can someone help me understand?
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sbfitz
Posts: 4
I'm hoping someone on here who's much more seasoned in the MFP weight loss ways can help me to understand whether I am doing the right thing when it comes to my weight loss goals.
I've started to get back on track with MFP and according to the profile I set, with my age as 21, my height as 5'7, and my initial weight as 148 with a goal weight of 130 pounds. From this, my fitness goals were set to show me consuming 1200 calories a day, and burning 810 cals per week.
So far I have been keeping to my calories, working out (I go running and do the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred), and I often end up with a 100-200 cal deficit left at the end of the day from exercising.
Here's the problem: I keep reading on here that you should eat your exercise calories, but I'm not really understanding how you can lose weight , especially if you're supposed to "burn more than you consume" in order to lose weight. Wouldnt that mean I have to burn all 1200 of the calories I've consumed in order to lose any weight?
On the other hand, I looked up my BMR on Fat2FitRadio.com upon recommendation from a post on this board, I've learned that my current BMR is 1696 cals, and that based on a moderate level of activity each week, I should be consuming 2455 calories daily, in order to become the thinner person at my goal weight.
None of this makes sense to me, and I really need help trying to make sense of it all. I'm being told so many different numbers and none of them make sense -- it's like I have to overeat in order to lose weight. Can someone help me to make sense of all this, and explain to me the differences?
I've started to get back on track with MFP and according to the profile I set, with my age as 21, my height as 5'7, and my initial weight as 148 with a goal weight of 130 pounds. From this, my fitness goals were set to show me consuming 1200 calories a day, and burning 810 cals per week.
So far I have been keeping to my calories, working out (I go running and do the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred), and I often end up with a 100-200 cal deficit left at the end of the day from exercising.
Here's the problem: I keep reading on here that you should eat your exercise calories, but I'm not really understanding how you can lose weight , especially if you're supposed to "burn more than you consume" in order to lose weight. Wouldnt that mean I have to burn all 1200 of the calories I've consumed in order to lose any weight?
On the other hand, I looked up my BMR on Fat2FitRadio.com upon recommendation from a post on this board, I've learned that my current BMR is 1696 cals, and that based on a moderate level of activity each week, I should be consuming 2455 calories daily, in order to become the thinner person at my goal weight.
None of this makes sense to me, and I really need help trying to make sense of it all. I'm being told so many different numbers and none of them make sense -- it's like I have to overeat in order to lose weight. Can someone help me to make sense of all this, and explain to me the differences?
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Replies
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Eating to fuel your body is not over eating. Your BMR is the basic amount of calories your body needs to function if you were completely sedentary (e.g. in a coma).
If you read the success stories here you will see many of us who are losing by eating more. As well as many more success stories on the main forums.
MFP pretty much gives everyone a 1200 calorie a day goal when they select to lose 2lbs per week. it doesn't take your BMR and other things into account when selecting this goal.
If you burned the 1200 calories you consumed then what would your body run on? By burning more calories than you consume they mean burn enough calories to create a deficit. Your TDEE (total daily expenditure) is how many calories your body needs to maintain it's weight. So anything less than that is a deficit and will result in weight loss. Your BMR is what your body NEEDS to function properly. If you eat less than your BMR then your body begins to go into starvation mode.0
