Logging exercise calories? Or not.. tips please.

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  • alword
    alword Posts: 2
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    I thought i might add my question here and not str a new topic.

    I'm also a little bit confused about NET calories and exercise calories.

    I want to lose those 10-12 ponds again that i gained over the holidays and kept them since.

    So MFP told me to net at 1200 calories, today i did 75Mins on the Crosstrainer and my HRM said i burned 526 calories.
    Now MFP said: great you earned 526 calories from exercise so please eat 1726 calories today.

    Am I getting that right? 1726 seems a lot to eat if i want to lose?

    Thanks for your answers?
    (and i'm sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language ;) )
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I thought i might add my question here and not str a new topic.

    I'm also a little bit confused about NET calories and exercise calories.

    I want to lose those 10-12 ponds again that i gained over the holidays and kept them since.

    So MFP told me to net at 1200 calories, today i did 75Mins on the Crosstrainer and my HRM said i burned 526 calories.
    Now MFP said: great you earned 526 calories from exercise so please eat 1726 calories today.

    Am I getting that right? 1726 seems a lot to eat if i want to lose?

    Thanks for your answers?
    (and i'm sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language ;) )

    Set MFP to lose half a pound a week. Because you do not have a lot of weight to lose, the loss will be slower. Log your exercise and use your HRM numbers, eat what MFP says PLUS the HRM amount.

    The reason for this is that MFP gives you your needed calories not including exercise. When you exercise you need more fuel for that. You will still be maintaining the amount of calorie deficit to lose weight.

    Example:
    2000 (amount of calories for maintenance, you would not lose or gain at this number)
    1500 (amount of calories that MFP says to eat to lose weight)
    -500 (amount of calories you burned in exercise)
    +500 (amount more calories you ate)
    =1500 (you still have a deficit from that 2000)
  • carolyn0613
    carolyn0613 Posts: 162 Member
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    The more you exercise , the more you need to eat. If you don't eat those calories, then your deficit is bigger. You will lose weight but too fast. This is known as a crash diet and is not good. Take your time losing weight and it is more likely to stay off, because you have not shocked your body and have given yourself time to adjust to new healthy ways of eating.
  • carolyn0613
    carolyn0613 Posts: 162 Member
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    OP, I would have counted the walk to the shops and back but not the strolling around while shopping.
  • kiekie33
    kiekie33 Posts: 65
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    The calorie limit MFP gives you is what you can eat daily and still lose weight. This doesn't include exercise, which is why some don't exercise at all and still lose weight. when you do exercise you get some of those calories back. Focus on meeting the goal for your net calories but like others have been saying MFP tends to overestimate so only eat a third or so back. What I usually do when I log exercise is just to log half of it. Like i'll do an hour run but only log 30mins in MFP so even if I do eat all my calories back I know i'm still not going over.
  • johhunt47
    johhunt47 Posts: 30 Member
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    Great tips everyone! Thank you.

    I generally wouldn't count shopping either, but it was a new shopping centre and we literally just walked through it, it was massive! Saying that, I see what you are saying.

    I went snowboarding too for an hour, and it say over 700 calories, didn't feel like it though!

    I am set at sedentry yes, I work from home on my computer all day and don't hardly move! So I might add some more exercise in there and just set to lightly active maybe? I'm okay with 1400 calories, but some days I might go over and it's nice to know I have some in reserve.

    I'm just wary of doing it wrong, getting disheartened and ruining my chance of losing all the weight I want to this year. Had so many false starts that I'm constantly stressing that I'm doing things wrong.

    Just seems silly that I weigh and log every little gram of food I eat, yet the exercise is so subjective!?

    Thanks again, I'll look over your comments again and try and find a good way through it.

    I can see burning that many calories with an hour of snowboarding as long as that is your downhill time. Really, everything you can log on here is subjective. Food packages say x amount of calories/fat/protein, but you have to remember that is all based on averages with some variation built in.

    The way i've viewed MFP over the past year is more as a means of recognizing what I take in and how much time and effort I spend pushing myself physically. Use the numbers on this site as a guide, not a crutch.

    Best of luck to you in your endeavor. As someone who went from "I could never do that" to someone that has lost over 150 lbs in under a year, I know its tough to drop the weight. Keep it up!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Only count when you walk specifically for exercise, and cut it down by 20% or so (MFP overestimates exercise calories). Include shopping, groceries etc in your daily activity.
  • airforceman1978
    airforceman1978 Posts: 100 Member
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    fitbit force ftw i love mine
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    You have quite a high deficit already, I'd use all those 200 calories if I were you. Your starting weight is around where I started. Let me guess, you're set as sedentary and lose 2lb per week? Up your activity level and don't count the walking . You'll get the same result :flowerforyou:

    This!^

    Your decision to eat back calories (or not) should be based upon how high your calorie deficit is already......and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

    Too quick weight loss will result in fat+muscle loss as opposed to mostly fat loss. To me exercise is for health (and fitness)....not as a means to speed up weight loss.

    Does your pounds per week goal fit with this chart?

    Pounds per week
    75+ lbs to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I don't log any activities. It seems pointless, in my opinion, to exercise to eat more if you are trying to lose weight.

    Not pointless..........

    If you are using MFP as designed.....you get a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. When you exercise you increase the deficit more.

    Yes - you will lose "weight" faster............but is your goal losing "weight" or losing FAT? When you eat little & exercise a lot.....your body will use existing muscle mass for fuel.

    Not saying this happens to everyone ....because some people have moderate weight loss goals.....but agreessive goal + exercise = fat+muscle loss. Then, when that person gets to goal they look like a smaller version of their current selves. Personally, I would like a LOWER body fat %
  • Woodster83
    Woodster83 Posts: 71 Member
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    I need to lose 100 - 115 lbs, so yes, the 2lbs a week fits in with that table.

    I will count 1/2 time for main exercises and everything else, shopping, cleaning etc I won't count, that sounds like a good plan.

    I'd love to get one of those tests done for BMR, has anyone ever had it done?

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