Calories

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I am a little confused.....MFP is telling me that my daily calories should be around 1620 but a few different sites I visited said I should be consuming around 1480-1540. I also don't understand why I get extra calories when I enter my exercise, which usually puts my calories at 1850 or more depending on how much I burn with my exercise. That seems like alot of calories to me, plus I thought the whole point in the exercise was to burn off calories so why am I adding them back in?? I just don't want to eat what it says and end up gaining! Clearly I am new to this and have no idea how the process works but I am trying to understand it so any help is appreciated!

Replies

  • pmjsmom
    pmjsmom Posts: 1,926 Member
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    :flowerforyou: Welcome to MFP!:flowerforyou:

    Here's a thread for you to read that explains the calories situation. I try to eat most of my calories and so far it is working for me!:happy:
    Hope this helps.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • ErikaSudz
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    You have to figure out how many you can consume and still lose weight. You do not want to drop below 1000 or your body will go into starvation mode. I take in between 1350 and 1600 a day depending on my needs. I can totally tell when I am bonking, energy crash, and know when to take in more to keep me going. Simply put you need to burn an extra 3500 calories a week, 500 a day, to lose weight. This also depends on your BMR, base metabolic rate, I would google search a BMR calculator and figure out what that is. Your BMR is how many calories you burn if you were to just sit and do nothing all day. Sit and really try to listen to your body and let it tell you what you need. Hope this helps,

    Erika
  • T_R_A_V
    T_R_A_V Posts: 1,629 Member
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    I think the calorie intake may be a little lower on this site than most....
  • shellee9tj
    shellee9tj Posts: 221 Member
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    Thanks guys, I think I understand better now!
  • sandyalex
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    Hi Shellee: The same thing has happened to me. I feel I have too many calories to eat, so I end up staying below my calorie limit almost every day. Sandy (sandy1956@hotmail.com)
  • shellee9tj
    shellee9tj Posts: 221 Member
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    T_R_A_V
    Really, I actually thought the opposite!