Introduction and Question

KaeSea64

Hi All

I'm Karen, a SAHM of four, and carer to one. I'm 46, almost 47, and have been on many diets over the years, but find that I just can't maintain my weight after I lose it. So hopefully once I am down to a size and weight I feel comfortable with, I'll be able to maintain it with the tools on here.

Anyway, enough of me, here's my question.

I have been using the food and exercise tools for the last couple of days, but I'm a little confused by the fact that each time I exercise, the calories I should have expended, have been added to my daily allowance.

Surely if I use the calories I have just lost in exercise, and add them to my daily total, it negates the loss?

Look forward to hearing from someone on this.

Thanks all!
Karen )

jmhII

I think generally you have a fitness plan in which myfitnesspal helps you set up with a reasonable weight loss goal. In order to help achieve the goal, mfp calculates the net calories you would need each day in order to reach the goal in the amount of time you specify. If you are trying to lose weight, then your daily net cals goal will be low already. If you eat your daily allotment of cals, the idea is that since your goal cals are already low, you should replenish the burned cals in order to keep a healthy diet that isn't dangerously low on calories. This will help speed weight loss more so than say, starving yourself.

At least that's my understanding of it. I think there is generally some debate in the forums on the subject.

KLi531

Welcome Karen!

To answer you're question, YES! The site has already calculated a deficit when you filled out all you're info and you want to avoid going into starvation mode. When I first started I didn't eat my exercise calories and I lost weight in the first 2 months and then hit a plateau. I did a little research, started eating my exercise cals and the weight started coming off again.

Here's a great little link which explains it a whole lot better than I can....

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

KaeSea64

Thank you both for your replies. The idea of hitting a plateau drives me nuts, so I'll follow the suggestion and eat atleast some of the exercise calories, so I don't send my bod into starvation mode.