Exercise Calories and all that Hoopla!

ladyhawk00

Yes I know that's the maths - but the MFP warning is only triggered by gross, not net figure. And this is the only site where I've ever seen reference to eating back exercise calories. I was wondering if there were any external sources or references?

Well, it's actually not triggered by either net or gross - it's set to appear at the 1200 mark. 1200 is the number recommended by WHO and medical experts as the minimum required by the average woman to receive adequate nutrition, so that is the lower limit MFP provides.

The reason this is the only site you see referencing exercise cals is because MFP is designed differently than other counters/plans. Other plans use your exercise to create your deficit. They take your intended exercise and spread it out over the week and make the deficit come from that, keeping your daily cal goal static. With those plans, you would not replace cals you burn in exercise.

MFP approaches it in a different manner for several reasons. First, losing weight is mainly about diet. Many people set exercise goals, but often the amount of that exercise varies in actuality. So MFP has you log each exercise individually, essentially making it more accurate because you log the actual minutes/calories burned - rather than just saying what you "intend" to do. Also, since many people are limited in the amount or types of exercise they can do, this makes it possible for them to lose weight even if they cannot exercise at all or regularly. MFP approaches it with the idea that your deficit comes from what you eat, not your exercise - exercise is for health and fitness, not necessarily weight loss.

I can't give you any external links that discuss eating exercise cals, because as I said, as far as I know, no other site/plan uses this approach. However, I can supply many links that discuss the risks of adaptive thermogenesis and LCD's (low calorie diets), and rapid weight loss - which is what you risk when creating too large of a deficit.

Edit: I would add, also, that many other counters/plans focus purely on weight loss - not necessarily health and fitness. Which is why I think MFP is the best. :bigsmile: Most people, especially those with large amounts to lose, can certainly just eat as little as possible and lose some weight. But again, that doesn't take overall health and fitness into consideration.

SammyLynn010

Wow!! Thanks for all the help everyone!!

New goal is to eat at LEAST 1200 NET calories...because that is what I learned about today! haha

So the next question obviously comes in...

What KINDS of things should I be eating to make those Calories up?? I am not good about not going over sodium and all of that normally so I need some help on what I should be eating!

ladyhawk00

Wow!! Thanks for all the help everyone!!

New goal is to eat at LEAST 1200 NET calories...because that is what I learned about today! haha

So the next question obviously comes in...

What KINDS of things should I be eating to make those Calories up?? I am not good about not going over sodium and all of that normally so I need some help on what I should be eating!

Well, to avoid sodium, focus on unprocessed, fresh foods. Fresh, uncured/processed meats, fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains.

To increase cals in a healthy way, you don't necessarily have to increase volume a lot. Start by just adding 25-50 cals more per meal/snack. Get on a schedule and don't skip meals. And spread cals out throughout the day, so you aren't stuck with a large amount at at the end of the day. Try to make each meal/snack contain a balance of protein/fat/carbs.

Increase healthy fats -
natural oils, like olive and canola - use them in cooking, or add to a shake/smoothie
nuts - almonds, pistachios, walnuts - lots of cals and good nutrients - or natural nut butters, like peanut butter or almond butter
Avocados

Also, try drinking some of your cals - chocolate milk, a good protein shake, fruit smoothie. Sometimes it's easier to drink something even when you aren't hungry.

Usually it only takes a week or two to adjust to a higher intake. And as your metabolism speeds up, so will your appetite.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

BUMP

InfamousQ

I normal only eat half or less of my gym cal because I am really trying to lose weight and not get fatter...

Newfiedan

depending on how much you have left to lose you had best be careful with that line, cutting cals down to low can effectively halt fat loss if you are not careful.

skinnyb450

Bump

baisleac

AHEM!!!

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V

Awesome visual.