Calorie burn

westie750
westie750 Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, quick question about calorie burn!

I just read this on a website: Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning only 2000 will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.

OK - if this is true how can workouts be effective? Taking the example of my calorie allowance for a day, 1200 - I would have to work off more than 1200 calories to lose weight by those guidelines. That's hours of exercise. Am I missing something? I thought I was doing well by sticking to my plan and exercising as much as possible.
BTW I am following the myfitnesspal app which tracks calories for the day and recalculates when you input workouts/exercise.

Thanks for any info!
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Replies

  • lauramacaroni
    lauramacaroni Posts: 25 Member
    Follow the guidelines here to determine what your body is really burning & what you should be consuming.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • runslf
    runslf Posts: 5
    That is a fantastic article, and EXACTLY what I needed to read this morning. I have all the links saved and am going to recalculate today.

    THANK YOU!
  • zlauerMom
    zlauerMom Posts: 183 Member
    What you're missing is that your body is burning calories just to be alive. If you never got out of bed it is likely you would burn off your 1200 calories.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Hi, quick question about calorie burn!

    I just read this on a website: Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning only 2000 will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.

    OK - if this is true how can workouts be effective? Taking the example of my calorie allowance for a day, 1200 - I would have to work off more than 1200 calories to lose weight by those guidelines. That's hours of exercise. Am I missing something? I thought I was doing well by sticking to my plan and exercising as much as possible.
    BTW I am following the myfitnesspal app which tracks calories for the day and recalculates when you input workouts/exercise.

    Thanks for any info!

    You burn calories just keeping all your organs and systems functioning, digesting your food and living your daily life, in total far more than most people burn in formal exercise.
  • carolyn000000
    carolyn000000 Posts: 179 Member
    Hello,

    Hope this helps.......If you burn 2500 calories a day but only eat 2000 you will be short 500 calories. Your body needs to then use 500 calories from stored fat. If you do that for 7 days you will lose one pound. 7 days x 500 calories = 3500 which is one pound. Now, if you exercise and burn say, 500 calories, you get to add that to the 500 deficeit you already have. So then you would be short 1000 calories a day.. if you did that for 7 days, you would then lose two pounds. 7 days x 1000 calories equals 7000 calories. 7000 divided by 2 equals 3500 or one pound. So, 7000 calories equals 2 pounds gone. I hope that makes sense! Good luck and keep up the good work!
  • caglaronur
    caglaronur Posts: 3
    Your body burning 1200 cal per day as rest position if you take 1200 cal per day and exercise, you should add exercise calories to daily burn rate.
  • tubaman58
    tubaman58 Posts: 151
    Hello,

    Hope this helps.......If you burn 2500 calories a day but only eat 2000 you will be short 500 calories. Your body needs to then use 500 calories from stored fat. If you do that for 7 days you will lose one pound. 7 days x 500 calories = 3500 which is one pound. Now, if you exercise and burn say, 500 calories, you get to add that to the 500 deficeit you already have. So then you would be short 1000 calories a day.. if you did that for 7 days, you would then lose two pounds. 7 days x 1000 calories equals 7000 calories. 7000 divided by 2 equals 3500 or one pound. So, 7000 calories equals 2 pounds gone. I hope that makes sense! Good luck and keep up the good work!
    What she said :)
    The details can get horribly complicated, for instance if you eat a lot less your body tries to conserve calories and slows down..... etc... all these are just refinements of the logic above
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    Thank you for the answers everyone. Now apologies if I sound silly, but if by the case that the body burns 1200 at rest position, does that mean that anything extra burned in my case is the starting weight loss number? I.e. if I burn 300 to 400 calories a day while keeping under my 1200 consumption goal, then I am on track to slim down?

    Also, thank you lauramacaroni for the awesome link!
  • carolyn000000
    carolyn000000 Posts: 179 Member
    Exactly. For example, I have been sick the last few days so I am just laying around. I know I have to knock a couple hundred calories off because I am not burning as much.
  • carolyn000000
    carolyn000000 Posts: 179 Member
    If you stay the same weight at 1200 calories a day and burn 400 calories a day you should lose but less than a pound a week because 400 x 7 is 2800 calories and it takes 3500 to lose a pound. So you would need to cut an extra 600 calories from your diet to lose a pound. 1200 is very low though, I bet you burn more than that in a day.
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    Thanks! : ) I was just reading that link that was posted above, and one more question! How relevant is that Body Fat indicator? It says on some websites that between 20 and 25 percent body fat is considered 'fit' but I feel that I need to knock off some of it. What does anyone consider a healthy body fat percentage, or does this depend on the height or shape of a person?
  • carolyn000000
    carolyn000000 Posts: 179 Member
    Your calorie allowance from fitness pal already cuts calories so you lose weight.
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    If you stay the same weight at 1200 calories a day and burn 400 calories a day you should lose but less than a pound a week because 400 x 7 is 2800 calories and it takes 3500 to lose a pound. So you would need to cut an extra 600 calories from your diet to lose a pound. 1200 is very low though, I bet you burn more than that in a day.

    I can't imagine bringing my daily calorie intake to 600 calories. Maybe 1,000 but when I do that the app tells me I am getting too few etc.
  • carolyn000000
    carolyn000000 Posts: 179 Member
    Sorry, I meant 600 calories a week not a day. I am sure on 1200 you will lose, especially if you do not add back in your workout calories. I would not go lower than that.
  • lauramacaroni
    lauramacaroni Posts: 25 Member
    You're welcome. The advice in the link has worked wonderfully well for me!
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Hi, quick question about calorie burn!

    I just read this on a website: Metabolic Rate is the rate at which the body burns up calories. A body that consumes 2500 calories a day, and burns 2500 calories a day will stay at the same weight. A body consuming 2500 calories daily but burning only 2000 will gain weight at the rate of about 1lb a week.

    OK - if this is true how can workouts be effective? Taking the example of my calorie allowance for a day, 1200 - I would have to work off more than 1200 calories to lose weight by those guidelines. That's hours of exercise. Am I missing something? I thought I was doing well by sticking to my plan and exercising as much as possible.
    BTW I am following the myfitnesspal app which tracks calories for the day and recalculates when you input workouts/exercise.

    Thanks for any info!

    The 1200 calories you have mentioned are irrelevant if they are the calorie goal set by MFP.

    If you want to follow the "eat less than you burn" method, first you have to know how much you burn, and I can guarantee that 1200 isn't it. Most peoipek would burn more than that if they did nothing but lay in bed all day.

    Work out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure = calories used per day) as a starting point, and then you need to deduct your deficit.
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    Thanks for that Ladyraven! I found a TDEE calculator and have discovered that I am about 40 - 50% under my expenditure, so it's all good! : )
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Thanks for that Ladyraven! I found a TDEE calculator and have discovered that I am about 40 - 50% under my expenditure, so it's all good! : )

    Actually it's not good.

    50% defict is too large, you should only be at 10-15% defict.
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    Ok, thanks. I am eating three normal meals though and only working out for about 30 minutes a day. Maybe the calculator was wrong. It said 2100 was my expenditure. I hope I am not doing it incorrectly yet again.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Thanks for that Ladyraven! I found a TDEE calculator and have discovered that I am about 40 - 50% under my expenditure, so it's all good! : )

    Actually it's not good.

    50% defict is too large, you should only be at 10-15% defict.

    Sorry - I thought I was replying to someone else who only had 10lb to lose.

    I have no idea how much you have to lose, so should not have said you should be on 10-15%.

    For fat loss most sites would recommend a defict of around 20%.
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    Ok thank you. I am aiming to lose about 10 lbs so you are probably right.
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Thanks! : ) I was just reading that link that was posted above, and one more question! How relevant is that Body Fat indicator? It says on some websites that between 20 and 25 percent body fat is considered 'fit' but I feel that I need to knock off some of it. What does anyone consider a healthy body fat percentage, or does this depend on the height or shape of a person?

    Healthy body fat percentages are generally based on research not opinion or aesthetics. There are charts that divide women into age groups and activity levels, you can go a little lower than 20% if you are young and athletic. Height is not relevant because it is a percentage of total body mass, build is covered by it being a range not an absolute and by the allowances for athletic types. Remember if you build muscle and create denser bones with targeted resistance training but keep the same amount of fat mass you will be firmer, shapelier and have a lower body fat percentage.
  • vanessarico
    vanessarico Posts: 5
    I wonder this too. I'm on a 1200 cal diet and I lose about 500 cal a day in working out but still cant seem to lose weight. What am i doing wrong?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    OP...what you are missing is that 1,200 calories isn't your TDEE for maintenance. I don't know how you set your goals up, but I suspect you told MFP you wanted to lose 2Lbs per week and you are now on the obligatory 1,200 calorie diet. That recommendation already includes a caloric deficit in it and 1,200 is the bare minimum you should net to in order to lose weight. I say that because most likely 1,200 is too low and below your BMR somewhat.

    Even without knowing your measurements, I would think your maintenance TDEE is in the neighborhood of 1,800 - 2,000 calories which would mean that if you ate 1,800-2,000 calories you would maintain your current weight...at 1,200 calories you would be at a 600-800 calorie deficit to lose weight.

    You need to educate yourself a little more about TDEE and BMR...if you net between those two numbers, you will lose weight in a healthy and safe manner. Here's a good calculator:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    Thank you for the answers everyone. Now apologies if I sound silly, but if by the case that the body burns 1200 at rest position, does that mean that anything extra burned in my case is the starting weight loss number? I.e. if I burn 300 to 400 calories a day while keeping under my 1200 consumption goal, then I am on track to slim down?

    Also, thank you lauramacaroni for the awesome link!

    If you are only on 1200 calories a day, it means you should eat back those calories that you burned, as long as you are reasonably sure of their accuracy. 1200 calories is too low for most people. The link you received will help with all this.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    I wonder this too. I'm on a 1200 cal diet and I lose about 500 cal a day in working out but still cant seem to lose weight. What am i doing wrong?

    You are not eating enough. Follow the links given and learn what number of calories you should truly be following. Or set MFP to a loss of 1 pound per week, and then also eat back exercise calories. It works. I realize it may seem counter intuitive, but it works.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I wonder this too. I'm on a 1200 cal diet and I lose about 500 cal a day in working out but still cant seem to lose weight. What am i doing wrong?

    1,200 calorie goal already has a deficit built in there as I assume you told MFP you wanted to lose weight when you set up. You need to eat back your exercise calories to net to 1,200 minimum...which is probably still on the low side. 1,200-500=700 net calories per day. I can guarantee you that is way below your BMR...your BMR is the bare minimum of calories your body needs to maintain proper organ function if you were in a coma. Netting below your BMR causes your body to do the exact opposite of what you want...it goes into metabolic stall and instead of burning your fat stores and calories, it puts everything into storage because your body thinks it's starving...which it is.

    1,200 calories should be what you are netting, not grossing which means you need to eat back exercise calories to properly fuel your body. Like I said, that's still probably pretty low and you'd be doing yourself a favor by figuring out what your BMR is and maintenance TDEE is and netting your caloric intake somewhere between those two numbers for healthy and safe weight loss.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    If you stay the same weight at 1200 calories a day and burn 400 calories a day you should lose but less than a pound a week because 400 x 7 is 2800 calories and it takes 3500 to lose a pound. So you would need to cut an extra 600 calories from your diet to lose a pound. 1200 is very low though, I bet you burn more than that in a day.

    This is completely and utterly wrong. 1200 is not maintenance, and is way too low for most people. If you eat 1200, you are expected to eat back your exercise calories. Please read this link and learn about BMR and TDEE.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Thanks for that Ladyraven! I found a TDEE calculator and have discovered that I am about 40 - 50% under my expenditure, so it's all good! : )

    40-50% of your expenditure is not all good...anything more than 20% of your TDEE is potentially dangerous and you should be under the close supervision of a physician. Anything more than 20% generally means you are netting well below your BMR unless you are seriously morbidly obese. If you continue down this path, metabolic stall will be the least of your concerns when your organs begin to fail and your body cannibalizes your lean body mass for energy
  • westie750
    westie750 Posts: 23
    If you stay the same weight at 1200 calories a day and burn 400 calories a day you should lose but less than a pound a week because 400 x 7 is 2800 calories and it takes 3500 to lose a pound. So you would need to cut an extra 600 calories from your diet to lose a pound. 1200 is very low though, I bet you burn more than that in a day.

    This is completely and utterly wrong. 1200 is not maintenance, and is way too low for most people. If you eat 1200, you are expected to eat back your exercise calories. Please read this link and learn about BMR and TDEE.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Foleyshirley,
    I follow the app pretty strictly - I filled out what I wanted to lose and what my exercise goals were. So usually at the end of the day, food and exercise submitted, I am back at 0 or somewhere around there. If I have a long workout with extra burn, then I will have a an extra snack. I think I am doing it right at this point - I understand the app better now with the realization that it is auto-tailored to one's specifications.
    I don't think 1200 is extremely low, it has really made me think about what I am eating and I don't eat as much rubbish like chips and cakes etc.

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