Bit of help - MFP eating and exercising

Yarrum84

I've been on this site for a while, just floating in the background mainly, and I'm still a bit confused so hopefully someone can help me.

MFP has said that I need to eat 1300 kcals per day.
OK, so is that 1300 kcals per day if I'm sat at home all day? Or doing the 10,000 steps per day that you're meant to do? If I do my normal routine with no added or hard exercise then will this 1300 kcals just keep me at a weight stand still?

THEN, comes in the exercise.
If I was to eat 1300kcals per day, and then do some exercise and burn 300 kcals, do I HAVE to eat up those 300 kcals or can I just leave it?
Some posts have confused me as many talk abut eating the calories they've lost.

I always thought that you'd eat less calories, and exercise to burn it off.....am I making sense here? lol

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks x

Tereztaylor07

Dear Jesus, that is a raging argument around here. I recommend doing what works for you. I started not eating my exercise calories at first, then when I hit a plateau, I eat SOME of them back. I don't trust the calorie estimates so I always err on the side of caution. Just don't starve yourself. That's the main idea.

SparkleShine

You should be eating the 1,300 cals with NO EXERCISE. If you exercise you should try and eat at least half of those back. Some say ALL.

jennadaniele

I think I get what you're saying! If 1300 is what you can eat, than that's 1300 of whatever for the day. If you work out, on a treadmill for example and the calorie tracker says you burned 300 calories, than you now have an extra 300 calories you can eat, OR you can just eat 1300 and have 300 extra and be under your goal. Make sense ?

You don't have to eat the extra calories, you can leave them or eat them if you want. The point is burn 1300 or more in your case.

Hope that helps! I can elaborate more if need be!

6heatherb6

oh dear...talk about opening a can of worms....

Everyone will have an opinion and they'll all just about differ!!!

:bigsmile: :sad: :bigsmile: :sad:

When you first set up your account you enter your activity level so then the 'worked out amount' of calories per day is what you eat at that level of activity.

Lots will say to eat your exercise calories and that works for some people. They don't want you to go into 'starvation mode'...never met a 'starving' person on this site yet!!

I DON'T eat my exercise calories. Logic for me (and it works for me) is calories in should be less than calories 'needed' so I'll loose weight. SURPRISE!!!! I've been loosing weight really easily too!!

If you want to friend request me that's fine.

All the very best :flowerforyou:

All the very best...try different things and find what works for you.

6heatherb6

I think I get what you're saying! If 1300 is what you can eat, than that's 1300 of whatever for the day. If you work out, on a treadmill for example and the calorie tracker says you burned 300 calories, than you now have an extra 300 calories you can eat, OR you can just eat 1300 and have 300 extra and be under your goal. Make sense ?

You don't have to eat the extra calories, you can leave them or eat them if you want. The point is burn 1300 or more in your case.

Hope that helps! I can elaborate more if need be!

I think you mean EAT 1300!!!!!

mrsvatitagain

I agree a topic of much debate! However that being said, I have thus far made a habit of NOT eating my exercise calories. Have I eating them on a given day, sure if there was a special occasion or something that afforded me that slice of cake that I would normally not have, but for the most part I don't eat them. I also, do not let MFP adjust my calorie intake with weight loss either. I figure if its working why shake it up until its time, like at a plateau.

So all that being said, YES you have to figure out what works for you! Some eat their exercise calories, but I am sure the point is to eat your target and burn some too, to equate a -consumption which should equal pounds lost. There are all kinds of tricks in there thuoght, like are you eating the right amount to start with, how much under is too much, when does the body really got into starvation mode, on and on.....

Find your weightloss spot, and stay there and shake it up at plateaus....

MinnieInMaine

When MFP sets your calories per day, that's based on what you've said your activity level is (sedentary, lightly active, etc) and they factor in a deficit so that you could technically lose weight without exercise. If you've set your activity level at sedentary, that assumes you spend most of your day sitting (like at a desk job) so, no, that wouldn't account for taking 10,000 steps. If you're sedentary, that means you're not very active at all. Even if you set an activity goal, MFP does not factor those calories in. You are only given extra calories when you log in actual activity.

As Tereztaylor07 said, there is a lot of debate about whether or not you should use those exercise calories. MFP gives them to you because they believe that's the healthiest and most effective way. I also personally believe in eating back your calories. HOWEVER, the calorie numbers that MFP gives you for exercise tend to be overestimated so be careful. If you want the most accurate calorie burned number, invest in a good heart rate monitor (HRM) with a chest strap like those made by Polar. If you're not prepared for that kind of investment, maybe just use half to 2/3rds of the calories that MFP gives you for exercise.
And feel free to play around with it. Try eating back your calories, then only some of them...see what works best for you.

You're right about calories in vs calories out BUT again, MFP already gives us a calorie deficit so if you don't eat back at least some of the calories burned, you risk undernourishing your body and losing the wrong way (lose muscle, not fat, risk your health, etc). The most important part of this journey is to do it in a healthy way.

Good luck!

Yarrum84

oops lol, didn't realise this was an ongoing debate lol.

Ok, I'm going to just eat my 1300kcals and do exercise on top, if I start to lack energy etc then I'll eat something within what I've burnt
Good good, thank you

jiggs31

Yep, I've had the same problem. I lost weight at first and now I'm not losing any more but I am losing inches.

For me it depends how hungry I am on the days that I exercise. Mine is at 1300 per day too and it depends how much I exercise, if I do spinning then I don't eat back all the calories that I burn as that would mean a proper pig out!

At first I wasn't logging any walking that I did to, during and from work and I found that I was losing more so I think I might stop logging those and see what happens.

I think you should give one method a go and then see whether it works for you or not. I'd eat them back first and see how that goes.