Too many calories for additional exercise

mentosmom1
mentosmom1 Posts: 1
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
:huh: Why does it add so many calores for me to intake when I add exercise? Yesterday I exercised 2 hours and it wanted me to take in 2100 calories! How am I going to lose weight that way??
Confused!

Replies

  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    its called exercise calories ..some eat them some dont ...both ways seem to work though but i think the kinds of foods you choose to eat with the exercise calories plays a big part...personally i stick to a set calorie amount regardless unless I feel starved and then i add in fruits and veggies
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    MFP knows a lot more about your body than you do, apparently. When you USE energy, you have to take in energy to refuel your body. That's literally what a calorie is. It's energy for your body. You don't have to eat ALL of those but if you keep up those kind of work outs, your body is going to hate you. If it's routine for you to work out that much, you need to refuel your body. I'd say aim to eat at least half.

    Guesstimate your calorie burn before and spread the calories out throughout the day so you're not bombarded after you work out and have to "eat 2100 calories" all at once.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Did you burn 2100 calories through exercise? or is that what MFP is suggesting in total after you entered your exercise?

    MFP sets you up with a caloric deficit to meet your weight loss goal. i.e. 2 pounds per week is a 1000 calories deficit. If you exercise you increase that deficit which means you are no longer set up to lose your goal amount per week so MFP adds them back to keep your deficit at your goal amount.

    But keep in mind that you have to back out the calories that you would have burned at rest during those 2 hours as they are already accounted for in your daily expenditure and goal calories. Most people burn 1 to 1.5 cals per minute at rest so in 120 min (2 hours) you would have burned about 120 calories anyway that are being double counted. When exercising for longer than 1/2 and hour these double counted calories should be removed by the user when entering the info into MFP. so if you burned 900 calories in those 2 hours you should only put in 780.
  • kitt7769
    kitt7769 Posts: 23
    Eating the number of calories that are adjusted after exercise calories have been added will help maintain your weight, but not lose or lose as much if you stick with your planned calorie intake.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Eating the number of calories that are adjusted after exercise calories have been added will help maintain your weight, but not lose or lose as much if you stick with your planned calorie intake.

    This is incorrect information, your deficit to lose is calculated in you base amount. This only adds what you burn through exercise leaving your goal caloric deficit intact, your goal of 1 or 2 pound loss per week does not change, and this is the only way for it not to change.

    The only way to maintain your weight would be if you were set up to maintain your weight then ate your exercise calories. If you have a goal to lose 2 pounds per week you are supposed to eat the calories burned to keep your deficit to lose 2 pounds per week, if not a few things can happen:
    Your deficit may be to large and your metabolism could slow down making it harder to lose weight
    You increase your deficit so you may lose weight faster
    your metabolism may slow down and you may not have any energy as food is fuel and you would be burning way more than you put in.

    Only one of the above is good and after a while of this the other 2 will slowly come into play.
  • zenzoes
    zenzoes Posts: 187
    Eating the number of calories that are adjusted after exercise calories have been added will help maintain your weight, but not lose or lose as much if you stick with your planned calorie intake.

    I do not agree with this. Here is what I know and what has worked for me.

    You set your profile up to a deficit of a certain number of calories, One half, one or two pounds a week which MFP has calculated. As stated some people choose and choose not to eat their burned calories from exercise. Some eat half. Either way there is still a deficit on top of those exercise calories that has been accounted for your weekly weight loss. I choose to refuel my body with most of the calories burned from exercise and have been losing every week.

    I have read here that some people do well eating all, some half, and some all of their exercise calories. I started with eating most of mine and decided that having a two pound loss every week is perfect for my goals. I feel great, never starved.

    Good luck to you!
  • rose1617
    rose1617 Posts: 469 Member
    But keep in mind that you have to back out the calories that you would have burned at rest during those 2 hours as they are already accounted for in your daily expenditure and goal calories. Most people burn 1 to 1.5 cals per minute at rest so in 120 min (2 hours) you would have burned about 120 calories anyway that are being double counted. When exercising for longer than 1/2 and hour these double counted calories should be removed by the user when entering the info into MFP.
    That is fascinating and I had not heard that. I was wondering why if I ate back my exercise calories I kept gaining. Now, I'm only 15 lbs. from my absolute goal weight, so I know it'll be hard to lose and much easier to gain, but that is great information.
    Thanks for that!
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
    MFP knows a lot more about your body than you do, apparently. When you USE energy, you have to take in energy to refuel your body. That's literally what a calorie is. It's energy for your body. You don't have to eat ALL of those but if you keep up those kind of work outs, your body is going to hate you. If it's routine for you to work out that much, you need to refuel your body. I'd say aim to eat at least half.

    Guesstimate your calorie burn before and spread the calories out throughout the day so you're not bombarded after you work out and have to "eat 2100 calories" all at once.

    Your body will not hate you, where did you hear that?
This discussion has been closed.