calories amounts allowed

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jimconjohns
jimconjohns Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
just started this program yesterday.so i got on the treadmill and added the exercise , which said i burned 700 calories, and i then looked at the food intake and it gave me an extra 700 calories to eat, is this possible ? doesn't make sense to me:

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  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
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    Yes it is possible, unlike some other programmes mfp does assume your calories for the day without exercise. \thus if you burn calories by any form of exercise, be it walking, cleaning or 4 hours on a tradmill, those calories have been used up & need adding to your daily allowance

    However be aware the mfp calories are often overestimated, so you can only judge as time goes by what is right for you, do not take as gospel the mfp figure
  • leeannjf
    leeannjf Posts: 16
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    MFP is set to lose weight WITHOUT exercise. So lets say your goal i 1500 calories to lose 2lbs a week.

    Lets say you ate your 1,500 calories and go and exercise. You have 1,500 calories in your body, you burn 700. you USED 700 calories. 1,500 - 700 = 800 calories. So it gives you 700 to eat. 800 + 700 = 1,500 calories so you're back to your 1,500 calories goal.

    ^thats kinda hard to make sense, why would i want to add the calories after i worked them off?
  • Pedal_Pusher
    Pedal_Pusher Posts: 1,166 Member
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    as many as you want
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
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    Your body needs calories for energy, so you can survive. If you work out, you need a higher amount of calories per minute than you normally do. MFP adds the calories burned in a workout to the allowed calories to eat for a day because you are set up at a deficit. For example,
    My deficit to lose 2lbs a week (because I have a lot to lose) means I can eat 1800 calories. If I eat those 1800 but burn 600 running I'm really in a deficit of MORE than 2lbs a week. Some people will tell you to eat your exersise calories, some won't. I eat about half of mine or I don't feel well.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    MFP is set to lose weight WITHOUT exercise. So lets say your goal i 1500 calories to lose 2lbs a week.

    Lets say you ate your 1,500 calories and go and exercise. You have 1,500 calories in your body, you burn 700. you USED 700 calories. 1,500 - 700 = 800 calories. So it gives you 700 to eat. 800 + 700 = 1,500 calories so you're back to your 1,500 calories goal.

    ^thats kinda hard to make sense, why would i want to add the calories after i worked them off?

    Then why not just eat the way you've always eaten and only exercise now, and or more?
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
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    MFP is set to lose weight WITHOUT exercise. So lets say your goal i 1500 calories to lose 2lbs a week.

    Lets say you ate your 1,500 calories and go and exercise. You have 1,500 calories in your body, you burn 700. you USED 700 calories. 1,500 - 700 = 800 calories. So it gives you 700 to eat. 800 + 700 = 1,500 calories so you're back to your 1,500 calories goal.

    ^thats kinda hard to make sense, why would i want to add the calories after i worked them off?

    Because MFP already gives you a 500 calorie deficit without exercise but as other posters have said the calories add to your bank (in your case 700) may not be accurate. It is just an estimate so would not recommend eating all of them back. The most accurate way to measure calories burned is with a heart rate monitor with a chest strap (IMHO). Good luck.
  • neilisfat
    neilisfat Posts: 20 Member
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    Your body needs the extra calories to rebuild / recover. If you don't replenish most of your calories lost to exercise, your body will shut down to starvation mode. It will hoard fat and you will become tired / listless. Its the same as a starvation diet, it never works.

    Somedays, however. Afer a long duration, vigorous workout, you may not be able to feasibly make yourself consume all the calories you burn. For instance, I am a competitive cyclist, trying to lose most of what I gained after marriage / time off the sport. Most days, I'll manage an hour to an hour and a half on the bike, eat happily, and still have plenty of space. Somedays, I will manage 2 to 3 hours, eat happily,a nd still leave a days (1500, 2000, or more) worth of calories on the table. On my rest days. I will let myself go over my suggested limit so my body can rebuild and recover. . I'm down 37 of my 40# goal after a 5 pound gain at the start of MFP. Exercise keeps me from ever feeling starved. My only gripe is shrinking out of clothes.

    On big days, it's ok to leave a big deficit. You just can't do it constantly. If you can string together 3 or 4 days in a row of good exercise, you will want to take a day off. You get stronger through rest. You have to make it mandatory.

    My pick is from last Febuary. I'll post a new one one of these days

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