How important is it to eat all the calories you are allowed?

Mbettich
Mbettich Posts: 9
edited January 22 in Food and Nutrition
I am trying to stay on the 1200 calorie a day plan, but when I exercise, MyFitnessPlan bumps my calories up to compensate for what I've burned off. To me this is counter-intuitve? How will I lose if I am adding back in everything that I burn off?

Thanks for the input ; )

Replies

  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
    It seems counter-intuitive because it is. Weight only comes off through a calorie deficit, and this is either accomplished through diet or activity. Lets say you're trying to hit a deficit of -500 per day, which is roughly 1lb per week. You can either "burn" 500 calories at the gym, or you can eat 500 less (or any combination of the two).

    With MFP you have a set deficit of (whatever) say -500. So when you're doing your exercise it's going to decrease the diet deficit (IE add calories).

    Make sense?
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    Sort of. So if I'm supposed to eat 1200 calories a day and I spend 65 minutes doing fitness boxing and burn 563 calories (I wear a heart rate monitor and this is the average number for this activity), should I eat 1200 + 563? That's what MFP tells me to do? Or should I eat the 1200 calories and take the burn? That's what confuses me. I am very active and am struggling to get off about 12 lbs that I gained this year for no real apparent reason. It's not a big amount, but it's not budging.
  • melw2910
    melw2910 Posts: 73 Member
    You need to eat at least 1/2 of the exercise calories back. Also please check your BMR as you really should not eat below that. MFP sets 1200 as the lowest calorie requirement but it depends on how much you have to lose, if its less than 20lb then you need to set to 0.5 or 1lb a week loss.
    I started at 1200 and now have a target of 1400 plus exercise cals and see a steady loss of at least 0.5-1lb a week.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    I am trying to stay on the 1200 calorie a day plan, but when I exercise, MyFitnessPlan bumps my calories up to compensate for what I've burned off. To me this is counter-intuitve? How will I lose if I am adding back in everything that I burn off?

    Thanks for the input ; )
    Ok first of all there is no such thing as the 1200 calorie a day plan.
    Everybody requires a different number of calories in order to lose weight. Calculate your BMR and TDEE, then eat between those numbers to lose weight. Include your exercise activity level and then you won't have to eat back any exercise calories.

    In your example, if you eat 1200 and then burn 500 exercising, you only netted 700 for the day, which is WAY too low for any normal person.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I am trying to stay on the 1200 calorie a day plan, but when I exercise, MyFitnessPlan bumps my calories up to compensate for what I've burned off. To me this is counter-intuitve? How will I lose if I am adding back in everything that I burn off?

    Thanks for the input ; )

    MFP uses the NEAT method for calculating your calorie goal. NEAT = Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is all of your daily activity sans exercise. MFP takes your NEAT and deducts a certain number of calories based on the goal you set to give you a calorie GOAL. Because exercise is NOT included in your NEAT when you set your activity level, it is extra activity that needs to be fueled.

    The NEAT method is common for calorie counters, particularly those new to exercise because people tend to be really inconsistent when they start out...they miss days, calorie burns are all over the map, etc. The NEAT method is also very useful for those that need to lose weight but don't want to or can't exercise...because you don't need exercise to create the calorie deficit for weight-loss...it's already built into your diet.

    Keep in mind that a GOAL is something to be achieved. When I was doing MFP for weight loss I ate back 70-80% of my exercise calories to account for estimation error.

    Use you diet for weight control; exercise for fitness.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
    I am trying to stay on the 1200 calorie a day plan, but when I exercise, MyFitnessPlan bumps my calories up to compensate for what I've burned off. To me this is counter-intuitve? How will I lose if I am adding back in everything that I burn off?

    Thanks for the input ; )
    Ok first of all there is no such thing as the 1200 calorie a day plan.
    Everybody requires a different number of calories in order to lose weight. Calculate your BMR and TDEE, then eat between those numbers to lose weight. Include your exercise activity level and then you won't have to eat back any exercise calories.

    In your example, if you eat 1200 and then burn 500 exercising, you only netted 700 for the day, which is WAY too low for any normal person.

    Good explanation!

    OP, really it doesn't matter WHERE your deficit comes from.
    I think women inherently have a harder time with big calorie deficits from diet. Lets use you and me as an example here:

    If you have a daily maintenance of 1500, and mine is around 2300 (ballparked);it's a lot easier for me to get -500 from diet alone then it is for you. Simply because 1k calories isn't all that much. You don't specifically HAVE to do -500, it's just the easiest example.
    You COULD eat at maintenance, and do 250 calories per day in cardio, and still be at a deficit (thus losing weight).

    Generally women can't make such large deficits due to natural body composition. Women simply don't have the same muscle mass as men (usually), and have a naturally higher bodyfat composition. There's also plenty of hormonal differences too. This stuff all adds up to having a generally lower daily calorie maintenance.

    Because of these natural differences as well, I think women tend to lose "slower" then men. It's going to be hard for you to get a big enough deficit to say, drop 1.5lbs/week; whereas men can do that somewhat easily.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    It's about learning to eat at a healthy level for your body - neither too much nor too little - not trying to eat as few calories as possible. You used that energy. You need to replace it. A fit lifestyle will give you a fit body.
  • bttrthanevr
    bttrthanevr Posts: 615 Member
    It's about learning to eat at a healthy level for your body - neither too much nor too little - not trying to eat as few calories as possible. You used that energy. You need to replace it. A fit lifestyle will give you a fit body.

    ^^Well said!
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    So is there a place on MFP to calculate my BMR and TDEE (which I have no idea what it is)?
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    ok, so I just calculated the my BMR is 1409 and my TDEE is 2259. So you are saying that I need to ignore what I burn from exercise and eat in between that amount?
  • Mbettich
    Mbettich Posts: 9
    I just checked my settings on MFP and it gives me a 1200 calorie a day allowance with the settings at 1.5 lbs loss per week. But that is lower than the BMR that I calculated? How is that? This is not the first time that I have been told I am not eating enough, but I really am trying! I feel like I need to graze all day to get more calories in?
  • FlowersInTheDirt
    FlowersInTheDirt Posts: 124 Member
    If your BMR is 1409 then you need to eat at least that in calories per day. It's the energy your body needs to function. I would recommend 1700 a day roughly :smile:
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I just checked my settings on MFP and it gives me a 1200 calorie a day allowance with the settings at 1.5 lbs loss per week. But that is lower than the BMR that I calculated? How is that? This is not the first time that I have been told I am not eating enough, but I really am trying! I feel like I need to graze all day to get more calories in?

    If you're having a hard time getting enough calories into your meal plan then you need to be looking at more calorie-dense options. Almonds, nut butters, avocado, cheese, eggs, full fat dairy, etc.
  • andres4317
    andres4317 Posts: 26 Member
    I've noticed that 1200 seems to be the magic number to not receive the "Eating too few calories" message when you complete your tracking for the day, even with negative calorie intake due to physical activity. Could that be what the poster was referring to? (My wife, who has a lower goal than me, gets the same message if under--we replace at least half of what we burn exercising and make sure we are over 1200)
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