calories and exercise calculator

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fortyonetogo
fortyonetogo Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
If my calorie tracker says I have 350 calories remaining for the day am I suppose to eat all the calories to keep my metabolism at the correct level? If I don't really feel hungry will it just help me lose faster if I don't feel like eating all the extra calories from exercising?
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Replies

  • OdeToEmma
    OdeToEmma Posts: 31 Member
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    Thanks for asking this question. I've been wondering about this too!
  • scottberrydsm
    scottberrydsm Posts: 74 Member
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    So I saw this and jumped right on it - I've wondered this all along, and there seems to be a diversity of opinion. Also there seems to be a lot of difference in what some of the excercise calorie counts are. I just ordered a "FitBit" today - we'll see if that keeps me more accurate!
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
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    kind of depends, is your net like 900 without the 350, if so you do need a few more calories. On exercise days try front loading a bit, add a snack or something to a meal earlier in the day so you don't end up with a bunch left and no hunger.

    You should try to hit 1200 net, trust me it works if you can keep that net 1200 or above.
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
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    If you're sure of the number of calories burned, you can safely eat them back and lose the amount you told MFP that you wanted to lose. That's how this system is set up! :)
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    A metabolic slow down wont happen from just one day of under eating. I do believe it can happen with a large, long term, deficit though.

    There are some high calorie foods like nuts that can be great snacks to fill in extra calories if you are not that hungry though.
  • 1PoisonIvy
    1PoisonIvy Posts: 889 Member
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    A metabolic slow down wont happen from just one day of under eating. I do believe it can happen with a large, long term, deficit though.

    There are some high calorie foods like nuts that can be great snacks to fill in extra calories if you are not that hungry though.
    Yes he is right, walnuts are great for you and have higher calories
  • mjnov
    mjnov Posts: 31 Member
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    i asked a personal trainer at my gym this question and she said as long as you net at least 1200 (or whatever your minimum calorie intake is for the day) you should be okay. you never want to burn more than you eat (ie. have a negative net), its unhealthy and tricks your body into thinking your starving.
  • Christineab
    Christineab Posts: 28 Member
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    I'm a registered dietitian who works in weight management. Please DO NOT eat the calories burned through exercise. It really negates the purpose of exercising for weight loss. With that said, I wouldn't go less than a net of 1000 calories per day for more than 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, you'll start losing muscle which will slow your metabolic rate. BTW- try to eat something with 15 grams of protein and 15 grams carbohydrates within 45 minutes after a workout. It helps with recovery and you'll achieve better long-term results.
  • ChrystalDutton
    ChrystalDutton Posts: 84 Member
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    I'm a registered dietitian who works in weight management. Please DO NOT eat the calories burned through exercise. It really negates the purpose of exercising for weight loss. With that said, I wouldn't go less than a net of 1000 calories per day for more than 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, you'll start losing muscle which will slow your metabolic rate. BTW- try to eat something with 15 grams of protein and 15 grams carbohydrates within 45 minutes after a workout. It helps with recovery and you'll achieve better long-term results.

    LOVE this, thanks for the post!
  • shelbyriva
    shelbyriva Posts: 5
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  • shelbyriva
    shelbyriva Posts: 5
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    Christineb thank you for your post. It makes sense to me. If my calories are set up for 1200 a day and I exercise it then says I have 1500 calories for that day.......but to lose weight isn't the idea to stay at 1200 but BURN off more......calories in versus calories out? If I keep exercising and adding back my "earned exercise calories" I will be huge......wouldn't I? I thought the idea was to burn off more than what you put in your mouth?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    A metabolic slow down wont happen from just one day of under eating. I do believe it can happen with a large, long term, deficit though.

    There are some high calorie foods like nuts that can be great snacks to fill in extra calories if you are not that hungry though.
    Yes he is right, walnuts are great for you and have higher calories

    I agree - one day of under-eating isn't going to put you into starvation mode.
  • fortyonetogo
    fortyonetogo Posts: 18
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    Thanks for all the great info. Now I feel I have a place to start without worrying too much. I can "tweek" it as I go along :).
  • Kelby008
    Kelby008 Posts: 11
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    You exercise to get fit, not to lose weight. That's what your calorie deficit is for.
  • Christineab
    Christineab Posts: 28 Member
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    Calories burned through exercise should be seen as a benefit towards quicker weight loss. We should not be rewarding ourselves with additional food because we've walked on a treadmill. When you reach your ideal weight, exercise is great because you can eat the additional calories burned...until then ...exercise is used to quicken weight loss efforts.
  • Christineab
    Christineab Posts: 28 Member
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    I beg to differ...exercise not only helps improve our overall fitness, but also helps with weight loss when combined with a healthy diet.
  • Fit_Vixen
    Fit_Vixen Posts: 201
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    The Fitbit is AMAZING!!! I just want to warn you about the "fitbit calorie adjustment" on MFP (if you sync fitbit to MFP). At least it confuses the hell out of me! The calorie adjustment shows up all of a sudden, lol. Then throughout the day the adjustment amount seems to minimize. Maybe someone who has the fitbit & is synced to MFP that happens to be here can explain the confusion.

    I log everything , everything here & it updates on Fitbit website. I've stopped logging my workouts because like I said the calorie adjustment is weird & I don't want to accidentally double calories.
  • Fit_Vixen
    Fit_Vixen Posts: 201
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    The Fitbit is AMAZING!!! I just want to warn you about the "fitbit calorie adjustment" on MFP (if you sync fitbit to MFP). At least it confuses the hell out of me! The calorie adjustment shows up all of a sudden, lol. Then throughout the day the adjustment amount seems to minimize. Maybe someone who has the fitbit & is synced to MFP that happens to be here can explain the confusion.

    I log everything , everything here & it updates on Fitbit website. I've stopped logging my workouts because like I said the calorie adjustment is weird & I don't want to accidentally double calories.


    My apologies, I was supposed to quote barry, lol
  • aallison0507
    aallison0507 Posts: 17
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    You exercise to get fit, not to lose weight. That's what your calorie deficit is for.

    Agreed - the deficit is already built in on this site. I have always eaten back most of my exercise calories and have lost just fine. I do not eat back calories for everyday stuff I do - like "walk the dog" or "house cleaning". If its something I would do no matter what then I do not eat those back. They would have been figured in when your said what you daily activity level was.


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