Confused, any help???

LightsOut4U
LightsOut4U Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so mfp has me eating 1200 calories, I'm 5"2 and weigh around 165lbs.
The thing I'm confused about is, the 1200 does that mean total to eat, even after working out? Or does that mean if I work out and burn 300 calories, I should be eating 1500.

I've been a member for a while, and just recently got back into it (after my depression of my fiance breaking up with me) and I'm trying hard to lose weight, but nothing seems to be working. I exercise 5 days a week for about an hour and a half of sit ups, push ups, leg workouts, and cardio. Eating healthy, and no change. My level is set to sedentary as I'm currently out of a job, so I'm at home all the time.

I'm at a loss and don't know what else to do. Any help???

Replies

  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    Oh, and I do drink about 5-6 glasses of water a day, don't drink soda, and am on a fiber supplement to make sure I get my goal.
  • SME1976
    SME1976 Posts: 73 Member
    I had the same question... and please someone correct me if I am wrong... but if your BMR is 1200 and you work out and burn 300 then you should actually consume 1500. 1200 would be what to eat if you weren't exercising.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Yes, you should eat back the calories you earn through activity. The reason for his is because MFP already sets a calorie deficit for you based on the info you entered into your diet/fitness profile, including the # of pounds per week you said you'd lke to lose. If you exercise, you increase this deficit and you might end up eating too little to properly fuel your body.

    The calorie totals MFP gives you tend to be a bit inflated so try eating 50-75% of them. You can even edit them as you enter them so say you put in 30 minutes for elliptical and it gives you 400 calories, click in that box and edit the number to 200-300 calories instead. If you use a heart rate monitor, eat back closer to 100% of the calories it says you've earned.

    Another calorie goal to keep in mind is you BMR. It's recommended by many not to eat below this number of calories as BMR is the # of calories your body needs for basic function (breathing, circulation, as if you were in a coma). So if you eat less than your BMR, you risk being malnourished, especially if you're exercising a lot.

    Good luck!
  • bearxfoo
    bearxfoo Posts: 81 Member
    The amount that MFP sets you up for is without exercise. When you add in exercise, you "earn" more calories to eat.

    I had my levels set to "sedentary" and I found I had no change either - I up it to "light" activity as I work out almost every day, and I've seen charges - 4lbs lost so far.

    As the other posts mentions, good numbers to figure out is your BMR - this is the calories your body burns from simply being alive; organ function, cell growth, etc, uses "calories" so your BMR is what you'd burn if you were in a coma. You should eat ABOVE that number, because that's just the very very BASIC calorie intake for simply being alive and you know... not dead.

    If you want a more accurate total of what you burn during workouts, I'd suggest a heart rate monitor if you can afford it (your posts says you're out of work, so). I've found it to be REALLY helpful and well worth the money invested (mine was a Polar for $75 off of Amazon.com).

    :) Hope that helps.
  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    I have a heart rate monitor watch, so usually I tend to average what mfp says I've burned, and what my heart rate monitor says I've burned.
    And my bmr is 1573.8, so I'm not sure how exactly I'm supposed to work through this. Does it mean I just need to up my workouts so that my calories intake is over my bmr? I'm really new to the more calculatory side of weight loss so I apologize if my questions are annoyingly simple lol.
  • Aviation21
    Aviation21 Posts: 154 Member
    I would say NayShel nailed it... good advice! Go find your BMR at fat2fit radio website.
  • Daisy_Cutter
    Daisy_Cutter Posts: 774
    I would say NayShel nailed it... good advice! Go find your BMR at fat2fit radio website.

    Whoa! I agree! :wink:
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Try this sight itwill give youwhat you are looking for :wink:
  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    If you look at my last post it says my BMR is 1573.8
  • bearxfoo
    bearxfoo Posts: 81 Member
    So, if your BMR is 1573.8, that's what you should eat to maintain your weight and basically keep you alive.

    Let's say you haven't eaten at all, and your allotted calories is 1573.8. Then you exercise, and burn 500 calories.

    Your new goal for the day is 2,073.8.

    Basically, I think you need to just eat a bit more, because having a BMR of 1500 and eating only 1200 seems like not enough calorie intake, and that's why you aren't losing weight.

    There's a couple topics floating around but basically, eating helps you lose weight.
  • Denjo060
    Denjo060 Posts: 1,008
    sorry my bad didnt notice you already went on the sight
  • catjrow3
    catjrow3 Posts: 532 Member
    You should net no less than 1200.. so if you exercise, you should eat those back, so that you net 1200 calories. This is a great great thread about the exercise calories, best one I have read on MFP, to explain why.!!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/539912-why-eating-exercise-calories-is-so-important?page=17#posts-7782652
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    So how long have you been back at MFP and logging?
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
    You and I are the same height and the same weight. My normal weight is around 135 to 140 so that is my goal. I have had a hard time losing too (I am 47 so that could be some of my issues). I went through all the math and read this article and that article to figure out what I should be eating. I finally decided to simplify it and pick one thing and just stick with it until it works!

    If your BMR is 1573 then I would set your goal for 1500. Log all your exercise and eat those back. Since it seems like you are logging close to exact calories because of your HRM I would eat back most if not all of them. I do think that eating a lot of high processed foods versus real food in my calories makes a difference so I would try to eat very minimal processed foods. Try using exercise to get to your goal. The more you exercise, the more you can eat, the more your metabolism will increase and (at least for me) the less hungry I am.

    Good luck and feel free to friend me if you want.
  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    So how long have you been back at MFP and logging?

    I've been back on it for a little over a month now, and was only gaining weight, and by the change in my pants, it wasn't muscle. Lol
  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    sorry my bad didnt notice you already went on the sight

    No worries. ;)
  • LightsOut4U
    LightsOut4U Posts: 7
    Thanks so much for all of your help, it means a lot!! Feeling much better about my goals, and plan on adjusting everything to eat back my work out. Yaaaaay!! No more hunger pains. ;P

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