I don't get it, please help

michaeladevi
michaeladevi Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I'm a newbie here :)
My fitness pal is the most entertaining weight loss program to me, but there is something I'm not getting...
I've written down all my goals and my daily calories goal is 1700.
I'm 90 kg and 1,70 m.
I do 20 minutes of cycling at 12mph and 40 mins of walking/at dog walk pace (around those numbers) EVERY DAY.

Then, to lose weight am I supposed to eat at least 1700 calories per day?
And why the daily goal increases its number each time I do exercise?
There are moments I think I get what's all about but I want to make sure I'm losing weight in a healthy way :)

Thanks for the support,
Mika.

Replies

  • kcritter77
    kcritter77 Posts: 162 Member
    How did you list your activity level? The way MFP works, is it takes the calories your body burns during normal activity and just "being alive" (say 2200) and gives you a deficit (say 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week), and then tells you to "net" 1700 calories a day. Because you are set up to be at a 500 calorie deficit, it asks you to eat back your exercise calories to stay at the net calorie level.

    Now, here's the catch... if you put you are active, moderately active, very active, etc when setting it up, then you DON'T log your exercise or you don't eat those calories back. Because it is already taking those activities into consideration when figuring the number of calories you burn on a daily basis, and tracking those calories will "double dip" your burn.

    Does that make any sense? This is the SHORT version.

    There's a blog called In Place of a Roadmap that explains everything in greater detail and is a HUGE help to understanding it all. It's a lot of info and I skipped over it several times, but finally sat down and read it. It talks about not underfeeding your body, and making sure you are at the right level.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?hl=in+place+of+a+roadmap&page=17#posts-13071100

    Good luck to you!!
  • slimline1
    slimline1 Posts: 44 Member
    Try the 5:2 diet, it has a group here and I have lost 11lb since new year. I don't exercise and believe in calories in and out and on this plan you can forget about calculating weight, exercise and diet. Look it up and you will see it is guaranteed to work, nothing is taboo, so long as you don't have it on your fast days. I have never believed you have to eat more when you burn calories on exercise, if you think about it logically it does not make sense. Anyhow search the 5:2 diet on line and see if it suits you. :drinker:
  • michaeladevi
    michaeladevi Posts: 6
    Thanks for your support and information , what a quick response!
    I still want to do some exercise because I like it, I'm sort of a sportaholic I just don't have always the time or the circumstances but I really like doing sporty exercises. This summer I will be skating and swimming a lot as well. Since I'm changing the calories I burn I want to make sure I'm taking the right amount of food and lose weight at the same time. Actually, muscle weight a bit so I'm not looking so much into loosing extreme weight, just get in shape again, but I never followed any diet before. I don't want to modify my intake and do it wrong or unhealthy.

    If I'm 90 kilos and I burn 3000 calories per week, what would be the average calories I should eat and still lose weight but healthily?
  • kcritter77
    kcritter77 Posts: 162 Member
    The road map has a formula to do. Or, you can go to goals and set your activity level to slightly active and choose to lose .5 pounds per week. This way you will log all of your exercise. On slightly active, it will tell you how many calories you need to net a day to lose slowly and safely. You eat back all of your exercise calories because the calorie deficit is already factored in and you'll need to fuel your exercise since you are eating at a rate set for a barely active person.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    How did you list your activity level? The way MFP works, is it takes the calories your body burns during normal activity and just "being alive" (say 2200) and gives you a deficit (say 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week), and then tells you to "net" 1700 calories a day. Because you are set up to be at a 500 calorie deficit, it asks you to eat back your exercise calories to stay at the net calorie level.

    Now, here's the catch... if you put you are active, moderately active, very active, etc when setting it up, then you DON'T log your exercise or you don't eat those calories back. Because it is already taking those activities into consideration when figuring the number of calories you burn on a daily basis, and tracking those calories will "double dip" your burn.

    Does that make any sense? This is the SHORT version.

    There's a blog called In Place of a Roadmap that explains everything in greater detail and is a HUGE help to understanding it all. It's a lot of info and I skipped over it several times, but finally sat down and read it. It talks about not underfeeding your body, and making sure you are at the right level.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?hl=in+place+of+a+roadmap&page=17#posts-13071100

    Good luck to you!!

    MFP does not include exercise whether you select highly active or not. The options are described as
    "Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)"

    The way MFP is set up is that it figures your BMR (your basal metabolic rate, basically what your body needs just to survive if you did nothing all day), then accounts for activity in your daily life, from brushing your teeth to walking to the car to your job (as noted above). It takes that number then creates a deficit depending on what you selected as a weight loss goal. About 500 less calories per 1 lbs per week. For you, that is 1700. If you eat 1700 and do no exercise you will lose weight, you are at a deficit.
    Now if you exercise, you create a larger deficit as you are burning more calories. For a few reasons, people want to keep their deficit moderate, there can be issues with too large of a deficit. So MFP suggests that you "eat back" those calories. I don't suggest eating all of them as MFP (and even heart rate monitors) are just an estimate, but you should aim to eat a portion back.

    The confusion lies in the fact that other calorie calculators, including the ones that nutritionists use, figure your BMR, then figure your daily activity PLUS the amount of exercise you plan to do. It takes that number, called your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and creates a deficit from that. So in that case, you would not "eat back" your exercise calories as they are already account for. That is what the link for the roadmap above does.

    Honestly, it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. I have done it both ways and if you figure correctly, you pretty much end up in the same place.
  • michaeladevi
    michaeladevi Posts: 6
    Ok, so If I burn through exercise 431 cal everyday then can I eat at least 1710 cal and still lose weight healthily? I mean not too dramatically. If I understand that would be 431 cal of deficit everyday in my favour? And 3020 cal less, every week.

    I don't know if I understand... do I?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Ok, so If I burn through exercise 431 cal everyday then can I eat at least 1710 cal and still lose weight healthily? I mean not too dramatically. If I understand that would be 431 cal of deficit everyday in my favour? And 3020 cal less, every week.

    I don't know if I understand... do I?

    The 431 would be in addition to your already existing deficit.

    For example, if you chose 1 lb a week weight loss, MFP has you at a deficit of 500 calories per day. So at 1700, you are eating 500 calories less than you need to survive and do your daily activities.
    When you exercise, you are adding an additional 431 calories to your existing deficit of 500 calories. So on days you exercise, you would be at a 931 calorie deficit instead of 500.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Ok, so If I burn through exercise 431 cal everyday then can I eat at least 1710 cal and still lose weight healthily? I mean not too dramatically. If I understand that would be 431 cal of deficit everyday in my favour? And 3020 cal less, every week.

    I don't know if I understand... do I?

    The 431 would be in addition to your already existing deficit.

    For example, if you chose 1 lb a week weight loss, MFP has you at a deficit of 500 calories per day. So at 1700, you are eating 500 calories less than you need to survive and do your daily activities.
    When you exercise, you are adding an additional 431 calories to your existing deficit of 500 calories. So on days you exercise, you would be at a 931 calorie deficit instead of 500.

    ^^ Correct.

    Use the site as it is set up. Don't over-think this. Re-evaluate in a month. In the meantime, educate yourself. There are lots of conflicting ways to figure your calories. This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't try to be too aggressive when setting your weight-loss Goal here. Keep this in mind when using the tools to set up your goals:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    You are responsible for choosing an accurate activity level. Don't try to speed up the process by choosing "Sedentary" just because it is an option.

    Almost no one is Sedentary. If you care for children at home, or go to school or have any type of job, you are not Sedentary. Choose accordingly.


    So, in your example above, with a 1700 basic goal, and a work out of 400 calories, you wpould be prompted to eat 2100 calories on that day. Just eat them, try it, adjust after a month if you want.
  • michaeladevi
    michaeladevi Posts: 6
    Thank you, to all of you, I understand now :)
  • slimline1
    slimline1 Posts: 44 Member
    God I don't!! Just going to go by calories I take in and forgetting what I am supposed to eat to make up the calories lost in exercising. I've still lost 11 lb since 1st January 13 when I weighed in two weeks ago.:ohwell:
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    God I don't!! Just going to go by calories I take in and forgetting what I am supposed to eat to make up the calories lost in exercising. I've still lost 11 lb since 1st January 13 when I weighed in two weeks ago.:ohwell:

    That's fine if you are set at a modest deficit and aren't doing a lot of exercise. Many people here wish to keep a modes deficit for a number of reasons and doing a lot of exercise, particularly cardio, and eating to low can be an issue.
    If you don't want to worry about net calories, you can use another method where you figure out your calorie intake including exercise and create a deficit from that. Then you ignore the exercise calories or dont log (or yoj can change caloires burned to 1). This link does a good job of explaining all.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?hl=place+of+roadmap

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