simple question about calories

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alexisanne7
alexisanne7 Posts: 2
in Food and Nutrition
Is the number of calories myfitnesspal gives me the amount I consume to maintain my weight? I'm trying to lose around 1.5-2 lbs a week. I always thought that you should burn 500 more calories than you consume each day to lose a pound in a week yet it says I need to add more calories when I workout.
On a typical day I'll try to eat around 1200-1300 calories but I'll workout and burn around 400. I've lost weight but not as quickly lately so I'm wondering if I need to eat more calories to keep my metabolism up? I guess this is more than 1 question, but I'm so confused.

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    You have to set your goal with MFP, 1 lb a week, 1.5 lb a week, 2 lb a week... then it tells you how much you should eat to lose that much. That's your goal. Then if you exercise you have to add your exercise calories and eat them back, as your deficit is included in your goal and exercising increases it.

    You should eat 1700 if your goal is 1300 and you're burning 400 from exercise. A bigger deficit means you'll lose more muscles too unfortunately, so it's better to eat at least some of your exercise calories back. If you haven't been losing as fast as you should, either you're overestimating your calorie burn, or you're eating too much (by not weighing your food and/or not logging properly).
  • Ralys
    Ralys Posts: 6 Member
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    Exercise should be factored into your TDEE already, don't try to calculate how much you're burning.

    That being said, your TDEE should be between close to 2100-2200 calories, so eating as low as you are is risky...while metabolic damage is UNLIKELY, it isn't impossible. If your actual intake comes to 800 calories, you need to bump it back up.
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Is the number of calories myfitnesspal gives me the amount I consume to maintain my weight? I'm trying to lose around 1.5-2 lbs a week. I always thought that you should burn 500 more calories than you consume each day to lose a pound in a week yet it says I need to add more calories when I workout.
    On a typical day I'll try to eat around 1200-1300 calories but I'll workout and burn around 400. I've lost weight but not as quickly lately so I'm wondering if I need to eat more calories to keep my metabolism up? I guess this is more than 1 question, but I'm so confused.

    I think with MFP and the numbers they give, they do not factor in calories for exercise.
    So the idea is to eat back those calories.

    So if your goal is to lose weight, then the baseline number MFP gives you will be the weight loss number.....your deficit.
    Then when you exercise, you eat those calories.......

    So for example, if you weren't trying to lose weight, then your number could be 1700
    But if you were trying to lose weight, then MFP would give you back 1350
    And then any exercise you did, the calories burned, would need to be eaten.....
    So you are always in deficit.

    I believe that is how MFP works
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    Exercise should be factored into your TDEE already, don't try to calculate how much you're burning.

    That being said, your TDEE should be between close to 2100-2200 calories, so eating as low as you are is risky...while metabolic damage is UNLIKELY, it isn't impossible. If your actual intake comes to 800 calories, you need to bump it back up.

    MFP does not use TDEE for its daily calorie goal, exercise needs to be factored in to your MFP number and some calories eaten back.
  • sjp_511
    sjp_511 Posts: 476 Member
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    At your size it will be very difficult to lose 1.5-2 pounds a week. I recommend adjusting your goal to 0.5 - 1 pound per week.
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
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    Exercise should be factored into your TDEE already, don't try to calculate how much you're burning.

    That being said, your TDEE should be between close to 2100-2200 calories, so eating as low as you are is risky...while metabolic damage is UNLIKELY, it isn't impossible. If your actual intake comes to 800 calories, you need to bump it back up.

    The OP is asking about the numbers on MFP...which doesn't use TDEE....so telling them to use those numbers is like telling them to figure out their fuel mileage in diesel liters/km, when they are driving a gasoline/electric hybrid car.
    Yeah, you can make the translation, do a ton of conversion math, ... but why on earth would you?

    And if only my life was as flat and steady as these people who do exactly the same calorie burn every single day, every single week....

    But no, my life, and calorie burn, fluctuates like a yoyo. One day I burn 2400, the next 3200, last week I average 2678/day, the week before I was 2836/day, some days I get my workout from walking a million miles (I sometimes help run conventions in buildings that could hold several NFL football stadiums...one actually used to), other days I just sit at my desk except for running to get coffee, sometimes I spend the day cleaning the house (Scrubbing the floor uses a lot of calories), sometimes I spend the day in a kayak, and then other days I actually make it to the gym and get to do a "workout" [which has nothing to do with TDEE, other than I expend energy doing it].
  • Morgaath
    Morgaath Posts: 679 Member
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    Is the number of calories myfitnesspal gives me the amount I consume to maintain my weight? I'm trying to lose around 1.5-2 lbs a week. I always thought that you should burn 500 more calories than you consume each day to lose a pound in a week yet it says I need to add more calories when I workout.
    On a typical day I'll try to eat around 1200-1300 calories but I'll workout and burn around 400. I've lost weight but not as quickly lately so I'm wondering if I need to eat more calories to keep my metabolism up? I guess this is more than 1 question, but I'm so confused.

    MFP is based on you getting a certain net calorie amount.
    So, if your goal is 1300/day, and you don't do any thing, then you would eat 1300 cals. (1300eaten - 0workoff = 1300net)
    If the next day you burn 400 cals, and goal of 1300, then you need to eat 1700 cals (1700eaten - 400workedoff = 1300net)
    If the day after that you run a marathon, burning 1200 calories, then you need to eat 2500 cals (2500eaten - 1200workedoff = 1300net)

    Hope this explains it.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
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    At your size it will be very difficult to lose 1.5-2 pounds a week. I recommend adjusting your goal to 0.5 - 1 pound per week.

    Agreed.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing these negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:
    More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
    40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
    10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
    Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week
  • rockinsockstaliea
    rockinsockstaliea Posts: 24 Member
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    OK so just to make sure I understand this, if MFP is set to 1200 calories because I am trying to lose 2lbs a week and I burn 800 calories then I should be eating 2000 calories a day? I eat back what I burn during a workout? That seems weird like I wont lose weight because i am eating back the calories. But almost on a daily basis MFP tells me I am eating too few calories. I see when I workout really well and eat more calories that I dont lose anything. help :/

    btw, I have lost almost 70lbs but i still struggle with bouncing back and forth with loss and gain.

    thanks :)
  • rockinsockstaliea
    rockinsockstaliea Posts: 24 Member
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    I should have read this before I posted. hahaha
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    My Home Page> click Goals> look to the right on the fitness goal page...calories burned and net calories consumed....do you understand now?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    MFP calculates the estimated amount of calories you need just for daily life, not including exercise. Then it subtracts a flat amount of calories depending on how many pounds per week you say you want to lose.

    When you exercise, you need to eat more for fuel. You are still maintaining the same amount of calorie deficit.

    Example:

    1200 (amount of calories MFP says to eat)
    -300 (amount you exercised)
    +300 (amount more you ate for fuel for the exercise)
    =1200 (this is still the same deficit that you started with to lose that amount of weight)
  • rockinsockstaliea
    rockinsockstaliea Posts: 24 Member
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    hahaha...im so smart. thanks guys!
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
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    OK so just to make sure I understand this, if MFP is set to 1200 calories because I am trying to lose 2lbs a week and I burn 800 calories then I should be eating 2000 calories a day? I eat back what I burn during a workout? That seems weird like I wont lose weight because i am eating back the calories. But almost on a daily basis MFP tells me I am eating too few calories. I see when I workout really well and eat more calories that I dont lose anything. help :/

    btw, I have lost almost 70lbs but i still struggle with bouncing back and forth with loss and gain.

    thanks :)

    The goal calorie # calculated by the site is how many you need to eat to lose weight at a safe rate just going about your daily life, not doing any extra exercise. So if you burn more by working out, you should eat those back in order to maintain close to your goal level.

    800 cal is one hell of a workout, just be aware that many sources overestimate calories burned in a workout so it's best to play it on the conservative side when factoring them in if you notice you aren't losing like you did in the beginning.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Is the number of calories myfitnesspal gives me the amount I consume to maintain my weight? I'm trying to lose around 1.5-2 lbs a week. I always thought that you should burn 500 more calories than you consume each day to lose a pound in a week yet it says I need to add more calories when I workout.
    On a typical day I'll try to eat around 1200-1300 calories but I'll workout and burn around 400. I've lost weight but not as quickly lately so I'm wondering if I need to eat more calories to keep my metabolism up? I guess this is more than 1 question, but I'm so confused.

    you put all of that info in when you sign up for a reason...that reason being so that MFP can give you a calorie goal based on your weight loss goals. your calorie goal is a rather substantial deficit already from your theoretical NON EXERCISE maintenance calories.

    With MFP, you do not account for exercise in your activity level (unless you are customizing to the TDEE method)..you account for it after the fact when you log it. You don't have to burn off every little calorie with exercise...your body burns a **** ton of calories just keeping you alive.

    Here's how my numbers look....

    MFP maintenance goal WITHOUT exercise factored in = 2350 calories. To lose 1 Lb per week, MFP would deduct 500 calories from that number, giving me 1,850 calories. Now I exercise and burn 300 calories...my new calorie goal is now 2,150 calories (1,850 + 300 = 2,150)...but my deficit remains the same because my maintenance number has also increased with that exercise to 2,650 calories (2350 + 300 = 2650) and 2,650 - 2,150 = that same 500 calorie deficit as before.

    Essentially, you control your weight with diet and exercise for fitness. Just be very careful...most people vastly overestimate their exercise burn and/or underestimate their intake. Both of those need to be as precise as possible for this to work. Also keep in mind that your loss rate goals should be specific to how much you need to lose...bigger you are the greater the deficit can be...the smaller you are, the slower you have to go.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    OK so just to make sure I understand this, if MFP is set to 1200 calories because I am trying to lose 2lbs a week and I burn 800 calories then I should be eating 2000 calories a day? I eat back what I burn during a workout? That seems weird like I wont lose weight because i am eating back the calories. But almost on a daily basis MFP tells me I am eating too few calories. I see when I workout really well and eat more calories that I dont lose anything. help :/

    btw, I have lost almost 70lbs but i still struggle with bouncing back and forth with loss and gain.

    thanks :)

    The goal calorie # calculated by the site is how many you need to eat to lose weight at a safe rate just going about your daily life, not doing any extra exercise. So if you burn more by working out, you should eat those back in order to maintain close to your goal level.

    800 cal is one hell of a workout, just be aware that many sources overestimate calories burned in a workout so it's best to play it on the conservative side when factoring them in if you notice you aren't losing like you did in the beginning.

    Reiterating the above. If you are not losing, this is likely where the problem lies. Most people eat back between 50-75% of MFP estimated calories. The other problem could be that you're not weighing all of your food and are underestimating your intake.
  • alexisanne7
    alexisanne7 Posts: 2
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    Thank you to all who posted. I understand now, it just seems hard to eat so many calories of healthy food in a day...at least for me.

    A couple of you mentioned that I should aim for a lower weight loss goal per week and that makes sense since my BMI is 22, its just that I lose weight relatively quickly so I don't mind the 1.5-2 lb mark as long as I'm eating well. Though If things start to slow down I won't be disappointed in losing 0.5-1 lb a week, any loss is a win.

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