What Should My Intake Be..?

Panch8
Panch8 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
HI All,

Pretty new to this and only just discovered the forum etc so please be gentle :)

On the app I have set to lose 2lbs per week this has given me a calorie target of 1570 (I'm 6ft, 34 86kg)

Should I add on my daily exercise calories to this total, ie 400 burnt off at gym = 1570 + 400 = 1970 to eat ?

I am finding it very difficult to eat 1570 healthy calories, I am not hungry or starving myself but here is an example from yesterday..

Target 1570 - Ate 1476 - Exercise 546 = net 930 So 640 remaining

Should I be forcing another 640 calories in even though I am not hungry ???

Thanks

Lee

Replies

  • Panch8
    Panch8 Posts: 5 Member
    Anyone ??!!??
  • cathyproteau
    cathyproteau Posts: 18 Member
    Hello !! Yes you NEED to eat what you burn off in exercise.... the amount that is given to you for your target is your NET calories (so after you add back what you burn from exercise)....If you do not eat enough calories you will not lose weight but go into starvation mode becaus your body is storing everythign it can due to low calorie input... hope that makes sense....For instance I am 36, 5'6' and 157 lbs and I am targeted to eat 1300 calories per day net.... because I do two exercise programs, one being very intense (Insanity)...I usually end up having to actually consume close to 2000 calories but I am burning off 700 a day with my exercise...Let me know if that helps or not ... Good luck btw!!
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
    This will have all the information you need.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • hopeful0131
    hopeful0131 Posts: 20
    The short answer is yes, you should be eating those calories, not leaving them left over. You will stall your weight loss if you consume too few calories. Your metabolism will slow down, and that is the opposite of what you want.

    Getting those calories can actually be pretty simple. One ounce of most nuts and seeds is close to 200 calories. I guess I am wondering how a 6 ft male is "finding it very difficult" to consume 1570 healthy calories! :) What is your diet like? Are there higher-calorie things like meat/eggs that you don't eat?
  • Panch8
    Panch8 Posts: 5 Member
    Cathy / Kaleidoscope / Hopeful

    Thank you so much for your replies, I thought as much, I had read a bit on here but saw conflicting posts regarding this so thought I would ask, Looks like a trip to the supermarket later then to stock up on nuts etc,..!!

    Hopeful0131 - with regards to your question, I just lead a busy lifestyle and struggle to find time to eat fullstop, since starting this last week I have made a real effort to stop and eat good healthy foods, but I have found that I get full relatively quick and wasn't sure whether I should force these extra calories in or not :)

    KaleidoscopeE - That link looks to have a ton of useful info so will have a good read through that next, thank you :)
  • Panch8
    Panch8 Posts: 5 Member
    Also One other thing, how do I know how many calories the weight training is removing as these do not seem to add to the exercise totals ?

    Thanks

    Lee
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
    I think weight training is in the cardio section under weight training so I was told.
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
    Just checked it is :)
  • Panch8
    Panch8 Posts: 5 Member
    Excellent thank you :)
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Also One other thing, how do I know how many calories the weight training is removing as these do not seem to add to the exercise totals ?

    Thanks

    Lee

    I don't record weight lifting calories burned, only cardio. For one, it is hard to judge how many calories you burn, and two you can't use a HRM for it because it will be inconsistent (HRMs are for extended periods of time when your heart rate is elevated). When it comes to strength I log it as 1 calorie burnt. I know some people eat an extra 200 or so calories when they weight lift (I don't, but I eat 1800 every single day, but don't eat back exercise calories).

    Note, if you are going to follow the road map link listed you can do it one of two ways. You can calculate your TDEE as sedentary, in which case you will eat your exercise calories back. Or you can calculate in how much you work out (what I do) and eat a somewhat fixed number every day. I found the fixed number easier for me, for some the other way works best. You will have to tweak your numbers over the course of the next month or two to find where your sweet spot is for losing weight. But once you find it, it will melt.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    if you have trouble eating back your exercise calories - or meeting your TDEE if you go that route - add in calorie dense foods like nuts, seeds, nut butters, eggs, lean proteins, even dark chocolate.

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