Exercise and reducing calories

andilyn82

It occurred to me today that I think I am doing this all wrong. Here's my confusion: I cut 500 calories from my calorie needs to lose weight, but I've also been exercising daily and burning about 500-550 calories each time. So I realized I am reducing my caloric intake by around 1000 each day, which I am thinking is too much. I want to lose about a pound or so a week. And I know 3500 calories equals a pound, and I exercise everyday, so in a week I burn 3500 calories alone from exercise. So should I be splitting it up? Meaning should I reduce calories by 250, and burn 250 a day? I'm just a little confused, any help or suggestions or insight would be awesome! Thanks!

julieh391

If I'm not mistaken (I'm sure someone will quote me and announce what a moron I am), MFP is set up so that you enter your weekly loss goal, enter your activity level, and it sets your calories where they need to be for you to lose that amount. So that is how much you eat. No math required. If you exercise, you should eat back those calories because your daily amount is already set at a deficit. I have my profile set to lightly active (I'm probably more active than that but didn't want to overestimate) with a loss of 2lbs/wk. I eat back almost all of my exercise calories. I've lost 17lbs in 60 days.

andilyn82

Thank you! I kinda went all over the road with that question, but you hit the nail on the head with what I was looking for, which is to make sure I eat back the calories I burn through exercise...so good job being a mind reader haha! I was just confused and for some reason could not figure it out. Think I got it now. Thanks again!

workoutgirl23

If your exercising a lot, my recommendation would be to eat at least 1500 calories per day, and you'll lose weight. This site tries to stick people at 1200 calories a day. but i personally think that is to little of an amount, especially if your exercising a lot. i eat around 1500 calories a day and exercise and i'm losing.

ScottRy76

aside from the heart benefits of cardio the only thing cardio really does is let you eat a little more then what your goal is. If you notice if you put how many calories in for a exercise it adds them to your calorie goal. If I am a little over my goal I do cardio to get back under the bar so i am still in a deficit.

wild_wild_life

It occurred to me today that I think I am doing this all wrong. Here's my confusion: I cut 500 calories from my calorie needs to lose weight, but I've also been exercising daily and burning about 500-550 calories each time. So I realized I am reducing my caloric intake by around 1000 each day, which I am thinking is too much. I want to lose about a pound or so a week. And I know 3500 calories equals a pound, and I exercise everyday, so in a week I burn 3500 calories alone from exercise. So should I be splitting it up? Meaning should I reduce calories by 250, and burn 250 a day? I'm just a little confused, any help or suggestions or insight would be awesome! Thanks!

You just figured out what it seems like half the people on this site do not understand. Good job!

andilyn82

Thanks for the help everyone! I appreciate it! And now I am in the know I'm not confused anymore!

SaundraU

I try hard not to eat back all my exercise calories, while MFP sets your calories I find that the rate of calories burned set by MFP are high, which means you are not burning as much as you think.

andilyn82

Yeah I have also found that some of the calories burned for exercises are a little high. I have found a few a little low too though. I have a calorie tracker on my bike that I use, and I kinda compare it to what MFP says I burned, and go from there to at least get some sort of an estimate.