hi I am Skye ..I am a newbie

mommaskye3n2

all my life i have been 115..even after my kids I just bounced right back to 115..about 3 years ago I tried to quit smoking..I made it 8 months and shot up to 162...I think at that point I picked back up smoking..thinking it would help..no dice..I fluctuate between 150-160 and I hate the way I look...about 3 weeks ago I joined here..and I joined the gym..I do an hour of cardio every day..and 1 hour of body pump ( http://www.lesmills.com/midatlantic/en/members/bodypump/bodypump-group-fitness-program.aspx) every other day as well at the gym..

I have a few specific goals ..

1 lose weight.. 40lbs to be exact
2. strengthen my core ( I have degenerative disc disease)
3. tone this getto booty I have

this whole counting calories is hard for me to understand..I am at a loss ith it..it says 1200 daily goal but when I punch in what I eat it great but then I punch in exercise and it says I need more...and I am full I do not eat much to begin with..what is that about

mommaskye3n2

all my life i have been 115..even after my kids I just bounced right back to 115..about 3 years ago I tried to quit smoking..I made it 8 months and shot up to 162...I think at that point I picked back up smoking..thinking it would help..no dice..I fluctuate between 150-160 and I hate the way I look...about 3 weeks ago I joined here..and I joined the gym..I do an hour of cardio every day..and 1 hour of body pump ( http://www.lesmills.com/midatlantic/en/members/bodypump/bodypump-group-fitness-program.aspx) every other day as well at the gym..

I have a few specific goals ..

1 lose weight.. 40lbs to be exact
2. strengthen my core ( I have degenerative disc disease)
3. tone this getto booty I have

this whole counting calories is hard for me to understand..I am at a loss ith it..it says 1200 daily goal but when I punch in what I eat it great but then I punch in exercise and it says I need more...and I am full I do not eat much to begin with..what is that about

jmw7

Hey, and welcome. I believe the system defaults to a minimum of 1200 calories a day. Otherwise it thinks you are starving yourself. So, the only way to increase the difference of calories "in" versus calories "used" is to increase your exercise. Sounds like you are already exercising regularly. I suggest you just keep doing what you are doing for 2-3 weeks and measure success on the bathroom scale. I think you'll be pleased!

hahahollylol

hi I just recently joined too. From what I gather it looks like the more we exercise the more we can eat. But I try to not go over what I'm originally given in calories. like if it says I'm allowed to eat about 1700 calories a day I try to not go over that. Yesterday that was my limit I was allowed but I earned more than that in exercise and only ate alittle over 1200. so I still had about 1200 I was allowed to eat. but I wasn't hungry, so I didn't. I figure that that just means I loose more calories.

someone correct me if I'm wrong. because I am also new.

KatWood

This really is a common topic here and if you do a search on the message boards you will find some really good info from people much more knowledgable than myself.

But here is what I have learned from personal experience
- You do not need to starve yourself to lose weight. In fact I eat more now than I did before. I just eat healthier and I consistently (i.e. no starving than binging)
- I always eat at least some of my exercise calories. If you consistently under fuel your body your weightloss will slow down and you will hit a plateau (I have in the past). And even worse because your metabolism slows down you risk putting on weight when you do start increasing your calories again. The amount MFP tells you to eat in a day already takes into account a calorie deficit based on your goal weightloss that you inputted. 1,200 is not enough calories if you are exercising and it is definitley not enough even without exercising if you have significant weight to lose.

Search the threads :happy:

MOMOFTWO29

Hello and welcome to MFP, the best website ever. You will love it here. I this site. It is so motivational, supportive, helpful, and everyone is so nice and friendly here. I just wanted to tell you good luck on your weight loss journey. You can do this.:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

mommaskye

so I need to eat some of my exercise calories?