Hi everyone - exercise = eat more calories?

missfancy1980

Hi everyone I am new here. I've been going to the gym 6 x per week for the last 2 weeks now, and consciously eating healthy and lower calorie foods for the last week. I have just finished my food and exercise diary for today and it's showing i still have 399 calories to go, even though my food diary said only 99. Does this mean I am supposed to eat more calories on days i exercise? If so, what's a good snack food(s) high in cals and low in fat - are raisins any good?

I don't really get this whole calorie counting thing and it all seems to take so long adding foods, guessing how many grams/ ozs etc i ate of each, or the names of the gym machines i used LOL. Does it get easier?

Thanks

Rae6503

MFP assigns you a calorie deficit1 based on your weekly goal2. So if you burn 2000 calories a day and you want to lose a pound a week, MFP tells you to eat 1500. When you exercise you burn more than your 2000 calories a day. Say you burn 500. Suddenly you are burning 2500 calories a day. If you do not eat your exercise calories your deficit becomes 1000 calories. If you do eat your exercise calories your deficit remains at 500 calories.

Having "too large" of a calorie deficit can create problems. However, "too large" is subjective and varies from person to person. The more weight you have to lose however, the bigger calorie deficit you can handle. First, and most simply, it makes things harder, makes you hungry, gives you little energy, makes it harder to stick with your diet in the long run. Second, it might slow your metobolism (although this takes times) and slow your weight loss. Third, it makes the transition to maintenance difficult. Lastly, large calorie deficits can start to effect your health if you sustain them too long. Your hair can fall out, your nails crack, your period can stop (if you are female obviously). Your brain stops working at optimal levels, and other things.

Some people say they aren't hungry enough to eat their exercise calories. We need to realize that sometimes our hunger signals aren't the best thing to trust. If they were no one would be over or under weight.

The End.



1. Deficit = calories you eat - calories you burn all day

2. One pound (of fat) = 3500 calories. If you want to lose a pound a week (2lbs a week is possible but hard) you need to eat at a 500 calorie deficit because 3500/7 = 500.

missfancy1980

Thanks. I'm only looking to lose 17lbs, but ideally i want to be losing it asap. I've set my goal to 2lb a week but will be pushing for more than this.

By the way, how do you edit your profile/ settings/ goals whatever to show you lose weight? Weighed myself today and I have lost 1lb in the last week

Rae6503

If you only have 17lbs to go (and I doubt you even have that much based on your picture) 2lbs a week is NOT a healthy rate. You body does not like to give up it's last fat stores. When you try to make it, it'll do things like burn muscle in stead. A half pound a week would be best for you.

To enter your weight go to "weigh-in" on your home page.

Rae6503

Just checked out your profile. Why would setting it 70lbs higher work? It's going to give you too big of calorie burns because someone 70lbs higher burns more.

TeaBea

Thanks. I'm only looking to lose 17lbs, but ideally i want to be losing it asap. I've set my goal to 2lb a week but will be pushing for more than this.

2 pounds is not a "healthy" weight loss goal for someone with 17 pounds to lose. A healthy goal is more like 1/2 to 1 pound a week. Only very large people can lose weight that quickly (at first). A 1 pound loss requires a 3500 deficit.

Example: You eat 1800 calories, then substract 600 for exercise = 1200 NET. This 1200 is a minimum requirement to keep your body functioning in a healthy manner. If you required 1600 calories just to MAINTAIN your existing size, then 1600 LESS 1200 (net) = 400 daily deficit. This is 7 x 400 = 2800 ....... not even 1 pound for the week.

Losing weight too fast ..... can cause your body to burn muscle for fuel. I want to keep my exisitng muscle & just lose fat, so I am for slow & steady.

missfancy1980

Thanks everyone that makes a little more sense

@Rae I'm a 12-14 on my hips/ bum which is where i want to lose the weight from (although i know it's not possible to spot lose), that's a flattering pic haha! I want to be an 8 all over.

ElizabethRoad

I don't really get this whole calorie counting thing and it all seems to take so long adding foods, guessing how many grams/ ozs etc i ate of each, or the names of the gym machines i used LOL. Does it get easier?

It definitely gets easier! Before long it will seem like nothing.

mallory3411

You don't lose healthy and quickly when you don't have a lot of weight to lose.

If you want to go low calorie and lose 17lbs fast you can, but it will be muscle, not fat that you will be losing.

I don't understand why you'd set your weight to 200lbs when you are only 130 something. That's not going to change how you lose. This site gave you a long plan because at your size losing 2lbs a week is not right, nor is it healthy or sustainable.

janegalt37

By setting your weight at 200lbs, MFP is going to give you a higher calorie allowance than it would at 130lbs because larger people naturally burn more energy throughout the day.

To loose inches off your hips the fastest, lift heavy weights. Squats, deadlifts, etc.

And put in your real weight with the goal at half a pound a week. You may not loose actual weight very fast because you'll be trading fat for muscle, but you'll get into those size 8's much more quickly! Trust me, I've dropped one jeans size in 3 weeks, lifting 3 times a week.

Rae6503

Thanks everyone that makes a little more sense

@Rae I'm a 12-14 on my hips/ bum which is where i want to lose the weight from (although i know it's not possible to spot lose), that's a flattering pic haha! I want to be an 8 all over.

I can understand wanting to go from a 12 to an 8. But you'll get the best results if you do it slowly like MFP recommends.

missfancy1980

Wow janegal!! Congrats. what was ur mfp set to weight/ goal wise when u did that? I do strength training atm. not massively so because i dont want a big body n i gain muscle on arms n abs v easily! I do 20 mins per day after using elliptical

i understand what you are all saying but 1/2 lb a week is too slow for me. i want fast results but would still like a way to track it hence mfp. if i was to follow the guide on here properly am i likely to lose more than it estimates?

I really appreciate your input thanks, though i'd much rather go faster than political correctness suggests so if you don't agree that's ok but i have my plan regardless . You can pm me if you prefer not to post in public for the barrage of "that's not healthy" xx

Smuterella

I think you might be missing the point here. You have to put in your actual, accurate weight to get the correct calories that you should be eating and that you will be burning. If you put in your weight as 200lbs it will tell you to eat MORE and that you are burning MORE and therefore you may end up gaining by doing this. It makes no logical sense.

Also, with only 17lbs to lose it is probably impossible for you to lose anything more than 2lbs a week without underfeeding your body. you may have "your plan" and think that you know best. If so, then go for it. Just be aware that it is unlikely to work and / or create a lasting loss.

susannamarie

Is it really better to lose 2 lbs/week and then pack it all back on 2 months after you finish your crash diet?

charneus

You want to lose excess weight? Get a colonic. Most times, you'll clear out an extra 5-10 lbs of excess weight.

But seriously, don't kid yourself into thinking you're going to lose all that weight at 2lbs a week. You'll wind up hurting yourself in the end, and that's the most frustrating part.

psuLemon

Thanks. I'm only looking to lose 17lbs, but ideally i want to be losing it asap. I've set my goal to 2lb a week but will be pushing for more than this.

By the way, how do you edit your profile/ settings/ goals whatever to show you lose weight? Weighed myself today and I have lost 1lb in the last week

Well i want to win the lottery, but it doesn't work like that. Bodies that don't have a lot of weight to lose fight harder to maintain weight. The only thing you would be doing by creating a large deficit is losing muscle mass which will slow your metabolism and not provide you that fit look you are probably looking for. You didn't put the weight on that fast and you can't expect it to come off that faster. If you are really looking to tighten your body up, then start lifting heavy weights and work on burning fat rather than weight.

paigedwatson

I agree that you need to put your actual weight and not one that is higher. It will most likely put you in starvation mode since it's limiting you to so few calories, and you could possibly experience weight GAIN if that happens.

I do, however, understand the frustration with logging all your exercises when they don't have all the machines you use! It bothered me having to guess on those things, so I got a heart rate monitor (Polar FT4) to tell me how many calories I burn during each exercise. The calorie burn # on the machine is hardly correct. I put the exercise in my diary by creating a new one and manually putting in the calories burned. It's a great investment! I use mine every time I work out!

missfancy1980

Ahh brilliant, I just got one of those polar heart rate/ calorie monitors, heard they are very good Going to start using it tomorrow. Although I worked up a real sweat today and felt very "worked" part of me can't quite believe the calories the elliptical said i am burning (330 for 35 mins steady pace and 5 mins slower cool down).

By the way when I changed my weigh in thing, it automatically changed my goals to 1.2lbs a week which is ok with me although i will be pushing for more.