Help Me Understand Please

butterflymedic

Okay, I am totally confused. My suggested calorie intake is 1200.. I have been struggling all week on how to modify diet and eat good calories and have maybe gotten close to the goal 3 days The others have been under by 2-3 hundred. I have lost this week and am quite proud, and as I start week 2 I had some additional goals that are not necessarily weight loss but that I feel will go hand in hand and help.. To up my exercise this week and burn more calories, to decrease my sodium, and up my potassium (as I am prone to low K+ anyway), and do all this by getting as close to my 1200 cal mark as I can. So now here is my dilemma. I used the tool this morning and it said my calories needed to be 1496 even if I did nothing just to maintain. I am not taking in that much already AND I am active and increasing the activity daily.. So do I need to up my calories? Which the thought of makes my head swim seeing as how the 1200 is hard to do in a clean manner....
And I am afraid to ask this due to what some perceived as humor in another topic and some of you may roll your eyes when I asked but I am new and I came here for support so I am asking.. Are we supposed to eat our exercise gained calories?
Guidance please and thank you.
Hope you all have a beautiful Sunday!

"And So Week Two Begins"

jhardenbergh

I never eat all my regular calories or exercise calories, the website says you should eat at least 1200 per day. I usually eat anywhere between 1000 and 1100. I exercise a little. I have a lost a bunch of weight. It says your body needs 1200 to maintain your metabolism at a healthy rate. I am under dr supervision so I am not too worried about it. As long as you are making healthy choices (not alot of processed stuff) and drink your fair share of water you should be alright. I am no doctor though. My weight loss goals are beyond the max that mfp will allow. Keep in mind though your calorie goal is based on what you need to do to hit that goal you set when you started.

nubreeze33

First let me say don't go by what you see others saying or because of other threads you have been in you have absolutely every right to desire support because this is what this site is about and when you come across something that makes you feel uneasy about asking or sharing just ignore those feelings because usually it's those times that not only will it benefit you but will benefit someone else as well. Now in my opinion or more like in my experience here lol I don't eat all my exercise calories. I just refuse to. I have continuously been losing. I take it all in with a grain a salt mainly because I know at times I'm not always accurate on the input of my food intake so I need that saving grace from those exercise calories. I don't believe we will ever get it down to an exact science nor do I think we need to obsess or stress so much on numbers....especially if you are seeing results. Keep doing what you are doing and when you feel you have hit a plateau which we all do then shock the heck out of your system and eat those extra calories for a bit then fall back in line with your routine so your body doesn't become used to the routine. I pray all that made sense. Be encouraged and know you are absolutely in a great place here. hugs!

pyro13g

Yes, you should eat them.

erica79

good morning. I beleive there are many posts on this topic so if you look back you will find the answers you are looking for. But to answer you, yes I beleive you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories. I try to eat some of my calories back, sometimes all. I also found it was hard to stay around 1200 so the extra calories helped so I didn't go over. If you're working your bady more, you need to fuel your body more.

kwardklinck

If you get in your 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables and your 2 servings of dairy every day, you should be able to hit 1200 with no problem whatsoever. Most of us who gained weight, did so by eating too many carbs or choosing high fat foods. When you switch to a healthy diet, it's hard to reach your calorie goal unless you add in things that will balance your diet.

RussellWC

I suggest that you stay around the 1200-1400 calories per day. If you are exercising more, you should take in more calories. Your body needs energy that you burned.

Many people get caught up in the calories/ weigh in and are so focused on being under that they don't give their body what they need. Put the scale away for 1 month. You will see more improvements and feel better about yourself.

Here are some tips to staying around your calorie intake:
1. Eat the most in the morning. Egg whites are a great source of protein and have very few calories (5 egg whites only have 85 calories). Is there any other food out there that has this little calories and could fill you up?

2. Each meal after that should have less calories as you continue your day. I suggest a Whey shake as a midmorning snack or afternoon snack (and yes women do drink them too). They come in all different flavors.

3. Make time for Cardio on a daily basis. The more cardio you do, the better you will feel and the faster you will see the pounds drop.

Take it from me, I lost 41 pounds since June 1.

BernieMBurke

Your BMR is the calorie count your body needs to maintain your current weight if you stay flat on your back for the entire day. You're probably someone who wants to lose weight. If so, and if you have established a goal of losing 1 lb a week, then MFP will subtract 500 calories from your BMR until it reaches 1200. It won't go lower than that since that is the low magic number that MFP says you shouldn't go below (for nutrients, vitamins, etc.).

Concerning eating your exercise calories, I hear all kinds of suggestions from eating none of your exercise calories to eating them all. I'm not qualified to answer your question. All I can suggest is to listen to your body and your doctor.

brandihutchinson

I had the same problem! I talked with my friend on here and she goes to a gym, and the woman there told her to eat those calories, because those help you maintain your muscle mass. I know it sounds wierd, but my friend has been doing this and has lost more weight than if she tried to keep herself only at the 1200 mark.