Better to leave a calorie deficiency???

Options
2»

Replies

  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Options
    Eat every last one of those calories.

    1200 is a significant deficit already, and you don't want to cut into it any more than that or your body will not work as efficiently.

    1200 is almost certainly less than your BMR, which is the number of calories your body needs to function efficiently in a coma--let alone doing all kinds of exercise. Eat back your calories.
  • UKMarjie
    UKMarjie Posts: 257 Member
    Options
    1. I log "actual" workouts .... not walking the dog

    I resent that. I can burn nearly 400 calories a day from 'just walking the dog'. There's a difference between a stroll and a fast walk. Exercise doesn't just have to be going to the gym :)

    Hmm.. yeah I lost all my weight just by walking so yes it does count!

    I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've got dodgy knees, so anything that requires me to land heavily on them is out - unfortunately, that cuts out running and 99% of gym classes. So I walk - 3.3km today already! Love it :)

    This is pretty intense mileage though - so you are not talking about a ten minute walk to the local dog park and then sit on a bench and then back around the block kind of deal.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Options
    1. I log "actual" workouts .... not walking the dog

    I resent that. I can burn nearly 400 calories a day from 'just walking the dog'. There's a difference between a stroll and a fast walk. Exercise doesn't just have to be going to the gym :)

    You could walk my 2 dogs - that is a workout! 4 miles with them and I am beat. Of course, the dogs are huge and we live by a river in a heavily treed area. They are constantly smelling something they want to catch!
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    Options
    If you are comfortable with less than 1200, then I say it is fine. If you are feeling hungry though, you can nosh the few extra calories to the 1200 level. Good thing is, you will still loose weight.
  • JenaePavlak
    JenaePavlak Posts: 350 Member
    Options
    Pretty much on target here:

    :drinker:

    You should net to the calorie goal MFP gives you...probably more really, but definitely no less than the 1,200 calories. this means if you workout, you need to eat back exercise calories or at least most of them. Failure to do so will create a Grand Canyon sized deficit in your calories and your body will ultimately go into metabolic stall. The less weight you have to lose, the slower it should be. 20 Lbs really isn't a lot and you should be shooting for more like 1 lb per week than 2. If you don't have a lot to lose, your body will go into metabolic stall faster...i.e. you will plateau in a matter of weeks and much of the weight you will lose will actually be muscle, not fat. The 1,200 calorie goal already has an 800-1,000 calories per day deficit in it from your maintenance calories. You need a basal amount of calories (BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate) just to breath and keep your organs functioning properly in a coma...I can guarantee you that unless you have a medical condition, it is not anything below 1,200.

    These are the facts, not opinion. They are independently verifiable with a little research.
  • Leisha908
    Leisha908 Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    Wow, thank you everyone! What great advice you all have. Maybe I need to do a little research into the 1200 calorie thing. That is what MFP recommended I believe when I first started a while back. I always thought having those extra calories at the end of the day would help lose quicker and in turn it looks like I was wrong!
  • curlygirl1970
    curlygirl1970 Posts: 2
    Options
    Hey there if you don't eat all your calories then your body goes into starvation mode and you won't lose weight. I usually get down to 50 or 60 cal or even at little over, but sometimes I find it hard to eat all my calories after a lot of exercise...trial and error.

    I go for a walk with my cousin and her dog, but if you go to the gym you can change your program to include fat burning exercises, I'd try to do 20 mins on my exercise bike every morning

    Good luck
  • kelbax22
    kelbax22 Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    I have a 1300 calorie goal, wanting to lose 1.5 lbs a week...and I exercise 6 to 7 days a week.
    I have been doing this for 5 weeks and I do not eat back all of my burned calories. I might eat about 1400 cals but burn off 500 cals, so I net around 900 cals. I do not feel the need to eat back everything if I am satisfied.

    I have lost 8 lbs doing this. (I am 5 ft 8 and now 164 lbs)
  • LizL217
    LizL217 Posts: 217 Member
    Options
    it's all really confusing. just a couple days ago someone named NoOb put on here that we have to subtract our "existing" calories which I think means calories we burn just existing from our earned through workout calories. so that means eat less right? but then other people say eating too little will be bad for you too. so it's gonna be really confusing unless you know how to do all that TDEE stuff people talk about. IF you figure it out, let me know because it's still hard for me to get.

    It can be confusing given all of the different opinions on this site (and in everything we read/see/hear), but the post below is very helpful and clearly explains an effective fat loss strategy that works. It's a long post, but if you take the time to read it, digest it, and do your own calculations, you will be rewarded with knowledge.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Options
    It can be confusing given all of the different opinions on this site (and in everything we read/see/hear), but the post below is very helpful and clearly explains an effective fat loss strategy that works. It's a long post, but if you take the time to read it, digest it, and do your own calculations, you will be rewarded with knowledge.

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

    A million times, this. I think it will be beyond rewarding for you to read and take this to heart.
  • Msdirection
    Msdirection Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    1. I log "actual" workouts .... not walking the dog

    I resent that. I can burn nearly 400 calories a day from 'just walking the dog'. There's a difference between a stroll and a fast walk. Exercise doesn't just have to be going to the gym :)

    Hmm.. yeah I lost all my weight just by walking so yes it does count!

    I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've got dodgy knees, so anything that requires me to land heavily on them is out - unfortunately, that cuts out running and 99% of gym classes. So I walk - 3.3km today already! Love it :)

    This is pretty intense mileage though - so you are not talking about a ten minute walk to the local dog park and then sit on a bench and then back around the block kind of deal.

    Exactly - I'm not talking about that at all. I think if THATS that kind of walk your taking your dog on, then don't bother logging it. But when you do the k's that I do, at the speed I do them, I'd be eating waaay under what I need if I didn't log them and eat them back. I think walking the dog means different things to different people. For me, owning a labrador puppy with enough energy to power a city, walking him is a pretty full on exercise!

    In terms of logging things like housework etc - I think it depends on what your activity level is set to. If you're already set to Moderate activity level, then those things are encorporated into your daily calorie needs and you shouldn't log it. But I've got mine set to sedentary, so anything I do that makes me sweat, I log. Just my personal preference!
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    Options
    1. I log "actual" workouts .... not walking the dog

    I resent that. I can burn nearly 400 calories a day from 'just walking the dog'. There's a difference between a stroll and a fast walk. Exercise doesn't just have to be going to the gym :)

    You could walk my 2 dogs - that is a workout! 4 miles with them and I am beat. Of course, the dogs are huge and we live by a river in a heavily treed area. They are constantly smelling something they want to catch!

    My dog is a little guy who wants to stop and sniff every tuft of grass along the way. I don't log his walks as exercise but I do count them as part of my justification for a "Lightly Active" setting.
  • UKMarjie
    UKMarjie Posts: 257 Member
    Options
    1. I log "actual" workouts .... not walking the dog

    I resent that. I can burn nearly 400 calories a day from 'just walking the dog'. There's a difference between a stroll and a fast walk. Exercise doesn't just have to be going to the gym :)

    I was looking on a Canadian government website and was amazed to discover that I am considered 'active' because I go to the gym three times a week. I kind of made me realize what exercise levels are out there. Interesting information.

    Incidentally, if you are walking 4 KM a day with your pup then are you really sedentary? ;)

    I can see the logging thing and your logic...I guess I am pretty hard on myself in terms of what I count because I have been too lenient in the past and that is where I got myself into trouble.

    Hmm.. yeah I lost all my weight just by walking so yes it does count!

    I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've got dodgy knees, so anything that requires me to land heavily on them is out - unfortunately, that cuts out running and 99% of gym classes. So I walk - 3.3km today already! Love it :)

    This is pretty intense mileage though - so you are not talking about a ten minute walk to the local dog park and then sit on a bench and then back around the block kind of deal.

    Exactly - I'm not talking about that at all. I think if THATS that kind of walk your taking your dog on, then don't bother logging it. But when you do the k's that I do, at the speed I do them, I'd be eating waaay under what I need if I didn't log them and eat them back. I think walking the dog means different things to different people. For me, owning a labrador puppy with enough energy to power a city, walking him is a pretty full on exercise!

    In terms of logging things like housework etc - I think it depends on what your activity level is set to. If you're already set to Moderate activity level, then those things are encorporated into your daily calorie needs and you shouldn't log it. But I've got mine set to sedentary, so anything I do that makes me sweat, I log. Just my personal preference!
  • Leisha908
    Leisha908 Posts: 35 Member
    Options
    it's all really confusing. just a couple days ago someone named NoOb put on here that we have to subtract our "existing" calories which I think means calories we burn just existing from our earned through workout calories. so that means eat less right? but then other people say eating too little will be bad for you too. so it's gonna be really confusing unless you know how to do all that TDEE stuff people talk about. IF you figure it out, let me know because it's still hard for me to get.

    It can be confusing given all of the different opinions on this site (and in everything we read/see/hear), but the post below is very helpful and clearly explains an effective fat loss strategy that works. It's a long post, but if you take the time to read it, digest it, and do your own calculations, you will be rewarded with knowledge.

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

    AWESOME THANK YOU!

Categories