Need Help Understanding Numbers

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atst7905
atst7905 Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
I filled in everything on my fitness pal and I got the magic number of eating about 1360 calories a day. When I workout and I log in my workouts the magic number goes up. I don't understand why that is happening. Can someone nice enough explain that to me. Like I said before I am new to dieting and when I was in school learning all this I think I was sleeping or I skipped that day. Thanks for the help

Replies

  • PhearlessPhreaks
    PhearlessPhreaks Posts: 890 Member
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    MFP adds the calories you burned into your daily allowance. you should eat most (if not all) of them back.
  • arenadiva21
    arenadiva21 Posts: 11
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    When you workout, you gain calories back. This is why your daily goal number goes up, hope this helps :smile:
  • atst7905
    atst7905 Posts: 9
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    okay I am so confused.....lol...(dont take much for me) When I workout and lose the calories the number goes up and then I am supposed to eat all the calories back??? but isn't that the reason you work out is to lose the calories??? I am so dumb when it comes to things like this... I just don't understand why you would eat all the calories back in.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    MFP calorie goals maintain a constant deficit from your TDEE.

    if your TDEE goes up from exercise, then your calorie goal goes up.

    if your constant deficit is 250 calories from TDEE, then...

    1) on a day where your TDEE is 1800, your calorie goal will be 1800 - 250 = 1550
    2) on a day where your TDEE is 2600, your calorie goal will be 2600 - 250 = 2350
    etc.

    you control the TDEE with your exercise, MFP then calculates your calorie goal based on this constant deficit you chose when you entered your stats in your settings.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    okay I am so confused.....lol...(dont take much for me) When I workout and lose the calories the number goes up and then I am supposed to eat all the calories back??? but isn't that the reason you work out is to lose the calories??? I am so dumb when it comes to things like this... I just don't understand why you would eat all the calories back in.

    Your MFP goal already has a deficit built in, and it depends on the goal you established when you started. If you exercise, that creates an even larger deficit, which isn't necessarily a good thing. MFP is set up so that you eat back your exercise calories, at least a percentage of them.
  • Cynduck
    Cynduck Posts: 255 Member
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    MFP calorie goals maintain a constant deficit from your TDEE.

    if your TDEE goes up from exercise, then your calorie goal goes up.

    if your constant deficit is 250 calories from TDEE, then...

    1) on a day where your TDEE is 1800, your calorie goal will be 1800 - 250 = 1550
    2) on a day where your TDEE is 2600, your calorie goal will be 2600 - 250 = 2350
    etc.

    you control the TDEE with your exercise, MFP then calculates your calorie goal based on this constant deficit you chose when you entered your stats in your settings.

    Thank you! Now I understand why some say to eat exercise calories back. Always seemed contradictory to me until reading that.
  • originalcookiemonster
    originalcookiemonster Posts: 278
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    All these nice people above me are correct. If you would like a nice round number to eat everyday, which I find helpful, follow this link and he will tell you how to set it up.

    Eat at a small appropriate deficit of your TDEE and you will lose weight. This link will eradicate the need to eat back exercise calories and do too much math cuz lets face it who wants to do more of that? Not me, I say!

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

    This link will show you how to do everything! Good luck!!!
  • sandi117
    sandi117 Posts: 445 Member
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    When you exercise, you use energy (aka calories.) MFP adds these calories that you just used to exercise into your daily allowance, thus making your "magic number" go up.

    The food you eat is the fuel your body uses to function. Your body is constantly burning calories to just live. If you go for a run, your body would use more calories to function than it would if you were to just sit and watch tv.

    You'll get various answers about whether or not to eat all / half / none of your calories back... I personally eat most of mine back because:

    1) MFP already sets you up at a calorie deficit to lose weight in the first place, and depending on how much you exercise, your exercise can put you at to high of a deficit which can cause you to not lose weight (or even gain!) even though you're under your calorie allowance.

    2) I'm always hungry at the end of the day, and if I worked my butt off at the gym, I deserve to eat gosh darnnit!
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    All these nice people above me are correct. If you would like a nice round number to eat everyday, which I find helpful, follow this link and he will tell you how to set it up.

    Eat at a small appropriate deficit of your TDEE and you will lose weight. This link will eradicate the need to eat back exercise calories and do too much math cuz lets face it who wants to do more of that? Not me, I say!

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

    This link will show you how to do everything! Good luck!!!

    This is great advice, and a great link.
  • atst7905
    atst7905 Posts: 9
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    Thanks to everyone I am NOW understanding. Everything makes sense now.

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