Daily Calories & Exercise

Alm0stAwesome
Alm0stAwesome Posts: 11 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Everyone! I know this is a newbie question but then I am a total newbie! At the moment my daily calorie goal is 1480 (according to MFP) I've been sticking to that for 2 weeks and all is well. I'm going to start adding exercise on a crosstrainer/elliptical machine probably next week (mine is broken, waiting for the new one to arrive). What is the right plan for calorie consumption? Do I need to replace what I burn?

I think I may need a bit of a science lesson haha!

Thanks :)

Replies

  • init2fitit
    init2fitit Posts: 168 Member
    If you're doing the MFP method of things, then you need to eat back your exercise calories.
    However, for certain things MFP overestimates calorie burn, so you should maybe eat about 1/2-2/3s of them back.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    ^^^That was pretty solid advice
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Yup, I eat back about 1/2 to 2/3.

    Works fine.
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
    I guess it depends on how you feel, how fast you're losing, and what kind of activities you're doing. A big factor is also how you're calculating your caloric expenditure from exercise; if you have a HRM (heart rate monitor) then you'll be able to estimate your calorie burn with greater accuracy and that number is more reliable than the estimates on MFP. With you calorie target I would guess that you set your weight loss goal at 2 pounds per week--if that is the case then you might find that it's rather difficult to sustain such a low calorie diet.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    While love4 is right, I think when you still have 100lb to lose, it's a slightly different ballgame. A deficit to lose 2lb is ok, for the first bit. You may need to adjust things as you get a little closer to goal. (I'd revise when you're about halfway, and see whether you need to revise upwards.)
  • Alm0stAwesome
    Alm0stAwesome Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for the replies everyone! Sorry I'm so slow in replying :) Our crosstrainer arrives on Monday so the fun will begin then! I will be using a HRM and will go by those calories instead of MFP :)

    I'm actually doing Diet Chef (delivered meals) as well at the moment (combined with MFP I'm getting a really good understanding of what my daily intake should look like) but the meals alone give me roughly 1000 calories a day and I'm adding the rest with extra fruits/veggies/breads - things like that. I'm actually having a hard time making sure I still reach my 1500 daily goal so when I start exercising I need to be more careful, which might be a challenge. Does anyone have any experience with the best way to overcome this? So far all I've come up with is adding a snack of something like nuts/cheese/yoghurt between meals.

    Tanks again!
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
    Thanks for the replies everyone! Sorry I'm so slow in replying :) Our crosstrainer arrives on Monday so the fun will begin then! I will be using a HRM and will go by those calories instead of MFP :)

    I'm actually doing Diet Chef (delivered meals) as well at the moment (combined with MFP I'm getting a really good understanding of what my daily intake should look like) but the meals alone give me roughly 1000 calories a day and I'm adding the rest with extra fruits/veggies/breads - things like that. I'm actually having a hard time making sure I still reach my 1500 daily goal so when I start exercising I need to be more careful, which might be a challenge. Does anyone have any experience with the best way to overcome this? So far all I've come up with is adding a snack of something like nuts/cheese/yoghurt between meals.

    Tanks again!

    A snack is the easiest way. If you're finding it tough then a shake made with milk, protein powder, nut butter and a banana will easily get you another 400-500 calories.

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