Student - VERY confused

jf991
jf991 Posts: 6
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
So my daily recommended intake for calories is 3,000 and something!
I don't understand why??
I exercise around 4 times a week - 45 mins each and have been trying to stick to a 1,200 calorie intake a day.
This has done very little for me.
I do things like spinning, body attack, legs bums and tums and pump and tone (varying them to keep me motivated!)
But, unfortunately being a student i do the weekly (or twice-a-weekly!) alcohol binge. Eughh... not good.

So really i have 2 questions -
1) why am i being told to eat MORE?! and will eating more benefit my weight loss? (
2) is there any magic way that i can still partake in drinking alcohol (i'm happy to cut down!) and still lose weight? My usual drink (now!) is vodka, soda water and lime cordial.

I'm new so i'm sorry if this seems a little silly!

Thank you :)

Replies

  • jcarey101
    jcarey101 Posts: 31
    I think they base your calorie intake off of how much exercise you say you do a week. If you're committing to 4-5x a week of vigirous exercise they want to make sure your body is fueled with enough....fuel. I guess. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    hang in there!
  • beckminster
    beckminster Posts: 5
    Hmmm. First, congrats on working out that much! I have friends (men) who were pretty heavy to start with and who were given caloric allowances way up over 2000, but I don't think I've heard of a 3000. I think if when you were setting up your account and your goals, you told MFP that you were very active, it could push that number higher. Someone will be along who knows the whole MFP system better.

    As for the alcohol, I do feel your pain. I just stick with one drink (usually a cosmo) unless I've given myself permission to have a cheat day. And there's always that 55 calorie beer. Not sure how good it tastes. Hang in there!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You are probably not loosing because your body is in starvation mode and is holding on to whatever it can for survival reasons. To have a caloric deficit of 1800 per day is extreme, and can make you very sick. Set MFP goal to loose 2 pounds per week and try to eat all of those calories including all, or at least some, of you calories burned though exercise. Good luck, there is a lot of good advise under the newbie posts, please read these.
  • jf991
    jf991 Posts: 6
    ah ok!
    Will eating more mean i will lose more weight then? That's what confused me the most haha!

    edit: thanks! yeah i should have checked there first really.
    I'll try up my calorie intake in that case. Get on a more structured daily diet. At the moment i keep skipping meals and eating minimum amounts of food... Can alcohol really result in such a set back of weight loss?
  • roccopico
    roccopico Posts: 28
    It is recommending you replace the calories you are burning when you exercise. Because if you sit idle during the day you will burn X number of calories. Sticking to your 1,200 calorie a day diet without exercise would result typically in a 1 to 2 pound a week loss. When you exercise you need to replace the calories you burn.
    Of course that is the theory.

    As for the alcohol... Even though you are drinking vodka, It is still packed with calories. If you are going to drink though vodka is the best. It is not a sugar based like rum. And since you are mixing it essentially with water you are not adding calories. I would drink plenty of water while you are out. Drink a water with each drink to help flush your system. You will feel better in the morning too. :)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I think they base your calorie intake off of how much exercise you say you do a week. If you're committing to 4-5x a week of vigirous exercise they want to make sure your body is fueled with enough....fuel. I guess. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    hang in there!

    This is incorrect MFP does not take into account your exercise goals, only the exercise you log.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    3000 + sounds wrong, unless you're doing like 3 hours a day of exercise, what is your height, weight, activity level?
  • jf991
    jf991 Posts: 6
    I'm 5"4, i weight 9 stone.
    In terms of exercise, i leisurely walk to lectures haha, I go to the gym around 3 - 4 times a week (mostly classes) and they're normally 45-1hour long.
  • beckminster
    beckminster Posts: 5
    I think they base your calorie intake off of how much exercise you say you do a week. If you're committing to 4-5x a week of vigirous exercise they want to make sure your body is fueled with enough....fuel. I guess. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

    hang in there!

    This is incorrect MFP does not take into account your exercise goals, only the exercise you log.

    Right, it doesn't take into account your exercise goals, but it DOES take into account whether you said you were "sedentary," "lightly active," "very active," or whatever. Try going in and changing your settings and see that your caloric target changes.
  • roccopico
    roccopico Posts: 28
    3000 does sound wrong by the way, but yes in the long run eating more will help you lose if you are that active.
    Make sure you are eating the right things.

    I know you are a student, but empty calories won't help. Small meals of good food throughout your day will help.
  • sprags
    sprags Posts: 56
    Did you put in your profile that you were very active? I put in my profile that I'm moderately active...even though I work out every day, I don't consider myself in "top form". My daily calories are 1660. Was this 3000 with exercise calories calculated in? With exercise my daily calories go up to 2500.

    Maybe just readjust your goals??

    As for the drinks...vodka and soda's not a bad choice. Just limit it to 1. Yes yes I know...but it can be your treat for the fabulous job you'll do on MFP :wink:

    Good luck!
  • jday53405
    jday53405 Posts: 20
    I think it really depends on how much you weigh. 3000 calories seems like alot for anyone that isn't trying to put on a little muscle weight. I try to pack on that many calories, just because I want to gain muscle, but I have a hard time doing it when eating clean.

    - What type of foods are you eating to get to the 3000 calories?
    - How long have you been on this diet and working out?

    Counting calories in not always the answer for all people. You may want to look into portion control if going out is high priority to you. I had a hard time giving up my Saturday night out also, but I was still able to loose the wieght I wanted to loose. Of course I ate very very clean during the week and stuck with portion control guidelines.
  • meg0112
    meg0112 Posts: 344
    Wait I need more info to answer this. So you logged in your weight, height and daily activity NOT COUNTING EXERCISE and your weight loss goals and it said you need to eat 3,000 calories a day? That doesn't seem right. What is your height, weight, and weight loss goals? And what is your normal daily activity? You are a student, if you go to a big school it is probably light to moderate, if its a small school and your job doesnt require a lot of labor then its probably very light. You are not supposed to consider how often you work out when you answer this part because you will eat these calories in addition to what it tells you to eat every day. Give us these stats and we can help you.
  • roccopico
    roccopico Posts: 28
    If you are only 5' 4" then I would go through the set up again. I can't imagine 3000 calories a day.
  • jf991
    jf991 Posts: 6
    NUTRITIONAL GOALS TARGET
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 3,320 Calories / Day
    Carbs / Day 457 g
    Fat / Day 111 g
    Protein / Day 125 g
    *Net calories consumed = total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. So the more you exercise, the more you can eat!

    FITNESS GOALS TARGET
    Calories Burned / Week 810 Calories / Week
    Workouts / Weekends 4 workouts
    Minutes / Workout 45 minutes


    I'm at uni and so i'm walking around a LOT of the time. More than 3 times a week, i'm up til 3 am working in the union bar which is a lot of active work.

    The above is what i got when i set it to 'sedentary' :-s
  • arfletcher
    arfletcher Posts: 143
    You are probably not loosing because your body is in starvation mode and is holding on to whatever it can for survival reasons.

    Isnt it funny that the general advise we all get on losing weight is "eat less and exercise more". Since I have been eating clean and healthy I am eating about twice as much as I ever have, just differently :happy:
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    NUTRITIONAL GOALS TARGET
    Net Calories Consumed* / Day 3,320 Calories / Day
    Carbs / Day 457 g
    Fat / Day 111 g
    Protein / Day 125 g
    *Net calories consumed = total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. So the more you exercise, the more you can eat!

    FITNESS GOALS TARGET
    Calories Burned / Week 810 Calories / Week
    Workouts / Weekends 4 workouts
    Minutes / Workout 45 minutes


    I'm at uni and so i'm walking around a LOT of the time. More than 3 times a week, i'm up til 3 am working in the union bar which is a lot of active work.

    The above is what i got when i set it to 'sedentary' :-s

    Did you enter the amount of pounds you weigh in Kilograms? Unless you are over 300 lbs that does not make sense.
  • jf991
    jf991 Posts: 6
    nope - i said i'm 56 kg and want to be 50...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    nope - i said i'm 56 kg and want to be 50...

    I am Male and have myself set to 'sedentary' at maintenance calories and I weigh 62.5 kgs and I get 1900 calories. Something is going on in your calculation that the administrator may need to look at.
  • jf991
    jf991 Posts: 6
    phew -typed everything out again - daily allowance = 1200 :)
    i didn't change what i typed though... must've been a glitch.
    thanks :)
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    By the way, drinking alcohol is seriously detrimental to weight loss.

    **Studies show that even small amounts of alcohol have a large impact on fat metabolism. Dropping whole body lipid oxidation (a measure of how much fat your body is burning) by up to 73%.**

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/md19.htm

    ** .......Not only does it reduce the number of fat calories you burn, alcohol can increase your appetite...for up to 24 hours after you finish drinking.

    ......Here's what happens to fat metabolism after the odd drink or two.

    >>> A small portion of the alcohol is converted into fat.
    >>> Your liver then converts most of the alcohol into acetate.
    >>> The acetate is then released into your bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.**

    http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/alcohol.htm
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