How many calories is it safe to burn?

Kenan102

How many calories is it safe to burn in a day?

Like today, I burned 730, but I ate most of it back

Is there ever "too many calories burned"? Like if I did 1000 cals one day?

As long as I eat it back, is any number okay?

(sorry if this doesn't make sense or if I explained it wrong)

angel823

idk i like burning anywhere from 400-2000 a day

selig0730

i have seen people burn 1500 calories, its not really a certain number but as you burn more you need to eat more to fuel your self so if you burn 1000 calories then maybe eat 500-800 calories of your burn calories

Sarge516

I have burned over 5000 in a day climbing mountains/hiking with a 50 pound pack.

Kenan102

So I can keep burning a lot, as long as I am eating to keep up?

calitravelingal

I personally would think the sky's the limit. As long as you are healthy enough for the activities you're doing that result in such a high amount of calories burned and you eat back enough of them to mantain a healthy metabolism then sure why not. Not sure if you should do it everyday (that could really be hard on ones body), but a few times a week sure. I burn between 600-700 calories 3 times a week training for a 5K. If you were say training for a half marathon or full marathon one could easily burn in the 1000's.

LiftHuff

Yes

RuthievsDessert

Why doesn’t this app tell you how many calories you burn when you do any kind of strength training? I’ve been weight lifting 3x a week and I know I’m burning calories, but I can never really tell how many… what’s up with that?

Pebble321

I think that really depends on your health and level of fitness.
Lots of people train hard, go hiking, run marathons, play sport etc that burns a lot of calories. But, you need to build up to that level, going from being completely sedentary to burning 1000 cals a day may be putting your health at risk.

Generally though, I'd say as long as you train smart, work up gradually, don't have any health issues that make exercising a bad idea and are eating enough to support the extra activities - go for it.

kairisika

Consider climbers and mountaineers, or professional athletes, or such. they burn thousands of calories in a day, and it obviously goes okay.
If you are burning a lot of calories, you just need to make sure you are properly fueling yourself. It becomes more important to get enough protein and such.

If you were properly tracking your energy expenditure, then you don't want to eat back half of what you burn - you want to eat back as many as you need to, in combination with your dietary goals, create the deficit that you want. Meaning if you are using MFP's guidelines, and already have a 500-1000 calorie deficit, you should be eating everything back, to still get the planned net calories. But that is assuming you actually know how much you are burning.
If you'd rather just use MFP's exercise numbers which are known to overestimate calorie burn, and then just eat a smaller amount that you figure is about what you actually burn, that works too.

But if you are steadily burning lots of calories, it's entirely safe - just make sure you are getting in sufficient net calories with enough of the good stuff.

Kenan102

I personally would think the sky's the limit. As long as you are healthy enough for the activities you're doing that result in such a high amount of calories burned and you eat back enough of them to mantain a healthy metabolism then sure why not. Not sure if you should do it everyday (that could really be hard on ones body), but a few times a week sure. I burn between 600-700 calories 3 times a week training for a 5K. If you were say training for a half marathon or full marathon one could easily burn in the 1000's.

I'm training for my first ever running 5K. I've walked them before but now I have a gym buddy who wants to run so she is helping me get ready

I generally burn 500-700 calories 4-5 days a week doing cardio. And I'm sure it's more with the weight training I do. It doesn't feel like too much. I feel fine and energetic.

Pebble321

Why doesn’t this app tell you how many calories you burn when you do any kind of strength training? I’ve been weight lifting 3x a week and I know I’m burning calories, but I can never really tell how many… what’s up with that?

You can add strength training under cardio if you want to use MFP's cals burnt.
Have a look in the FAQs (there is lots of good info there!) for a more detailed answer.

kairisika

Why doesn’t this app tell you how many calories you burn when you do any kind of strength training? I’ve been weight lifting 3x a week and I know I’m burning calories, but I can never really tell how many… what’s up with that?

It doesn't include specific exercises, in part because it is very variable.
You can include the time you did your strength training as a timed 'strength training' (or whatever it is) under the cardio exercises.
Or, since a lot of the actual calorie loss comes over time after the strength training, you can just consider it a bonus.

MrGonzo05

I burned 3300 on Saturday. And all I got was this stupid post.

Kenan102

Consider climbers and mountaineers, or professional athletes, or such. they burn thousands of calories in a day, and it obviously goes okay.
If you are burning a lot of calories, you just need to make sure you are properly fueling yourself. It becomes more important to get enough protein and such.

If you were properly tracking your energy expenditure, then you don't want to eat back half of what you burn - you want to eat back as many as you need to, in combination with your dietary goals, create the deficit that you want. Meaning if you are using MFP's guidelines, and already have a 500-1000 calorie deficit, you should be eating everything back, to still get the planned net calories. But that is assuming you actually know how much you are burning.
If you'd rather just use MFP's exercise numbers which are known to overestimate calorie burn, and then just eat a smaller amount that you figure is about what you actually burn, that works too.

But if you are steadily burning lots of calories, it's entirely safe - just make sure you are getting in sufficient net calories with enough of the good stuff.

I've noticed that MFP overestimated calories burned. I use what the elliptical or treadmill tells me instead

Hezzietiger1

How are you measuring your burned calories? If you are using MFP calculations you are probably burning far less. I suggest you invest in an HRM and get an accurate count. I am pretty fit and my workouts are pretty intense and I usually burn between 400-600.

Kenan102

How are you measuring your burned calories? If you are using MFP calculations you are probably burning far less. I suggest you invest in an HRM and get an accurate count. I am pretty fit and my workouts are pretty intense and I usually burn between 400-600.

I use what the machines at the gym tell me

I'm looking into getting a HRM but it's gonna have to wait for now

calitravelingal

I personally would think the sky's the limit. As long as you are healthy enough for the activities you're doing that result in such a high amount of calories burned and you eat back enough of them to mantain a healthy metabolism then sure why not. Not sure if you should do it everyday (that could really be hard on ones body), but a few times a week sure. I burn between 600-700 calories 3 times a week training for a 5K. If you were say training for a half marathon or full marathon one could easily burn in the 1000's.

I'm training for my first ever running 5K. I've walked them before but now I have a gym buddy who wants to run so she is helping me get ready

I generally burn 500-700 calories 4-5 days a week doing cardio. And I'm sure it's more with the weight training I do. It doesn't feel like too much. I feel fine and energetic.

Good for you on training for your 5K. My 1st one is this weekend. On my non running days (that would be the other 2-3 day a week) I still burn between 400-500 doing the bike, hiking on the treadmill and doing weights. But my highest burn days are the days I run. Just be sure to eat back at least some of what you burn. If you don't have a specific 5K training plan, check out Couch to 5K. It's great, I used it and many other people on MFP use it, makes the whole thing a little less daunting!

Kenan102

I personally would think the sky's the limit. As long as you are healthy enough for the activities you're doing that result in such a high amount of calories burned and you eat back enough of them to mantain a healthy metabolism then sure why not. Not sure if you should do it everyday (that could really be hard on ones body), but a few times a week sure. I burn between 600-700 calories 3 times a week training for a 5K. If you were say training for a half marathon or full marathon one could easily burn in the 1000's.

I'm training for my first ever running 5K. I've walked them before but now I have a gym buddy who wants to run so she is helping me get ready

I generally burn 500-700 calories 4-5 days a week doing cardio. And I'm sure it's more with the weight training I do. It doesn't feel like too much. I feel fine and energetic.

Good for you on training for your 5K. My 1st one is this weekend. On my non running days (that would be the other 2-3 day a week) I still burn between 400-500 doing the bike, hiking on the treadmill and doing weights. But my highest burn days are the days I run. Just be sure to eat back at least some of what you burn. If you don't have a specific 5K training plan, check out Couch to 5K. It's great, I used it and many other people on MFP use it, makes the whole thing a little less daunting!

I don't have a specific "training plan", just running and cardio and stuff. My gym buddy helps keep me on track and we both push each other

sevsmom

I burn over 1,000 calories on my 10+ mile runs. You can't burn those kinds of calories without fueling the body. Some people will exercise to that level while maintaining very minimal food intake. That's NOT healthy. But if you're fitness level will let you exercise to the point of burning off 1,00 + calories. . .Yay! Stay hydrated and fed. You'll be golden.

danaweston

I burned 3300 on Saturday. And all I got was this stupid post.

that's hilarious:laugh:

keep at it that burn rocks!!!