OK, I'm really confused about this calorie thingy

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AuntyABBY24
AuntyABBY24 Posts: 15
in Fitness and Exercise
I dont understand how u have to eat the calories uv burned. Surely that means u wont lose weight ull just hit a plateu because ur calories being used by the body aren't going anywhere because ur just eating them again!!

HELP??!!

Replies

  • AuntyABBY24
    AuntyABBY24 Posts: 15
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    I dont understand how u have to eat the calories uv burned. Surely that means u wont lose weight ull just hit a plateu because ur calories being used by the body aren't going anywhere because ur just eating them again!!

    HELP??!!
  • sonia2
    sonia2 Posts: 154
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    MFP has already included a 500 calorie deficit in your calorie limit, so when you eat your exercise cals you are still under 500 calories, and by the end of the week it equals 3500 calories, hence 1 lb lost!
  • hartkid13
    hartkid13 Posts: 1,551 Member
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    The calories are calculated using your BMI and activity level. Once you put in your goal the system calculates how many calories you would burn in a typical day and then adjusts the number of calories you should eat based on the amount of weight you want to lose in a week. This does not take into account any exercise calories. When you exercise, you burn calories so that those are then added into the number you can consume in a day and maintain your weight loss.

    Clear as mud?

    Basically your starting calories assume no exercise. Exercise then allows you to add more calories to your diet while losing weight.

    Hope that helps. :smile:
  • molsongirl
    molsongirl Posts: 1,373 Member
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    everyone is different onhere, as to how they choose to use those calories, ....ie: I earned 1473 calories from exercise today, there's no way in heck, i'll be eating that back, I usually dabble into them, but by only a couple hundred, and that's usually my protein shake. Some people eat em all, it's whatever works for you. If i'm hungry I eat em and if i'm not I don't. :wink:
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I dont understand how u have to eat the calories uv burned. Surely that means u wont lose weight ull just hit a plateu because ur calories being used by the body aren't going anywhere because ur just eating them again!!

    HELP??!!

    MFP does create a deficit however I really feel it is only relevant if your solely following the MFP diet or guide 100%...some eat them and some dont ..what I have found is that those I know that eat them rarely go over 1800-1900 calories anyhow.which has me wondering why they consider them excercise calories at all perhaps thats just the amount they need to eat in order to lose weight.....I personally do not eat them but I am not following the MFP guide I use the tools nothing more. I stick to 1200-1400 calories daily and watch my sodium and carbs and fat and I excercise daily mainly cardio ...losing 2-7 pounds per week ...weeks vary on how hard I push myself ..and I am NOT starving my body of anything...
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    if you are in the obese range, a larger deficit is okay (you don't have to eat them back). if you have ten pounds to lose, a huge deficit will cause your metabolism to stall out.

    I eat most of my exercise cals, and I am making great progress! (started 12/27/08)

    see this thread for an in-depth conversation:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    although MFP calculates your deficit into your allowed calories for the day each person loses weight different. I do not eat the majority of my exercise calories. Reason is that calories burned can be off by a certain percentage and so can your intake of calories. I not only hit a plateau but I gained a little so I had to do some trials for myself to find out what combo worked best for me and eating the exercise calories does not work for me.

    It can be confusing when you start so stick with it, give the MFP formula a chance and then start to tweak it for your personal use. You are the only one that can truly track what works for your body dieting type.

    Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • hartkid13
    hartkid13 Posts: 1,551 Member
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    Having said that, I only eat about half of my exercise calories.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    don't complain, just eat them. lol :laugh: seriously, I lost 63 lbs eating my exercise calories. I'm sure not complaining about a few extra hundred calories a day if it means I STILL get to lose weight! :flowerforyou:

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