How much should I eat?!

blueyegirl0712

Hi everyone,
Fitnesspal tells me to take in 1300 calories a day. If I take in that amount and exercise it tells me I burn some many calories. Since I am on a low calorie diet to begin with do I need to make sure my calorie intake stays at 1300? If I burn 100 calories is it ok if I stay at 1200? The whole calorie counting thing is confusing to me. Thanks for any feedback!

Gabbahh

First of all you must know your BMR. Impossible to state a calorie amount that will make you lose weight otherwise.

shovav91

You should keep your calories at a net of whatever MFP tells you. If you say you should eat 1300 a day and you burn 300, you should eat around 1600 calories that day because the deficit is already built into what MFP gives you. If you burn any extra, you need to eat at least most back in order to fuel your body (especially with 1300 calories a day being on the very low end).

blueyegirl0712

Thanks everyone! So if I stay at 1300 would I even need to exercise?

ldalbello

No. I hurt my knee and did not exercise for 3 weeks and I sit at a desk all day. I still lost 1 1/2 lbs per week.

aiyana1228

The base that mfp gives is figured without excercise. Trust me. Getting extra calories from exercise is a wonderful thing. You get 100 calories more than I do but still... 1300 calories is not a lot. Exercise vs no exercise means the difference between eating pretty much just veggies all day and being able to have a nice real dinner with enough filling foods all day to keep me satisfied. long term deprivation does not work well for anyone. Exercise does not have to be major running or a gazillion crunches. Take a nice 30-45 minute walk and you'll get a couple of hundred calories. Do a dance video game or an excercise DVD. Plus I have found that a little excercise several times throughout the day keeps my energy level up and I believe keeps my metabolism high. Often the road to weight gain has more to do with our sedintary lifestyle then to the foods we eat.

blueyegirl0712

Thanks for the advice aiyana1228. I actually just got a xbox360 for my birthday so I am super excited for all of those interactive video games.