Calorie counting. . . HELP

WaxMama

Because exercise is "extra." Think of it this way, I burn about 2200 calories in a day without any additional exercise. So if I have my calories set to 1700, that's a 500 calorie deficit. But if I burn 500 calories through exercise, that bumps my deficit to 1000 calories, which is way too low. I won't have enough "fuel" to get through my day, for my body to perform all of it's functions and to power me through my work outs. Calories are fuel, not fat. Your body needs fuel to run, same as your car needs gas. If you don't give your body what it needs, it's not going to work properly. We can eat below our requirements to lose weight, but if you bring it down too low, you're simply going to burn out. It's just not sustainable in the long run! Hope this helps!

eswartz0728

ok so I set mine to lightly active because I thought that had to do with working. I run approx. 3 miles a day, walk to do crunches pushups, etc and also weight training should I change it to active or whatever the higher choice is?

beattie1

ok so I set mine to lightly active because I thought that had to do with working. I run approx. 3 miles a day, walk to do crunches pushups, etc and also weight training should I change it to active or whatever the higher choice is?

There are 2 ways of doing this. You can either -

1) Keep your setting at "lightly active" to reflect your work and add in the extra stuff you do (Running, walking etc) and eat the extra calories MFP gives you.

or you can -

2) change your setting to "active" or "very active" depending on what you usually do and how often. MFP will automatically give you more calories to eat and you don't add more unless you do waay more than normal.

Personally, I've set my activity level as "sedentary" and I add everything I do via my Fitbit and eat those extra calories. Before I had the Fitbit gadget I'd add in all my daily exercise - walking to the shops, cleaning the house if I did it for an hour or more, gardening, everything. And eat at least half of the extra calories earned as calculated by MFP's database of exercise (which I've noticed is a bit more generous that the Fitbit)

beattie1

Silly me, double post!

777twist

I would keep things simple.

1. Pick one of the two middle activity levels (Lightly Active or Active) to start
2. Only track things that are true workouts. If you walk, or do some other other activity daily, just count that as part of your Daily Activity Level set above
3. Set your desired goal loss
4. Eat your goal calories for sure, and logic says you can eat all of your exercise calories because your goal is already set for a deficit. But some people like to leave a few exercise cals on the table
5. Track this for 6 - 8 weeks and see how you are doing
6. If you are losing at the proper rate, keep going. If you plateau or gain, then you need to adjust your Activity Level. This assumes you aren't starving your system by not eating close to your NET. So if you are eating close to your NET, then adjust your activity level down, and it will reduce your goal calories
7. Track for 6 - 8 weeks and rinse/repeat

The biggest thing to understand which most people miss is the fact that if you set a goal loss of say 1 pound a week, MFP already includes that deficit in your goal calories/day. When you workout, you are burning more than what MFP expects, so it gives you BONUS calories to eat. I normally leave more on the table than I should of those exercise cals, but that's also because I end up with more cheat days as we eat out a lot for lunch (STUPID BUFFETS!!!). But even what I'm doing is probably frowned upon. But I'm losing weight exactly at the rate I need, so it's working for me.

Good luck! :happy:

DAASE

It's already calculated in how many calories your body burns just by being "still" I.E. sleeping, breathing, just LIVING....any exercise above and beyond will add bonus points, per say, for caloric intake. If you took a step class, did yoga, walked a mile, etc. but don't calculate daily mundane tasks such as "fidgeted, walked down the hall to the bathroom, etc." that's already been calculated in as LIFE.

DAASE

That's fantastic!! It's not about "diet" it's about a lifestyle change! I HATE the 'D' word!! Nothing should be off limits, but moderation needs to be set in our brains. You want pizza: have it for goodness sake!! Just sit back and savor the flavor of what you just put in your mouth...that bite...the flavor....the texture (Not to sound crude, but it's almost like making love to your food! Appreciate it!). Wait and figure out if you're still hungry or just wanting to eat. I've struggled all my life and have finally gotten ahold of my process.