*QUESTION* Calories and exercise!

Rjsmith07

Ok, if I am trying to keep my calorie limit around 1200 per day and I got to the gym today and do the elliptical it says I will burn off somewhat under 400 calories of my 1200 and then my food updates saying I can eat another 400 calories?

Are you supposed to replace the calories you burn off while exercising? I thought its "burn off more than you take in"? *CONFUSED*

Feel free to add me if you like... I'm new to this whole thing! Thanks!

AnvilHead

Great explanation of it here, courtesy of SideSteel:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

rvicini

In my case, this MFP model works. I do not eat all of my calories but, on one hand, I am now counting my exercise calories well with the appropriate equipment (Polar HRM) and I know my intake cals are not precise so I leave some for rounding.
For some people, 1200 cals are just too low. In my case, 1350 cals are too low as well!. What can I do to have a normal intake for me, say, 1500 cals? Exercise. Surplus of cals will help you in a day or two you surpass your quota or add up.
Do not try please to stop eating and overexercise because I think will be torturing yourself.
This is fun, not a torture. If you can eat within budget thanks to the exercise, do it!

JesterMFP

Are you supposed to replace the calories you burn off while exercising? I thought its "burn off more than you take in"? *CONFUSED*

Remember that you are also burning calories while you are not exercising. In fact, most of what you burn is through simply being alive, and normal daily activities. MFP gives you a goal with a built-in deficit. If you meet that goal, you can lose weight without even exercising. Once you exercise on top of that, the calorie deficit may be too large, which could cause you problems further down the road. Exercising is good, but make sure you fuel it.

1200 calories is quite a low amount to be eating, for most people. When you set up MFP, did you say that you wanted to lose 2 lbs a week? With only about 35lbs to lose, that might be an unrealistic expectation. People who are obese and have larger fat stores can handle larger calorie deficits, and a faster rate of loss, but as you get closer to a healthy weight, you just can't lose fat as fast and would do better aiming to lose maybe 1 lb a week.

bgelliott

I personally never eat back exercise calories. MFP tells you to do that because it doesn't want you to be in more than a 500 calorie deficit per day. If you do it how MFP says, your progress will be slower. Also remember that the machines are not accurate to your specific calorie burn so unless you have a bodybugg or some other body media device which calculates your burn rate, you will end up with false numbers since those numbers are not accurate. In my experience, the actual amount that I burn is only about 2/3's compared to what the machine tells me. My treadmill tells me I burn 350 in a 40 minute cardio session when in reality I only burn about 200. Beware of those numbers if you truly want to reach your goal.

JesterMFP

I personally never eat back exercise calories. MFP tells you to do that because it doesn't want you to be in more than a 500 calorie deficit per day. If you do it how MFP says, your progress will be slower. Also remember that the machines are not accurate to your specific calorie burn so unless you have a bodybugg or some other body media device which calculates your burn rate, you will end up with false numbers since those numbers are not accurate. In my experience, the actual amount that I burn is only about 2/3's compared to what the machine tells me. My treadmill tells me I burn 350 in a 40 minute cardio session when in reality I only burn about 200. Beware of those numbers if you truly want to reach your goal.

Losing as fast as possible when you are already close to a healthy weight is great if you're not bothered about losing lean mass along with the fat. If you want to preserve the lean mass (such as muscle) that you have, slower is better.

bgelliott

I personally never eat back exercise calories. MFP tells you to do that because it doesn't want you to be in more than a 500 calorie deficit per day. If you do it how MFP says, your progress will be slower. Also remember that the machines are not accurate to your specific calorie burn so unless you have a bodybugg or some other body media device which calculates your burn rate, you will end up with false numbers since those numbers are not accurate. In my experience, the actual amount that I burn is only about 2/3's compared to what the machine tells me. My treadmill tells me I burn 350 in a 40 minute cardio session when in reality I only burn about 200. Beware of those numbers if you truly want to reach your goal.

Losing as fast as possible when you are already close to a healthy weight is great if you're not bothered about losing lean mass along with the fat. If you want to preserve the lean mass (such as muscle) that you have, slower is better.

This is exactly why it's all dependant on ones goals. My goal from day one was 2lbs per week and it work fantastic for me. Once I reached my goal I shifted focus. Others may do better with slower progress but in my experience, some people tend to lose motivation if their progress is too slow. I always suggest that people play with the numbers and see what works best for them.

Rjsmith07

I don't remember how much I answered for the weekly thing... I'm really not sure what I should be eating but I know its lower than I have been but not sure what that is either bc I never kept up with it. I have just always heard 1200 cal so thats what I chose. I'm not starving myself, if I get hungry then I eat something small and light so most days I go over. I just kind of use that as a benchmark and try to stay around that vicinity.

Rjsmith07

I lose motivation if I don't see that scale changing lol and I have seen a good change within the last week