2000 dollars (calories) and you want to save 700 dollars...that leaves you 1300 dollars to use for the day.....NOW say that you go and mow lawns and get paid 500 dollars...well you have already set back you savings so this is basically FREE money If you are giving your body 1200 calories and saying here run on this and then you BURN 500 calories then you have really only given your body 700 calories for the day and you will lose but alot slower than if you ate the extra....I hope this helps lol I think I made myself dizzy hehe

yacker678

I do have a heart rate monitor I got it for Christmas, but I usually go under what it says anyways because that always seems like a lot to me as well.

LuckyLeprechaun

if you programmed it with your stats, it should be pretty accurate...

yacker678

I have wondered about that. I did program it just like the directions said. My friend had one and swore by it. I am losing so it has to be doing something right. Thanks for the help.

boogbite

3500 calories equals one pound. Depending on how much you currently weigh and how fast you want to lose, MFP is set up for you to have a 500 or 700 calorie deficit each day. that equals 1 to 2 pounds per week on dieting alone.

Also, what should be stressed here is that you are consistently running on only 800 calories each day (1300 in, 500 burned for example), your body's metabolism will slow down and you will actually lose less. Your body will go into preservation mode and try to hold on to your body weight for protection. This is why, upon clicking "complete this entry" if you are under your target a warning will be displayed.

fatmissymoe

Thanks everyone !! That really explains it and now I understand.

OneLife2Love

Thanks!! Because I didnt understand that either! Makes sooo much sense now lol

c7eat2live

yeah I know, kinda confusing at first right?! I always have to force myself to look at the net on my homepage and not my food page, it looks like too much on the food page cause I also burn close to 1000 or over about three times a week (I check with a HRM) and between 300-500 the rest of the week. I have been playing around with how much I eat back, and have found, amazingly, that the more I eat back the more weight I lose. even when I eat late at night (something I used to be scared to do) I dont have adverse gains the next day. pretty nifty