Counting Calories- WTF?? Help please :)

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KristaJeanMFP
KristaJeanMFP Posts: 70 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay...Im a pretty smart gal but I can't wrap my mind around counting calories.....so is the goal to eat below your daily amount? (mine is around 1300) and your body will burn off all of that naturally without exercise?

I exercise...so should I be eating more? I've never felt so stupid before. haha I've always been very small and never dieted or exercised a day in my life until a few weeks ago. Please help! lol
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Replies

  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
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    Yes, 1,300 is around your BMR.(Basic Metabolic Rate) Don't worry about burning that off, your body burns that much to keep you alive, includes the beating of our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature... Your body uses energy to grow your hair and nails and many things.

    So your total daily burn is your BMR + calories burned by exercise and daily activities (even washing a car, doing chores, standing and sitting burn a bit of calories.)

    Usually girls burn anywhere from 1,800-2,200 per day. Guys: maybe 2,500-2,800

    Really depends on the person.

    MFP created your deficit already, just eat around the calories they told you (make sure your net is around 1,300)

    Good luck!
  • mcrowe1016
    mcrowe1016 Posts: 647 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Read the above post and see if this helps :-)
  • janetay01
    janetay01 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Hi Krista,

    If you've entered all your info into MFP about your current weight and goal weight, MFP calculates what you need to stay at current weight then deducts 500 in order to give you a daily allowance to stay healthy whilst losing weight. So if it's given you 1300 a day that will be your allowance to lose however many pounds per week you've set your goal to. If you then burn more calories through exercise that deficit will then get bigger so you will need (my view - opinions differ on this!!) to eat back some or all of those calories to ensure that you still get the amount and nutrition that you need to function.

    I may not have explained this as well as I might but it took me a while to get my head round the concept so hope I've helped a bit! Add me as a friend if you fancy a UK buddy on the site:smile:
  • Ruthe8
    Ruthe8 Posts: 423 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Hi Krista,

    If you've entered all your info into MFP about your current weight and goal weight, MFP calculates what you need to stay at current weight then deducts 500 in order to give you a daily allowance to stay healthy whilst losing weight. So if it's given you 1300 a day that will be your allowance to lose however many pounds per week you've set your goal to. If you then burn more calories through exercise that deficit will then get bigger so you will need (my view - opinions differ on this!!) to eat back some or all of those calories to ensure that you still get the amount and nutrition that you need to function.

    I may not have explained this as well as I might but it took me a while to get my head round the concept so hope I've helped a bit! Add me as a friend if you fancy a UK buddy on the site:smile:

    Great explanation! And yes, you want to meet your calorie goal. I wouldn't obsess about going over or under by 100 calories here and there though.
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    if MFP says to eat 1300, then eat 1300. MFP estimated your BMR (how many cals you naturally burn) and set a lower number for you to eat so that you are burning more than you are consuming. if you work out you should eat back those calories so that you NET 1300. My biggest piece of advise is to get a heart rate monitor so that you know exactly how much you burned because some of the activities MFP lists will over estimate calories burned because we dont all burn at the same rate.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    Here is a good read


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097

    Also, make sure you aren't over extending your goals (see below)

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.


    Too little calories and you increase the chances of muscle loss. Muscle is what makes you look tone and fit. So if you want to be tone and have a smaller, tighter body... have a small calorie deficit and do heavy weight training (high weight, low rep). Doing this will be a combination for success and fat loss.

    Or you can post your height, weight, age, job and exercise routine and we can give you about how many calories you should consume.
  • janetay01
    janetay01 Posts: 1,298 Member
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    if MFP says to eat 1300, then eat 1300. MFP estimated your BMR (how many cals you naturally burn) and set a lower number for you to eat so that you are burning more than you are consuming. if you work out you should eat back those calories so that you NET 1300. My biggest piece of advise is to get a heart rate monitor so that you know exactly how much you burned because some of the activities MFP lists will over estimate calories burned because we dont all burn at the same rate.

    Agree absolutely with this - my weight loss stalled for ages until I purchased an HRM and realised that MFP was being a little generous with me about the number of calories that I was burning with exercise!
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    Agree absolutely with this - my weight loss stalled for ages until I purchased an HRM and realised that MFP was being a little generous with me about the number of calories that I was burning with exercise!

    i had the same problem and couldnt figure out why i wasnt losing until i got the HRM and realized i wasnt burning what i thought i was.
  • caitlyn30
    caitlyn30 Posts: 207 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.


    ^^^EXACTLY
  • m16shane
    m16shane Posts: 393 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.


    ^^^EXACTLY

    This
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.


    ^^^EXACTLY

    i dont think its unreasonable to want to know where MFP is pulling their numbers from. i wouldnt blindly do something a website was telling me to do without checking their math and making an educated decision myself.
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
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    There are actual test you get done that test your resting metabolic rate and then calculate your calorie intake. I've had those done a few times and know to lose weight at a healthy rate I should be about 1900 calories a day (because I'm extremely tall and have a decent metabolism even though I'm overweight). MFP has told me to be around 1800 so I think it's calculating smartly, for me anyway. It's hard to wrap your head around needing to eat food; it's always been the assumption in my mind that to lose weight I need to eat less, and it's difficult to eat more on days I work out, but its true. Like people have said above, your body uses up the calories just existing, yuo have to fuel yourself properly or you won't lose weight.
  • KristaJeanMFP
    KristaJeanMFP Posts: 70 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.

    I just want to understand the process. I know how to work the calculator. Duh lol But I wanted to know exactly what it means. I dont do things blindly.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.

    I just want to understand the process. I know how to work the calculator. Duh lol But I wanted to know exactly what it means. I dont do things blindly.

    But MFP is set up so it really is that simple. You put in your stats and your goals, and MFP gives you a baseline calorie goal per day. You log your food, and calories available go down. You log your exercise, and calories available go up. The calculator tells you exactly what to do, and it works for pretty much everyone. After you use the calculator for a while, you'll get an idea of what to expect. Then you know if you're going to do X workout today it will increase your calories by X amount. You can spread those cals out over the course of the day, if you want.

    I do agree with getting a HRM. Mine has been invaluable. And it turns out MFP was UNDER estimating my cals burned. Yay for the HRM!!

    I would also suggest getting a food scale if you can. That's been the single most valuable tool I have used. Weigh everything you possibly can. It can make a world of difference.

    Best of luck to you! :)
  • TheoJo73
    TheoJo73 Posts: 2 Member
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    OT
    Oooooh I really like what it says on your ticker! That is awesome!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.

    There are situations where it doesn't work. One, those who have athletic builds (more muscle than the average person) this site will under estimate calories (under estimated mine by about 300 calories). It would also over estimate those who have less muscle that the average person (very common in those who rapidly lost weight in the past. But overall, MFP can be accurate for about 70-80% of the people using it. But this is also why it's extremely valuable to know your body fat %.
  • TheoJo73
    TheoJo73 Posts: 2 Member
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    ?
  • lmeola18
    lmeola18 Posts: 35
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Read the above post and see if this helps :-)


    This this this this this this this!!!!!! Really just read it, it will make your life that much easier.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    The site tells you how much to eat. Eat that much. There is literally nothing to understand about that.

    I just want to understand the process. I know how to work the calculator. Duh lol But I wanted to know exactly what it means. I dont do things blindly.

    You burn a certain number of calories every day, from being alive and going about your regular activities and exercise. This is called TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). If you eat less calories than your TDEE then you are in a calorie deficit and you will lose weight.

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