why is this so hard to grasp?

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JennFraley8501
JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok..HELP! I am so confused. Fitnesspal suggest I eat 1200 calories a day for my goal. I look up my bmr and it says I need 2400 a day. Now my question is If I eat 1200 a day and burn 600 do I eat back those calories burned? Seems like I won't be loosing weight like this??

I'm female 38 yrs ol 150lbs. Burn at least 600-700 cal a day every day
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  • SailorSarah311
    SailorSarah311 Posts: 172 Member
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    Some people say you should eat the calories that you burn. Other people will say not to do this. I say do whatever works for your body. If you lose weight by eating the calories back then great. Just think of it as extra fuel for your body. Find out what works best for you and stick to it. It's a little trial and error in the beginning, but it doesn't take long to find the right solution.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
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    Ok..HELP! I am so confused. Fitnesspal suggest I eat 1200 calories a day for my goal. I look up my bmr and it says I need 2400 a day. Now my question is If I eat 1200 a day and burn 600 do I eat back those calories burned? Seems like I won't be loosing weight like this??

    I'm female 38 yrs ol 150lbs. Burn at least 600-700 cal a day every day


    If you ate them back you'd still be at a 600 calorie deficit per day so you would still lose weight.
  • JennFraley8501
    JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
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    That was kind of my thinking as well, but i've seen so many different opinions. :) Guess I will just do a trial and error!
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Eat at least part of them back. You can't keep the fire of your metabolism going without throwing enough fuel on it.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    BMR - the calories you would burn if you were in a coma. You don't eat less than BMR but I find it hard to believe your BMR is 2400 so I'm wondering if you got your numbers mixed up, you are very large or you're using BMR meaning TDEE.
  • ApexLeader
    ApexLeader Posts: 580 Member
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    what i do is find out my energy expenditure if i didn't move (let's say it is 1800). then if i exercise for 600 calories my energy expenditure is 2400. if i want to lose a lb a week i need a 500 calorie deficit per day so i'd eat 1900 calories for the day (2400-500). that puts me 500 under the total calories i used up for the day.
  • JennFraley8501
    JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
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    I'm 5'4" and weigh 150..not large and I work out 7 days a week..usually burning 600-700 a day..The whole bmr and all that confuses the heck out of me. I went by the calculator online
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
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    BMR - the calories you would burn if you were in a coma. You don't eat less than BMR but I find it hard to believe your BMR is 2400 so I'm wondering if you got your numbers mixed up, you are very large or you're using BMR meaning TDEE.

    I agree with this. I think you are confusing BMR and TDEE.
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
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    I would eat around 1700-1900 at least on your workout days. Even a couple hundred more wouldn't hurt.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    MFP's system expects you to eat them back, that's why your goal here is so much lower than the other method suggests. MFP creates a deficit for you expecting you to do no exercise (assuming that you set your activity level as sedentary - most people do). When you exercise you make that deficit larger, and possibly larger than your body safely wants to handle. Too large a deficit can cause your body to break down your muscle for fuel, which in turn slows down your metabolism.

    The flip side of this is that MFP can also overestimate the number of calories you burn when you exercise. If you're using MFP's estimates you may want to only eat back a portion, but it is recommended that you eat at least some of them back.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Let's say in the course of a normal day, without exercise, you burn 2,400 Calories. Let's say you want to lose 2 pounds a week, because everyone is damn impatient and always wants 2 pounds a week. That's a 1,000 Calorie deficit. You can get that two ways -

    1. Eat only 1,400 Calories a day, and don't do any exercise.
    2. Eat 2,400 Calories a day , but burn 1,000 Calories through extra exercise. Giving you a net of 1,400.

    Either way you have a 1,000 Calorie deficit. Doing both - only eating 1,400 Calories a day and burning 1,000 - gives you a very unhealthy 2,000 Calorie deficit, which is unsustainable and will probably make you sick.

    In reality, you will probably do a combination. Maybe reduce food by 700 Cals, and burn 300 Cals with exercise. So you'll eat 1,700 Calories, and then burn 300 off to bring you down to that 1,400 Calorie net figure.

    TL;DR : If you build in your desired deficit upfront, always eat back your exercise Calories because otherwise you are increasing your deficit past a healthy point.
  • JennFraley8501
    JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
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    Ok, I just used two different calculators...BMR is 1429 and TDEE is 2207 so, what do I need to do to loose at least 2lbs a week
  • lawtechie
    lawtechie Posts: 708 Member
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    I'd say 2 lbs/week too agressive. Shoot for 1 - 1.5 lb/week loss and eat 1500-1600 and most if not all your exercise calories (assuming you track them accurately aka heart monitor)

    PS: Popular thought is to eat the calories you'll be eating at your goal weight -- and 1200 is not that.
  • MoparMatt
    MoparMatt Posts: 15 Member
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    Ok..HELP! I am so confused. Fitnesspal suggest I eat 1200 calories a day for my goal. I look up my bmr and it says I need 2400 a day. Now my question is If I eat 1200 a day and burn 600 do I eat back those calories burned? Seems like I won't be loosing weight like this??

    I'm female 38 yrs ol 150lbs. Burn at least 600-700 cal a day every day

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    This calculator is easy to understand. I use this one then adjust the MFP settings accordingly. MFP assumes you eat back excercise calories, which is to much to keep track of for me.


    Assuming you are 5'5" and and have a goal weight of 125lbs and work out moderately 3-5 times a week it suggests about 2000 calories. The website i referenced has a ton of information on how it all works.

    Hope that Helps!
  • JennFraley8501
    JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
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    Let's say in the course of a normal day, without exercise, you burn 2,400 Calories. Let's say you want to lose 2 pounds a week, because everyone is damn impatient and always wants 2 pounds a week. That's a 1,000 Calorie deficit. You can get that two ways -

    1. Eat only 1,400 Calories a day, and don't do any exercise.
    2. Eat 2,400 Calories a day , but burn 1,000 Calories through extra exercise. Giving you a net of 1,400.

    Either way you have a 1,000 Calorie deficit. Doing both - only eating 1,400 Calories a day and burning 1,000 - gives you a very unhealthy 2,000 Calorie deficit, which is unsustainable and will probably make you sick.

    In reality, you will probably do a combination. Maybe reduce food by 700 Cals, and burn 300 Cals with exercise. So you'll eat 1,700 Calories, and then burn 300 off to bring you down to that 1,400 Calorie net figure.

    TL;DR : If you build in your desired deficit upfront, always eat back your exercise Calories because otherwise you are increasing your deficit past a healthy point.


    makes sense
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
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    I suck with all this TDEE talk and BMR. The way I see it a normal day for yourself for example is 1200 with no exercising and when you exercise you burn 600 that has you at 1800 if you eat the 600 you are still at your normal calorie range. You can't run on empty so fuel up to burn it up.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Ok, I just used two different calculators...BMR is 1429 and TDEE is 2207 so, what do I need to do to loose at least 2lbs a week

    You'd need a net calorie intake of 1207. That's really, really, low.

    I'm assuming you did not include exercise in your TDEE? In that case you must eat back your exercise calories when you are this low. So on days when you burn 300 Cals at the gym, eat a total of 1507 Cals.

    Be aware that this level of calories is generally not considered sustainable, and most people (including many of us who have eaten at this level) don't recommend it. You'll either be eating virtually nothing, or you'll be vegetarian just to get enough food to feel satisfied.

    Personally, I suggest eating at least 1450 Cals a day, plus eating back your exercise. Theoretically that will give you a healthy 1.5 pounds a week loss, and will be far easier to stick with.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Ok, I just used two different calculators...BMR is 1429 and TDEE is 2207 so, what do I need to do to loose at least 2lbs a week

    You'd need 1,000 calories less than your TDEE per day which is too much. You shouldn't be eating under BMR and preferably 200 over it. So 2 lbs a week is too aggressive of a goal for what you need to lose. You could take 10 to 15% off your TDEE or just use MFP as designed but set your goal to no more than 1 pound per week.

    If you use the TDEE number you don't eat back exercise, if you use MFP you can.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Ok, I just used two different calculators...BMR is 1429 and TDEE is 2207 so, what do I need to do to loose at least 2lbs a week

    My guess is you don't have a ton to lose...that is why the gap between your TDEE and BMR is smaller. It suggests that 2 Lbs per week goal (~1,200 calories) is too aggressive as doing so would drop your net calories below BMR. At minimum, you need to net BMR. 1 Lb per week goal would be 1,700 calories and eating back 70-80% of your exercise calories (because 1,700 net is already a 500 calorie deficit baked in for weight loss). Conversely, 1,457 for 1.5 Lbs per week loss and same thing...eat back exercise calories. You shouldn't go any quicker than 1.5 Lbs per week according to your BMR and TDEE calculations.
  • JennFraley8501
    JennFraley8501 Posts: 12 Member
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    ok i think i understand it more ty all

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