The "Real" Calorie Counting

kmg033
kmg033 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I've been using MFP for about a month now. Since I started I've been wondering about the actual calorie count.

I'm given 1200 a day.
So lets say I get to 1200, then burn 500 cal swimming or doing some kind of exercise - does this mean I should consume another 500 cal to get back up to 1200?

Thanks.

Replies

  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    I wouldn't let my net calories drop below 1200, so if I ate 1200 calories and lost 500 through exercise I would eat them back. But if I ate 1300 and then exercised 500 off I might only eat 400 if you see what I mean.

    Although I eat about 1400-1600 each day and generally eat half my exercise calories back but personally I would not want my net below 1200.
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
    That is the logic on which MFP is based, yes. MFP already builds in a calorie deficit, so the idea is that you "eat back" your exercise calories. A lot of folks do, and a lot of folks don't. It's up to you whether to do it. I say go by whether you're hungry.

    Be aware that MFP can estimate calorie burns higher than they actually are. If you have a heart rate monitor that you can wear to tell you your actual calories burned, that's great. Otherwise, you might want to subset your calories burned-maybe eat back 75% or something. Others I'm sure can give more technical answers for you.

    HTH
  • Rachelarian
    Rachelarian Posts: 2
    Hi im not sure but there is an exercise counting thing under your food counter. Maybe it will tell you how many calories you will get to eat in return. I havnt used it yet, just started this program and had surgery on monday so I cant excercise. I really wanted to excercise yesterday because it was hard to stay under 1200 calories.
  • calitravelingal
    calitravelingal Posts: 53
    You are gonna get so many different answers on this. Many people will tell you that you 'MUST or MUST NOT' eat those extra calories. It seems that eating excersice calories back is a hot topic in the forms. I will tell you what I do and what works for me. Just remember that what works for some does not work for others. It seems that 1200 is somekind of magic #! It's basically an average of what the scientific/health community says a person requires each day at a minimum. My daily goal to eat is around 1600. On days that I burn lots of calories excersizing I try and re-consume some of those calories to get me back up to a net of 1200. Because my goal is higher than that I don't try and re-consume them all up to my goal, just up to the magic #. On days I don't go to the gym (usually 2 days a week) then I just eat my goal of 1600, or a little less depending on how hungry I am. If you're hungry, feel fatigued or dragging you may want to consider upping your calorie goal or adjusting your fitness level as those can be signs your body is not getting what it needs. Good luck with your journey here.
  • Salkeela
    Salkeela Posts: 367 Member
    Interesting debate. My dilemma is that I am unable to exercise due to ill-health and so am burning very few calories.

    My basal metabolic rate (BMR) is given as 1261. I would like to loose about 20lbs to take my Body Mass Index ( BMI ) from the current 23.3 to about 20.

    My reasoning is that it will be easier for me to get about and do what I want to do physically if I have fewer pounds to lug around. This BMI is quite within my healthy range, and I weighed this much 25 odd years ago and looked well with it.

    Yet if I recalculate my BMR for that weight I would need to eat fewer than 1200 cals a day just on maintenance.... So I'll have to drop below the 1200 if I want to get down there in the first place!

    The way I'm tackling this is by having days with my full 1200 allowance, and then others with quite a bit less - I aim for between 600 to 1000. I usually only do 3 low cal days a week..... Apparently this way my body doesn't go into starvation mode as I get well fed on the 1200 days.

    Luckily for me my appetite has dropped as my ability to exercise has been lost, so I don't feel deprived.

    I guess all I'm saying here is that no rules are absolute and everyone has to use what info they can to inform their own choices. One thing is sure though, this is a fantastic resource..... :)
  • thrudhammer
    thrudhammer Posts: 19 Member
    There's a calorie point where my body starts to slow down and losing weight becomes harder, what I call the "what's the point" point. Exactly what that point is varies from day to day, based upon what factors I haven't been completely able to figure out, and it definitely follows a rhythm of about ten to fourteen days. so I've adopted a number at the high end of the range as my "eat at least this much" number. I've learned not to let my net calories fall below that point for more than a day or two, no matter what.

    So I try to split the difference on exercise points. If I burn 500 calories, I plan on eating at least half of them, more if I need to stay above my WTP point.

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