oh i still feel confused!

ley1
ley1 Posts: 115
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
OK so MFP gives me 1200cals to eat during the day.

I found looking back i was only eating 900 or so cals so i know i need to up that, 1200 cals being presumably the lowest any female should eat (if i learnt that right).

anyway, if i eat 1200 cals in one day, then exercise and burn say 400 cals do i need to eat those 400cals i've burnt? or not?

if i didnt eat the extra calories burnt then surely that would mean i was only eating 800cals per day (1200 - 400)

please tell me i'm not the only one confused about this!

I want to loose weight, eat healthy but also get fit and toned (after having 2 kids it really is necessary!).


so please someone tell me whats right before i have to go and ask my dr cos i am confuddled TOTALLY!!

thank you all in advance!

Replies

  • sngnyrslp
    sngnyrslp Posts: 315 Member
    don't worry, you're not the only one with that question! If you search the message boards for "exercise calories," you'll find a lot of posts on the subject
  • LJCannon
    LJCannon Posts: 3,636 Member
    You will get MANY Opinions about eating or not eating your Exercise calories.

    Personnally I treat them as "Bonus" calories. At the end of the day if I am still hungry and I have Exercise Calories available, I will eat a snack or even a 'mini-meal', if I am not hungry I will not eat them. Some articles I've read suggest eating Half your Exercise Calories.

    My personnal opinion is that you should experiment, track your calories, and see what works for YOU over a period of 2~3 weeks.

    Good Luck, and remember to Enjoy the Journey!!
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    Ok what you need to know is your carlories you need to have a day with activity and to still loose weight. THis all depends on your age height and weight and also how active you are. THere is a formula to figure it out I have it and use it to set meal plans up for my clients.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    You have that exactly right. :)

    BUT don't take the 1200 calories as gospel. You really shouldn't be eating below your bmr even when trying to lose weight.
  • PoppyK
    PoppyK Posts: 6 Member
    Oh my, you're confusing me! I think you are thinking about it too much. Let MFP do the thinking for you...just make sure you stay under your calorie goal for each day (including excercise calories) and you should lose weight. But do make sure you are eating enough or your metabolism will slow down to accomodate for the shortage of food. Good Luck!
  • uf353432
    uf353432 Posts: 8
    Els if you eat 1200 and burn 400, you wouldn't have only consumed 800 - you would have still consumed 1200 but earnt the extra 400. Its a bit like the 1200 is your wage and the 400 is the overtime. You want to know if you can spend the 400 or should you save it?

    If you follow WW any exercise you do convert to bonus points to use as food if you want, if you follow SW you don't earn any extra's for exercise - you don't get to eat more syns if you exercise.

    The only way you are going to know what works for you is trial and error. For sure you should aim to eat a minimum of 1200 calories. Then you could adopt the philosophy of spend some/save some. I know you want an easy answer - but we really are built differently and what one person can do is not the same as what someone can do to acheive the same results.

    I tend to listen to my body now. I eat the 1200 calories and I do the exercise - now if I feel hungry I eat something else, if I don't then I stick to the lower end of the calories. Over the course of weeks, months this will balance out.

    debs
  • ley1
    ley1 Posts: 115
    Thanks for the replies, i'll eat my 1200 but not my exercise cals.
  • KayKGee98
    KayKGee98 Posts: 14
    I personally think the choice is up to you. But if your looking to lose weight then i wouldn't eat the excersised calories. :)
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    Please reconsider not eating your exercise calories back. I really don't think you're doing yourself any favors by essentially living off 800 calories. How tall are you? How much do you weigh now? Does that 1200 already include a deficit?
  • ley1
    ley1 Posts: 115
    well my height is 5'6 and i currently weigh 198lbs MFP says i need to eat 1200cals and my bmr is 1660 so i think i'm right n thinking i need to burn 300-500 extra cals to ensure i loose 2lbs a week.

    (well thats how my husband explained it anyway i hope thats correct)
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,744 Member
    When you talk about bmr are you adding in your activity level to that to? BMR is basically what you'd need to survive if you were in a coma or just laying around in bed all day doing nothing.

    Did you put yourself at sedentary? Are you really? I mean, I know *I* am. I'm lazy and don't move if I have to so whatever deliberate exercise I do is it but most people run more errands, clean more, have young kids they have to run after more than I do. :)

    If you put yourself at sedentary, or even lightly active, wanting to lose 2 lbs a week (which is still ok...you only really want to lose 1% of your weight), you're already in a 1000 calorie deficiit. There's no reason to live off 800 calories a day. Trust me when I tell you it's only going to screw up your metabolism.
  • hopela
    hopela Posts: 17
    I am also completely confused about this. I don't understand why my exercise calories end up in my food log. My BMR is 1600, and myfitnesspal put my calories at 1500 a day. So when I work out, and I usually burn about 350 calories, my allotted calories go up to 1850 a day, which is more than my BMR.

    Since I am trying to lose weight, I do NOT eat my exercise calories. If I am still hungry after my 1500 calories, I will have a snack/small meal and try not to exceed my BMR.

    I hope that helps. I find the whole "bonus calorie" thing a huge pain.
  • Van3ssa_2468
    Van3ssa_2468 Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks for the replies, i'll eat my 1200 but not my exercise cals.

    you can eat your exercise calories earned.

    Don't restrict too much.
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