New to Myfitnesspal help

kfallon322
kfallon322 Posts: 7
in Introduce Yourself
Hi,

My name is Karen. I just joined myfitnesspal and love it. can someone help me understand the net calories? I pre log everything I eat except dinner and it shows me at -calories for the day I am eating quite a bit through the day. I am not about to go home at 7:30 - 8:00 pm and consume 800 - 1200 calories after just working out. I have just realized that when I work out I was not eating enough so my body was going into "starvation mode" and storing everything. I don't know what else to do to keep out of the "starvation mode" I have been very frustrated because I was at the gym 3 days a week for 2 months and didn't lose a pound. I eat very healthy so that wasn't my problem. anyone have ideas that can assist. is it ok to just go home and eat a dinner and be done even though there are still calories? I am going to the gym 4 - 5 days a week now and would like to see results. on the days I go to the gym this shows I basically have to eat 2000 calories instead of 1200 (that is a lot of food for a fat person like me to eat).
any help would be great.

Replies

  • kashmyre
    kashmyre Posts: 105 Member
    If you could open up your diary, we can help you a little better with suggestions.
  • UsaJewels05
    UsaJewels05 Posts: 229 Member
    I can't see your Diary so I can't really help. But depending on what your Calorie count is set at for the day, you should really try to eat all of that, and not eat back your exercise calories. If you are going off of MFP totals for Calories you already entered that in when you set up how much you wanted to lose a week and it gave you your calorie amount.

    Hope that helps a little but without being able to see your Diary I can't really help.
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    Hi and welcome

    Ok so MFP takes what you should eat at a daily allowence then subtracts how much weight you want to lose a week and presets the calories so that at the end of the week you're at that calorie deficit to hopefully equal weight loss.

    So let's say that they say you should eat 1500 calories a day. Then you exercise and burn 300 calories. That puts you in need of 1800 calories for the day.

    Does that help?

    So when you work out hard and it tells you to eat 2000 eat it. Try nuts or avacado etc that are higher in calories but good for you. If you eat too little your body won't play along.
  • cookiealbright
    cookiealbright Posts: 605 Member
    On gym days, I usually eat a WW meal about an hour before I go. Then when I get home around 7:30 or 8 p.m. I have a cup of popcorn. That's how I do it.:flowerforyou:
  • DiamondRubyMom
    DiamondRubyMom Posts: 147 Member
    I disagree with Usajewels. Your activity level should be set at what you do everyday such as your job and simple chores around the house. A nurse moves around a lot more at his job than a computer programmer does. That is your activity level. Exercise is above and beyond your activity level. These calories you need to eat back because they are not counted in you activity level.

    If you know you are going to workout that day, then you should just plan on eating more calories that day. If you are doing the same exercises when you workout, then you should have a good estimation on how much you will burn.

    For a more accurate estimation of calories burned, buy a heart rate monitor with a chest strap.
  • bReCiNoS1107
    bReCiNoS1107 Posts: 8
    Hello,

    I'm new as well and I would love to have some help and motivated friends to keep me on track. I have tried to do it solo in the past, but I just seemed to quit after 2 weeks. I haven't really ever gone that far. I get really discouraged after a while if I don't see anything happening so I would love to have some friends to keep me motivated!!!
  • ENCORRALES21
    ENCORRALES21 Posts: 21 Member
    check this site out its really helpful he has great knowlage it's working for me http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • UsaJewels05
    UsaJewels05 Posts: 229 Member
    DiamondRubyMo, I understand how to do the Diary, but when you set it up, it ask you how often you work out each week and for how long. You can set it up either way, but if you enter your Exercise in the calculation you should not eat those back.
  • kfallon322
    kfallon322 Posts: 7
    i just made my diary public so you should see now
  • Muddy_Yogi
    Muddy_Yogi Posts: 1,459 Member
    After looking at a few days of your diary....Eat Breakfast, Eat more calorie dense foods....are my two basic observations.
  • eyeshuh
    eyeshuh Posts: 333
    DiamondRubyMo, I understand how to do the Diary, but when you set it up, it ask you how often you work out each week and for how long. You can set it up either way, but if you enter your Exercise in the calculation you should not eat those back.

    That is incorrect. When it asks you how often you work out, MFP does NOT factor that into your calorie goal. It only uses that number as a place holder for you to see if you are meeting your work out goals.

    The calorie goal MFP gives you DOES NOT include exercise, no matter how often you told it you would work out when you first signed up. You have to manually log your exercise, and then eat those calories back, which is why it gives you those additional calories adding to your goal in the first place.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    DiamondRubyMo, I understand how to do the Diary, but when you set it up, it ask you how often you work out each week and for how long. You can set it up either way, but if you enter your Exercise in the calculation you should not eat those back.

    Sorry but this just is not true. MFP asks you how often you plan to exercise but it doesn't include any kind of estimated burn into your daily calories. The only part of the set up that does is your personal info (age, height, weight, gender) and the activity level you set (sedentary, lightly active, etc). That activity level has nothing to do with your exercise plans, it should only be related to your normal daily activities. When you log exercise, you should eat back those calories earned.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    OP, I would suggest planning your days better. If you know you're going to workout and burn say, at least 300 calories, then pack snacks to have during the day, and maybe one after dinner, that will help you bridge that calorie gap. If you feel like you can't eat much more, try to add in calorie dense foods like whole eggs, nuts, seeds, nut butters, maybe a protein bar or shake, etc.
  • kfallon322
    kfallon322 Posts: 7
    what kinds of dense foods?
  • LeenBess
    LeenBess Posts: 12
    Hi! I hear you loud and clear! I used to try weight watchers for about 2 weeks and then quit...I am a lifetime member and only had to lose no more than 15 pounds at any time. hated the meetings where people talked about eating whole loaves of bread!!!!!!
    my family dr. Told me about MFP and I LOVE this..........Try it and don't quit!!!! Write me if you are feeling discouraged!!!!!!
  • kfallon322
    kfallon322 Posts: 7
    This is some good stuff and I appreciate it. any encouragement would be great. I am getting really frustrated and need to see some progress. I eat healthy and my blood work is great so now I am just stuck and need to see movement.

    are the calories burned from the exercises pretty accurate? the reason I ask is that I get different calories burned from the machines. I don't want to have my calories burned over input here then i am defeting myself.
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    Only going to comment that your idea of eating healthy and my idea of eating healthy is two different things. You are not getting 5 servings of vegetables daily (some days you got zero veg), you eat a lot of processed foods and a lot of foods high in sodium (which will cause you to hold a lot of water).

    Try to incorporate more fresh vegetables and unprocessed (whole foods) into your daily diet...you will be amazed at the change in your overall health and weight loss.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    Hi Karen,
    It's great that you are exercising ! Don't stop! But you do need to eat the exercise calories or at least most of them as your body needs the energy. When you do your settings in MFP, if you have set yourself at sedentary, then all exercise calories need to be eaten back because MFP has already worked ourt a deficit for you that will help you to lose weight. If you don't eat enough, your body will hold onto the weight. I know it's a little scary, but maybe try eating more for a week or two and see what happens. I am pretty sure you will lose weight. Not 100% , because everyone is different, but fairly confident. Friend me if you would like to support and be supported :)
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
    oh, and I forgot. Eat nuts and peanut butter to help you up the calories if you are struggling.
  • SuMcP
    SuMcP Posts: 244 Member
    As some have said above; try to eat breakfast and reduce down processed foods - if you add sodium to your diary along with protein, carbs etc, you will see the huge numbers which come with processed food and will make you retain water.

    If you can afford it, get a heart rate monitor to accurately record your calorie burn when working out and eat those back; if eating that amount every day is difficult, set yourself a weekly target and make get as close as you can over the week, eating more on some days than others.

    Finally, if you eat more often (but smaller amounts) and include more protein and less carbs your metabolism will probably kick in and burn much more for you. Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like regular support; I've been here for over a year and it has taken me time to make these changes - those who are "critical" are really trying to help, however it helps more to remember the journey is usually a marathon rather than a sprint - stick with it :flowerforyou:
  • kfallon322
    kfallon322 Posts: 7
    thank you for the advice. I am really trying to stay positive. this helps.
  • kfallon322
    kfallon322 Posts: 7
    I appreciate the feed back. I do try to stay away from processed foods (no always easy) I would appreciate ideas of non processed foods. Fruits I am have been eating more of but I am not sure of the right ones to try to keep the carbs/sugars down.
    This week is really only the beginning, but I do usually eat more salad and veggies which is what I was doing prior to this and not losing so my dr suggested I might not be getting enough calories. This is why I am so frustrated. I will accept any and all advice. I just had all my bloodwork done and sugar/cholesterol etc are all in the great range.

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