Eating excercise calories? toning up while loosing weight?

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Raeambi
Raeambi Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone,

I'm just under 5 foot 8 and I'm a 19 year old female. I'm unhappy with my weight at the moment and want to loose a bit, So I started MFP just last Monday.

First question is I just want to know should I eat back the calories i burn in excercise? i am doing my first day at the gym tomorrow and i bought a jump rope yesterday so going to do that for 20 minutes today, so should I eat back the calories I loose?

Also, along with loosing weight I want to tone up (abs, thighs and upper arms) so should I just focus on cardio tomorrow at the gym until i Loose and then tone up or will i do a mix of toning up and cardio?

Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

Replies

  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

    If you want to lose 7 pounds (and to be honest, your goal weight is pretty low for your height), make sure you're set to 0.5 pounds a week. I know that seems slow, but you don't have enough body fat to support a large calorie deficit. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. The two pounds a week setting is for people with 75 pounds or more to lose.

    Yes, eat your exercise calories. That's why they're there. MFP gives a lower calorie goal than other sites and adds more with exercise. Most other sites give you a calorie goal that already includes the amount of exercise you say you'll do.

    And strength train now. Honestly, with strength training and only 7 pounds to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body, your goal "look," without losing any weight at all. Track your progress through how clothes fit, measurements, and progress photos.
  • LeenaRuns
    LeenaRuns Posts: 1,309 Member
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    Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

    If you want to lose 7 pounds (and to be honest, your goal weight is pretty low for your height), make sure you're set to 0.5 pounds a week. I know that seems slow, but you don't have enough body fat to support a large calorie deficit. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. The two pounds a week setting is for people with 75 pounds or more to lose.

    Yes, eat your exercise calories. That's why they're there. MFP gives a lower calorie goal than other sites and adds more with exercise. Most other sites give you a calorie goal that already includes the amount of exercise you say you'll do.

    And strength train now. Honestly, with strength training and only 7 pounds to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body, your goal "look," without losing any weight at all. Track your progress through how clothes fit, measurements, and progress photos.

    Best advice you'll get. /thread
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
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    Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

    If you want to lose 7 pounds (and to be honest, your goal weight is pretty low for your height), make sure you're set to 0.5 pounds a week. I know that seems slow, but you don't have enough body fat to support a large calorie deficit. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. The two pounds a week setting is for people with 75 pounds or more to lose.

    Yes, eat your exercise calories. That's why they're there. MFP gives a lower calorie goal than other sites and adds more with exercise. Most other sites give you a calorie goal that already includes the amount of exercise you say you'll do.

    And strength train now. Honestly, with strength training and only 7 pounds to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body, your goal "look," without losing any weight at all. Track your progress through how clothes fit, measurements, and progress photos.

    Best advice you'll get. /thread

    QFT. also i'm sending you a friend request becuase we're the same height :-)
  • DarrelBirkett
    DarrelBirkett Posts: 221 Member
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    Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

    If you want to lose 7 pounds (and to be honest, your goal weight is pretty low for your height), make sure you're set to 0.5 pounds a week. I know that seems slow, but you don't have enough body fat to support a large calorie deficit. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. The two pounds a week setting is for people with 75 pounds or more to lose.

    Yes, eat your exercise calories. That's why they're there. MFP gives a lower calorie goal than other sites and adds more with exercise. Most other sites give you a calorie goal that already includes the amount of exercise you say you'll do.

    And strength train now. Honestly, with strength training and only 7 pounds to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body, your goal "look," without losing any weight at all. Track your progress through how clothes fit, measurements, and progress photos.

    Exactly this :)
  • Raeambi
    Raeambi Posts: 13
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    Thanks for the advice, I have since changed my goal from one lb a week to half a lb.

    I supose loosing seven lbs would be a big difference to me, so maybe I only need to loose three of four lbs to be happier and then tone up.. I think its the fact I'm so untoned which is making me think i have more to loose.
  • ChgingMe
    ChgingMe Posts: 539 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, I have since changed my goal from one lb a week to half a lb.

    I supose loosing seven lbs would be a big difference to me, so maybe I only need to loose three of four lbs to be happier and then tone up.. I think its the fact I'm so untoned which is making me think i have more to loose.

    Yep that will do it. I have a family memeber who is very thin but has a pudge from having babies. She keeps saying she needs to lose weight. She does not. She needs to firm up the belly. that is a totally different thing. Eat to fuel your body and exercise and you will be fine.
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
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    losing*
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Here's how little the scale matters: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/886672-1-5-million-calories-in-775-days
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
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    I am in a similar boat, wanting to get from the high end of my "healthy" zone to the lower end--tone up, lose excess fat. MFP only let me lose .4 per week. The first week, you lose a lot of water weight, so I'd not hard to drop the first 4-5 pounds. Then, things slow for all the effort. But, if you work out regularly, whatever you are doing, you'll probably notice inches dropping. I've lost 2 inches from my waist/hip area since Christmas and can wear some of my lower size. I've lost ten pounds...SLOWLY. I do eat back my workout calories. At first I wasn't feeling hungry for them. I got rid of all sugar snacks and desserts and minimized white breads and starches. Now, I'm loosening up, letting myself have a taste here and there, but logging it.

    It's impossible to cut even 400 calories from your diet without losing weight. I am building muscle though in my legs, calves, and biceps, gaining .5 inches here and there. At this few calories, I love to work out because I am hungry for those "extra" calories, especially since I have more muscle now to support. I am usually figuring out what I can eat for 30 calories at the end of the day now to use them all up! LOL Let's see, ten goldfish would be...LOL Best of luck!
  • JoanB5
    JoanB5 Posts: 610 Member
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    Lorina, you look great. That post was amazing. I see your point. It's all about exercise.

    So close to where I am and how I want to do work out. And I hit 40 this year. : ) I love that you keep costumes, too. I loved this part of the journal entry.

    "You know what? I don't even BELONG to a gym. I run outside, typically three times a week (30-60 minutes each time), and lift at home, with weights I picked up on sale at Sears and ****'s, often while watching Ellen, three times a week for about 30-45 minutes. All told, I typically exercise less then 4 hours a week. About the same amount of time I devote to watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report. Probably less time than I used to spend playing Farmville on Facebook. Definitely less time than I spend on these highly addictive forums.

    So, if you want my advice, not that you asked for it... don't make this too hard on yourself.

    You don't need to cut calories to the bare minimum. You don't need to cut out foods you love, either. Just eat a healthy balance of mostly whole foods.

    Don't look at exercise like a burden or punishment, think of it as a way to show your body and mind that you care enough to do things that might not be all that pleasant. Just like flossing your teeth. No one LIKES flossing. You do it anyway. Because you're an adult. Treat exercise the same way. Eventually, you might even come to enjoy it.

    Be patient. It's not a linear process. You'll hit snags and roadblocks and detours. Just keep plugging at it, and you'll make progress.

    Don't get hung up on that scale. You're not the same person you were in high school, before kids, whenever... but you can still be as awesome as ever."
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Oh and MFP Suggested 1210 calories a day! I'm approx 130lbs and want to be 123lbs!

    If you want to lose 7 pounds (and to be honest, your goal weight is pretty low for your height), make sure you're set to 0.5 pounds a week. I know that seems slow, but you don't have enough body fat to support a large calorie deficit. The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. The two pounds a week setting is for people with 75 pounds or more to lose.

    Yes, eat your exercise calories. That's why they're there. MFP gives a lower calorie goal than other sites and adds more with exercise. Most other sites give you a calorie goal that already includes the amount of exercise you say you'll do.

    And strength train now. Honestly, with strength training and only 7 pounds to lose, you'll probably reach your goal body, your goal "look," without losing any weight at all. Track your progress through how clothes fit, measurements, and progress photos.

    Great post. Also, one thing to consider for the OP. Toning or lowering body fat still may not produce the results you want. Since you are at a low weight for the height, you also dont have significant lean body mass. LBM is what gives a person a lean and tight body. So its quite possible a bulk phase will be require is there isnt adequate definition. It is very common with people at the lower end of a weight scale to struggle to get definition. So start lifting heavy and once winter approaches if you dont like the definition you have a bulk phase should be considered. Just look at loraines picture... same weight but a tight body due to more lbm.

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