newbie and confused

slimdoc

Hi everyone. I am new to MFP and ready to start the new phase of my life. I am confused about net calories concept. MFP estimates my calories before exercise to be 1280/day. I can do this fairly easily however when I exercise and burn 300 calories then I need to consume 1580. My brain is not understanding why I have to consume these 300 calories that I just worked by but off to burn?????? If I not eat these extra calories I get a message that my body will go into starvation mode. My understanding is then my metabolism will slow down and I won't loose weight. I have been using MFP for 2 weeks and have lost 3 lbs but am confused about the net calories issue. Thanks for any help

erickirb

MFP sets you up in a caloric deficit based on your goals. If you exercise you increase that deficit, which may lead to faster weight loss, or starvation mode or anything in between. If your goal is to loose 1 pound per week MFP sets you up with a daily deficit of 500 calories, if you exercise 300 calories your deficit is now 800, but your goal tells MFP it should be 500, so MFP ups your caloric intake to reach your goal deficit.

edelq

Hi, I'm not an expert on this by any means, but I have the same issue. My calorie allowance is 1200 so if I do any exercise at all, I need to eat back the calories or I risk starvation mode..

I've read up (on the forums) a bit about this,, but basically, if you're exercising, you're burning calories (obviously), but the thing is with MFP, they have already accounted for a deficit in calories that will let you lose weight each week. I think if you consume less than 1200 that starvation mode is an issue. So, basically it means your body is getting used to this smaller amount of calories, and it means that it holds onto the nutrients it gets, and so you will hit a plateau.

Generally, they say eating under your calories will see you lose weight for 2-3 weeks and then plateau,, however, if you increase your calories to the amount alloted by MFP, then you're more likely to lose weight slowly and consistently.

If I were you, I would aim to eat back most of your exercise calories, if not all, for the next few weeks and see how you go,, it might take a week or 2 to adjust.. that's what I'm currently doing as I've really increased my exercise and I need to up my food to make sure I get all the calories I need, and trying to eat back *good* foods with my exercise calories instead of junk!

tattereds

Your understanding is on the money.

1200 cals is the minimum amount of energy your body needs for day to day "living" - ie. sleeping, bathing, eating etc. Without it, your body will begin to store the fat from your meals instead of burning them. Your current weight loss will slow, and probably eventually plateau. There is even a chance you will begin to gain weight! You *need* to add to your diet as many cals as you are burning on top of this base level 1200.

When I first started losing weight, my doctor scared me straight on the whole "eating less than I should" thing by explaining something that made so much sense once I actually sat and thought about it...

Every type of food has a purpose within your body.

For example, Sugar gives you energy. Without it you will be tired, cranky and sad. Is it worth being thin if you can't be happy?
Further to this, Your brain needs protein to function. If you don't *eat* your protein, where will your body get it from? Well... your organs, such as your liver, are full of delicious protein. Is it worth being thin if you are going to be sick as a result?

I don't mean to scare you, just really want to encourage you *please, please, please* to eat properly!

Getting there will be so much sweeter (and you will be more likely to keep it off) if you know you did it right.

- Kita