Slight confusion re Calory Intake

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Dony1888
Dony1888 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Folks.

Start Weight 263
Current Weight 223

This is typical non excercise day: Calorie Intake avg 1200 consisting of, Raisin Wheats for Breakfast, Lentil Soup for Lunch, typical home cooked meal for dinner, evening snack (usually snack-a-jacks or oat bars).

On a typical excerise day (usually 4 times a week): Calorie Intake exactly the same as above but with excercise usually consisting of 10miles treadmill, 10 mins excercise Bike, 20-30 mins Swimming. (burning off avg 400 calories).

From reading other posts on here, especially on excercise days, Im eating far too few calories. I should be eating more to compensate for the calories being burned....but with that idea, whats the point in doing the excercise if you are just going to eat them back on?? If you burn off 400 calories, why go eat 400 calories and undo the hard work???

Dony

Replies

  • Emma1903
    Emma1903 Posts: 195
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    Because exercise is working your body toning your muscles and getting your organs working and healthy.
    The question you need to ask is do you want to be thin and unfit or thin and fit and toned
  • Irene8509
    Irene8509 Posts: 381 Member
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    Like your car, your body needs fuel to move.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    Depending on what goal you set when signing up with MFP it gave a calorie deficit. If you said you wanted to lose 2lbs a week it gave a deficit of probably a 1000 calories. Meaning your actual calorie intake on non exercise days should be 2200 calories if you didn't want to lose a pound but since you want to lose 2lbs it subtracted 1000 calories and said ok then eat 1200 calories on non exercise days and you should lose 2lbs a week. With that said if you exercise you are making that 1000 calories deficit even larger and you are burning up those 1200 calories needed just to do your normal daily living functions. You haven't consumed any additional calories to sustain yourself during exercise. Thats where the additional calories come in. Your net according to some people should always equal 1200 because thats what is needed according to MFP for your body to have enough to sustain itself. So if you exercise and shed 500 calories your calorie deficit is now 1500 and your net calorie intake is now 700. Its like a scale. You've added 500 to the side where your deficit is when you exercise but those calories burned during exercise are subtracted from the other side of the scale where your net calories consumed are. Now you are allowed to eat 500 calories because you no longer have a 1200 calorie net.

    Hopefully I didn't confuse you lol


    Some people eat a few exercise calories, some eat all. Thats up to you.
  • TTHdred
    TTHdred Posts: 380 Member
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    1200 is the very minimum your body can have (regardless of if you are trying to lose weight). It is the required calories AFTER a deficit from your BMR. So if your body needs 1500 calories (calculate BMR) and you are only taking in 1200 you are depriving your body of 300 calories. Great! Since you want to lose weight. Now add your exercise, say you burn 400 calories (just making up numbers). Now you have deprived your body of 700 calories. Which means, you body received 800 for the entire day (1200-400). Now you are extremely below the required minimum. You have not given your body sufficient energy to complete the metabolic process.

    Knowing your BMR will help you understand the math for you.

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