Food intake vs exercise?

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alissad1981
alissad1981 Posts: 5 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was told by this site to consume 1200 calories per day to lose 13 pounds. I am exercising enough that my calorie counter is increasing by 300 per day. Does this mean i eat 300 more a day or stay at 1200 to lose weight. Ps..i have been on a no fast carb diet for 5 weeks and havent lost a pound. Definetly getting more toned but thinking i am eating too much? Is the calculator on here that accurate? I am 5ft 2" & weight 138...trying to reach 125

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  • estherpab
    estherpab Posts: 59 Member
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    Hello I just started myself and I've read enough blogs and websites to commit myself to the nut house LOL! According to what I've read YOU ARE suppose to eat the extra calories because your body needs that to refuel especially when you work out. I'm like you, that I don't have a lot to lose, so I was wondering if I'm eatting too much. It seems like everyone especially those that weigh more than us are suppose to eat 1200???? Minimum??? I've been on this program for 3 wks and haven't lost a lot but I look leaner and I'm definitely eatting better and not over eatting. Log your food and try not to go over and I believe you will get the results you want. Keep on exercising!!!! Happy New Year! :flowerforyou:
  • sbb4406
    sbb4406 Posts: 65
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    If you don't have a heart rate monitor I'd be careful about eating back exercise calories, since MFP's calculations about how much you burned could be off. Maybe you could try the 1200 + half your exercise calories back, see how you do for a few weeks. If you notice results and you aren't hungry during the day then that's what works, if that isn't the case then you can either stop eating back exercise calories or eat them back in full or...

    Another method you could try is the one explained here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/408674-the-olivia-method-the-cool-new-way-to-set-up-your-mfp-go ... this is what I use and although I'm not going to lose 2 lbs a week eating the amount recommended, I'm close enough to my goal that losing 0.5 lbs a week is reasonable (and I think 0.5 - 1 would be reasonable for you too.)
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    Yes, you are supposed to eat your exercise calories back. However, the bigger issue is your calorie amount. If you only have 18 pounds to lose (maybe less for the other new person who posted) you don't want to be trying to lose it quickly. Your body will not tolerate a large calorie deficit for a long period of time, and the closer you are to your healthy weight, the more that is the case. Here is a helpful link on calorie deficits http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits and one on eating your exercise calories http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    As for how big your calorie deficit should be when you are close to your goal weight 15 or less pounds, would be a weight loss goal of no more that 1 pound per week (500 calorie deficit a day). When closer yet, say under 10 pounds to go maybe a maximum goal of half a pound a week (250 calories a day).
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I was told by this site to consume 1200 calories per day to lose 13 pounds. I am exercising enough that my calorie counter is increasing by 300 per day. Does this mean i eat 300 more a day or stay at 1200 to lose weight. Ps..i have been on a no fast carb diet for 5 weeks and havent lost a pound. Definetly getting more toned but thinking i am eating too much? Is the calculator on here that accurate? I am 5ft 2" & weight 138...trying to reach 125
    You eat back your exercise calories. MFP has already fixed your deficit for weekly weight loss.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    Hard to give you much advice without being able to see your diary.
  • alissad1981
    alissad1981 Posts: 5 Member
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    I am not shy...how do i let people see my diary?
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    go to food>Settings and it's at the bottom
  • estherpab
    estherpab Posts: 59 Member
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    If you don't have a heart rate monitor I'd be careful about eating back exercise calories, since MFP's calculations about how much you burned could be off. Maybe you could try the 1200 + half your exercise calories back, see how you do for a few weeks. If you notice results and you aren't hungry during the day then that's what works, if that isn't the case then you can either stop eating back exercise calories or eat them back in full or...

    Another method you could try is the one explained here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/408674-the-olivia-method-the-cool-new-way-to-set-up-your-mfp-go ... this is what I use and although I'm not going to lose 2 lbs a week eating the amount recommended, I'm close enough to my goal that losing 0.5 lbs a week is reasonable (and I think 0.5 - 1 would be reasonable for you too.)




    What do u mean, what does a heart rate monitor have to do with it? I'm confused by our statement, please clarify. A HRM is good because it tells you the percentage at which our working out at, but when your exercising you are also burning calories and if u log in the intensity it is actually the same as using a HRM.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    FWIW, your entry for your Whiskey of choice is missing some info. All alcohol has carbs of some kind; alcohol is fermented sugar, after all ;)

    @esther: I believe what the poster what trying to say is that you can't necessarily trust MFP's calorie burn estimates. A HRM tends to give most people a more accurate estimate of calories burned, and many users on this site have reported pretty significant differences between what MFP states for calorie burn for "activity x" vs. what their HRM says.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I was told by this site to consume 1200 calories per day to lose 13 pounds. I am exercising enough that my calorie counter is increasing by 300 per day. Does this mean i eat 300 more a day or stay at 1200 to lose weight. Ps..i have been on a no fast carb diet for 5 weeks and havent lost a pound. Definetly getting more toned but thinking i am eating too much? Is the calculator on here that accurate? I am 5ft 2" & weight 138...trying to reach 125
    Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
    Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.
  • estherpab
    estherpab Posts: 59 Member
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    FWIW, your entry for your Whiskey of choice is missing some info. All alcohol has carbs of some kind; alcohol is fermented sugar, after all ;)

    @esther: I believe what the poster what trying to say is that you can't necessarily trust MFP's calorie burn estimates. A HRM tends to give most people a more accurate estimate of calories burned, and many users on this site have reported pretty significant differences between what MFP states for calorie burn for "activity x" vs. what their HRM says.


    Ok thanks! My HRM doesn't display calories burned that's why I didn't understand their comment. I guess I need to buy a new HRM.

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