How do the exercise and net calories work?

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eag1916
eag1916 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm suggested to eat by MFP 1,200 calories a day and my goal is to work out 4 times a week for 60 minutes. I am a PK/4K teacher so I also stay pretty busy during the day. What I am confused about is when I work out and "earn" calories back, am I supposed to consume them? I was under the impression that I shouldn't so I lose weight. For example, my goal is 1200, my food for today was 1292, my exercise was -420, so my net is 872. What exactly does that mean? Should I stay under 1200 calories of food consumption before exercise? Thank you for any help :)

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  • Elleinnz
    Elleinnz Posts: 1,661 Member
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    Here you go - this explains how MFP works......

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
  • eag1916
    eag1916 Posts: 4 Member
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    Awesome, thank you! This does help me out. I've been missing out it seems haha!
  • dancingdeer
    dancingdeer Posts: 373 Member
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    While all that is great info and most of it is very helpful, you need to have a deficit to lose weight. If you consistently eat back all the calories burned, you're not going to lose.

    When MFP gives you a deficit, it also changes all the macros - which is bizarre to me. If you work out - why should you automatically be allowed an extra 25 grams of sugar?

    I can tell you that if I ate close to 2000 calories a day, I would never have kept my weight at or below 135 my entire life. And, I've been working out consistently for over 20 years.

    So, all bodies are different - just keep that in mind! :happy:
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    Eating back exercise calories is a sensitive topic on MFP lol. I don't bother if it's less than 200, and I only eat back half if I'm under 1200. This works for me, but you need to try what works for you. Some people find their weight loss stalls if they don't eat back the calories as their body needs the food, but others have no problem.

    Also! MFP adds the exercise to do onto your food goal so you can eat them if you choose while still maintaining the deficit MFP has built in. It's generally not recommend to go below 1200 for women but it is not a universally infallible rule, but MFP must cover everybody.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
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    While all that is great info and most of it is very helpful, you need to have a deficit to lose weight. If you consistently eat back all the calories burned, you're not going to lose.

    When MFP gives you a deficit, it also changes all the macros - which is bizarre to me. If you work out - why should you automatically be allowed an extra 25 grams of sugar?

    I can tell you that if I ate close to 2000 calories a day, I would never have kept my weight at or below 135 my entire life. And, I've been working out consistently for over 20 years.

    So, all bodies are different - just keep that in mind! :happy:

    (edited by mod)

    mfp work in a defecit so you will lose weight.. when you exercise you are burning more calories, so you should eat them back to not make the defecit too large.
    therefore you will not be eating enough and that will have a bad effect on your body.

    i reccomend eating about 3/4 just in case the calories are overcalculated.
  • theroadto100
    theroadto100 Posts: 209 Member
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    Not quite... MFP automatically gives you a deficit. So while not eating the burned calories back is okay, eating them back might actually be better to be sure your body is getting the nutrients you need.
  • dancingdeer
    dancingdeer Posts: 373 Member
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    Ah - an expert on the subject.
  • dancingdeer
    dancingdeer Posts: 373 Member
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    While all that is great info and most of it is very helpful, you need to have a deficit to lose weight. If you consistently eat back all the calories burned, you're not going to lose.

    When MFP gives you a deficit, it also changes all the macros - which is bizarre to me. If you work out - why should you automatically be allowed an extra 25 grams of sugar?

    I can tell you that if I ate close to 2000 calories a day, I would never have kept my weight at or below 135 my entire life. And, I've been working out consistently for over 20 years.

    So, all bodies are different - just keep that in mind! :happy:

    the above person is veryy... veryyyy dumb...

    mfp work in a defecit so you will lose weight.. when you exercise you are burning more calories, so you should eat them back to not make the defecit too large.
    therefore you will not be eating enough and that will have a bad effect on your body.

    i reccomend eating about 3/4 just in case the calories are overcalculated.


    Seeing is how you are 18 and I am old enough to be your Mother - you might consider lessening the personal attacks in the future.

    My point - was that giving a calorie deficit is one thing. Changing the macros allowed in a given day - in my opinion - is not a good idea. If I work out and burn 600 calories - my macro levels are changed and the amount of sugar changes to 50 grams per day. The recommended amount MAX of sugar carbs per day should be 25, and if you are trying to lose weight, no more than 18.

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