Burning more than your exercise goal

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aippolito1
aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This week and last week I have burned more calories than my goal set by MFP... and I'm just wondering if anyone is or has experienced this and what you've discovered about it. Is it beneficial to do this? Will I lose weight quicker? Should I stay closer to my goal? Is working out this much bad for me? Last week I went over by almost 1000 and this week I'll be over significantly. I'm 200 calories from my goal and have 2 more workouts for this week, one of which I know will be at least 400 calories and the other two probably about 200, not counting the 100-200 calories I burn walking around everyday.

I just want to make sure this is safe and what anyone else's experience has been related to this. Thanks!

Replies

  • alisaperry74
    alisaperry74 Posts: 99
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    I go over all the time and I really don't think it's bad. As long as your body is feeling good and you're not worn out, I say exercise as much as you can! I always work out for an hour in the morning, but sometimes I'll still have energy in the evening and I'll do another hour, play soccer, or take my dog on a nice long walk. It's also a good way to burn off some extra calories if I've had more than I planned throughout the day. I feel great and I'm losing. Good luck to you! =)
  • esco2186
    esco2186 Posts: 50 Member
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    it depends on how many calories you are taking in...if you are burning more than your actually taking in it can hurt your body, your body needs those calories to heal i guess you can say. if you re going to workout that hard you need to eat more, if you dont your body will start eating away at muscle, you will not have an energy to do anything you will constantly be tired...you may be doing good right now but after a week or 2 your body will start to shut down
  • mvl1014
    mvl1014 Posts: 531
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    As long as you fuel your workouts properly, you can burn thousands of calories without a problem.
  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    That's a really go question. I will checking back to see what others say, as when I started MFP I set a weekly goal of exericse 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes each. So, I guess my daily calorie intake is based on those goals, BUT I actually workout 6 days a week from between 30 to 60 minutes per session.
  • jlewis2896
    jlewis2896 Posts: 763 Member
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    I generally double my calorie burn goal per week. I just eat my exercise calories and my weight loss rate has stayed the same, but I definitely think I'm toning up a lot more than I would if I were working out less. Your body will tell you if it's had too much!!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    Well I'm never outrageously hungry. I eat anytime I'm hungry & I make sure to eat most of my exercise calories and I'm never hungry after dinner so I think I'm okay. :)
  • lilchino4af
    lilchino4af Posts: 1,292 Member
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    Well, here's the thing. That was your goal. If I'm understanding what you're referring to, it's the number of workouts/frquency per week that you planned to work out and MFP set a calorie goal for that. But that's just a goal; something to work towards. It is NOT what MFP recommends for you because it was something YOU set up. It's just a way for you to visually remind yourself if you're working out as much as you wanted to. if you're workign out more GREAT!!! But as was said before, make sure you eat at least 1,200 calories a day to keep from starving and eat at least some of your exercise calories to give your body fuel while it burns calories (much like putting gas in your car). And drink plenty of water when you work out.

    You can never work out too much - just picture and olympic athlete and think - I can always do more!
    So, I guess my daily calorie intake is based on those goals,
    MFP does not factor your exercise goals into your daily calories. It only takes into account your normal activity level. Your exercise goals are just that - goals you work to achieve. MFP doesn't factor in calories from exercise until you actually log them under the Cardiovascular section of the Exercise tab (Strength Training doesn't do calories).
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
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    according to my first weak i did more than i suppose to. but it looks like im not hurting my body cause i did lose weight. i always feel great after exercising. if your body is sore then you gotta rest it. but besides that. if you feel you can do more than you doing great cause exercising is a show of activitys
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Your calorie allotment on MFP has nothing to do with your exercise goals, only the exercise you actually do gets added to the total calorie amount. So it does not make a difference for weight loss if you are eating your exercise calories as per MFP suggests.
  • Chris04626
    Chris04626 Posts: 34
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    You dont need to eat all of your exercise calories as suggested by this site.

    Set your weight loss goal to 2 lbs per week. IT will give you a built in deficit. So eat what they give you initially for an allowance.

    If you burn 1000 calories per day with exercise and don't eat any of that you should lose another 2 lbs [per week.

    If you find you struggle with that eat atleast some of your exercise calories. Definitely do not eat if your full just to eat them either.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I've been eating my exercise calories the last 3 weeks and I'm not about to switch and confuse my body. Also, eating most of my exercise calories keeps me from getting hungry. If I didn't eat them, I wouldn't get dinner. I've already set it at 2 lbs. and 1200 cals is what I'm allowed per day, plus exercise calories, and I'm supposed to burn 1,640 calories per week to lose 1.4 lbs. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing for 2 more weeks and if I keep losing, I'll stick with it. Otherwise, I'll try not eating as many of my exercise calories. For me, though, it seems to be working.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    I usually go over double my goal minutes of exercise.

    I've been seeing good progress and toning up. I don't think it hurts. I only set 30 minutes 6 days a week because I didn't know how much I would have time for. But longer workouts on weekends generally put me well over that goal. But I'm not overly exhausted and I eat back a good bit of the calories. I look at the goal more as the minimum amount of work I want to do for the week. I know if I come in below that I'm slacking off.
  • ka_42
    ka_42 Posts: 720 Member
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    I always go over on the exercise goal... I don't think it's necessary to live by these goals. I think they're just there to help motivate you. You lost a pound this week so I think you're on the right track!

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