Question about calories burned and consumed

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lost619
lost619 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I am slightly confused. My calorie goal is about 1700 or something. Does that mean that's all I eat even with exercise? Like say I burn 300 calories does that then mean I can eat 2000 calories? If that makes any sense? Or is it 1700 I can eat then burn whatever?

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  • slowglitchen
    slowglitchen Posts: 30
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    I hope I explained this right... You have 1700 calories left to eat for the day... you exercise/burn 300 calories (300 bonus points.. you burn 300 calories, and get 300 back... its like you give and take, balances out evenly) still 1700 calories.. I give you a gift, and you give me the same gift back...
  • lost619
    lost619 Posts: 10 Member
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    So as long as the total calories is 1700 or less with or without exercise then I'm ok. So like the 300 is bonus calories I can consume?
  • chasetwins
    chasetwins Posts: 702 Member
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    Did you get your calorie goal from TDEE- % or are you using MFP calculated goal?

    If TDEE - then no you do not eat those back

    If MFP - then yes you sure do :)
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    If you just used MFP to set up your goals, then a the end of the day your "calories remaining" should be about zero (-50 to 50). This assumes that you set up your activity level correctly in the wizard and that you log any activity that you do above and beyond your normal daily activity.

    So overall, if your goal is 1700 calories, and you go for a walk that you normally don't do and burn an extra 300 calories, then you have 2000 calories for the day that you can eat total.
  • lost619
    lost619 Posts: 10 Member
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    Ok yes that makes more sense. And yeah I use just MFP for this stuff. I'll be combining it with fitbit in a few weeks time. Tank you anyway for the help :)
  • wildechild74
    wildechild74 Posts: 64 Member
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    be careful when logging calories burned. i have found that MFP estimates waaay high. get a heart rate monitor that can measure calories for a more accurate number- not perfect, but probably more realistic. if you do not want/cannot afford a heart rate monitor, only log about half of what MFP tells you are calories burned. that is my advice.in my experience, running/walking are very close to my heart rate monitor, but any other cardio- circuit training, aerobics, eliptical are calculated very very high on here.
  • LuckySe7en
    LuckySe7en Posts: 49
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    be careful when logging calories burned. i have found that MFP estimates waaay high. get a heart rate monitor that can measure calories for a more accurate number- not perfect, but probably more realistic. if you do not want/cannot afford a heart rate monitor, only log about half of what MFP tells you are calories burned. that is my advice.in my experience, running/walking are very close to my heart rate monitor, but any other cardio- circuit training, aerobics, eliptical are calculated very very high on here.

    I second this! I got a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor because I am a bit numbers obsessed and it has helped better gauge what I am really burning.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    Ok yes that makes more sense. And yeah I use just MFP for this stuff. I'll be combining it with fitbit in a few weeks time. Tank you anyway for the help :)

    I also use the fitbit. Once you get it, I would suggest you set MFP to sedentary and let the fitbit give you the calories back as you earn them. Also, be aware that fitbit is great for anything that has a walking/running motion, but if you have any activity like rowing or biking, it will not be accurate. However, you can replace that period of time by entering the activity manually and it will override whatever the fitbit picked up during that time.

    Good luck with it - I love mine!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    So as long as the total calories is 1700 or less with or without exercise then I'm ok. So like the 300 is bonus calories I can consume?

    If you are using MFP as designed then you eat your exercise calories back.

    Let's say your activity level is set to sedentary (exercise is not included in this figure) ..... MFP gives you 1700 calories to eat. This 1700 figure gives you a calorie deficit.

    When you log exercise (not everyone can or will exercise) .... then you get "bonus" calories. Think of the "bonus" as fuel for your workouts. The problem with eating NONE of your calories back (over a period of time) ..... is muscle loss.

    Eat enough calories to lose weight in a healthy way (healthy = mostly fat loss .... not muscle loss).

    Calorie burns for machines & many MFP activities are exaggerated ....... many people use a HRM to calculate or just eat back a percentage .... say 66%
  • lcvaughn520
    lcvaughn520 Posts: 219 Member
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    This can also depend on how you have your settings. If you did NOT include your workouts in your activity level, then you eat your exercise calories back. If you said you were "moderately active" because you work out three times a week, then your workouts have already been factored in and you would not eat back those calories.
  • lost619
    lost619 Posts: 10 Member
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    It's ok I experimented with calories. They said 1600 something but I was losing up to 5 or 6lbs a week so I had to higher it by a little thing and that seemed to be ok :)

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