I think I finally understand (Exercise Calories...etc...) I

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fozzy33
fozzy33 Posts: 72
in Health and Weight Loss
I think I finally get it....

When I joined MFP I imputed I wanted my goal weight to be 136lbs. Now....it has my calorie intake at 1360 per day.
Which is my goal weight x 10

Exercise Calories=650
Base Calorie Intake=1360
Total=1985

Now if I eat half my exercise calories my intake a day would be = 1685

Im assuming that is a "normal" calorie intake for a person trying to maintain 168 pounds. That would mean I would need to lose 5 pounds to get to that since Im 173. And this is how I would lose 1.5lbs a week which I imputed as my goal to lose....

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  • nehtaeh
    nehtaeh Posts: 2,977 Member
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    I think the math is a little more complicated than that.
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    What?

    You're given 1360 calories because that's about 750 calories *less* than you automatically burn at your height/weight/sex on a daily basis. MFP is apparently estimating someone of your height/weight/sex/activity level will burn about 2110 calories per day. If you ate around 2100 calories per day (without additional exercise), you would maintain your current weight. So, just eating 1360 calories would have you losing about 1.5 pounds per week (the goal you set here). 1 pound = 3500kcal. So, if you're burning 750 more each day than you consume 750 x 7 (days per week) = a 1.5 pound loss per week. That's where that number came from.

    If you exercise and burn 600 calories, that takes your daily calorie deficit from 750 to 1350 (which is probably too big for your body to handle which is why you want to consider eating some of those back). So if you eat 300 calories back, your daily deficit is 1050. If you did this every day, you'd be on track to lose about 2 pounds per week. That's an unsafe/unrealistic goal for most people who aren't "obese."

    Generally, the less you weigh, the less calories you burn on a daily basis even with all the same activities which is why the less you weigh, the less you can eat to maintain the same calorie deficit. This is one of the reasons you end up having to reassess your goals the closer you get to your goal weight. If you continued trying to have a 750 calorie deficit (or more) when you're only a few pounds away from your goal, you wouldn't be feeding your body enough.

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