Calories?

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danielledee
danielledee Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering what the real deal with the calories is. Are you supposed to be as close to your goal as you can get? Or are you supposed to have a couple hundred left over?

I know the more you exercise the more you should eat. Healthy of course!

Thanks in advance for any help or advice!

Replies

  • mlv333
    mlv333 Posts: 86 Member
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    It's a give and take. Some days your going to eat a couple hundred more and some a couple hundred less. Just make sure you're on the see saw to stay away from over eating or under eating. Both are equally bad for life style changes.
  • aldi1102
    aldi1102 Posts: 5
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    Hey kiddo,

    One thing I think I see is your exercise / eat routine. You should eat healthy all the time not just because you exercise. The exercise isn't so you can eat more, it is to burn the calories you have eaten. I have seen people who thought, "well I exercised and burned 200 calories so I can eat 200 more calories and still be under my calorie intake." Wrong, wrong , wrong!!! If they eat to gain back the extra calories they burned, they wasted their time exercising. I know how hard you work sometimes and you deserve to be the woman you want to be but don't let yourself get caught up in the exercise then eat trap.

    Eat as your calorie count dictates and ignore the calories burned when you exercise. That is a bonus for weight loss and good health, not a bonus to eat more. I have noticed your weight loss and seen you at work and you will get where you want to be, I have confidence in you. I'm in a competition with Diane and my sister this month so maybe you and I can compete next month.

    Good luck youngun
  • KatWood
    KatWood Posts: 1,135 Member
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    I disagree with aldi1102.

    MFP already has taken a calorie defict into account. I think it is ok to eat at least some of your exercise calories back, especially if you workouts are long or intense.

    For instance, at a weightloss goal of 1 lbs per week my daily calories is 1,400. It is not unusual for me burn 600-800 calories in a workout. If I don't eat some of those back my net calories for the day is way too low. If I consistently allow my net calories to be low, my weightloss slows down and eventually stops. Your body needs the extra energy as fuel for the extra activity. However, it shouldn't be an excuse to eat unhealthy. Healthy choices are important regardless of how many calories you are eating.

    In general, I think we should be aiming to stay close to our daily calories (with eating the exercise calories). I try to stay within 100-200 calories in either direction.

    However, since we are different it is important to experiment and see what works for you.
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    Someone posted a 10% rule here the other day. I like it. Try to be within ten percent of your net calories everyday. That does include eating most of your exercise calories.

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