Another crazy calorie workout question.

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Baby_Belles
Baby_Belles Posts: 39
in Health and Weight Loss
Please forgive my massive posting of questions. . .

It says with my exercises for today I should be eating like 2000+ calories! That seems insane for me! It's okay if I just hit like 1200-1500 right, my body won't break down and die????

I did an hour of RPM and an hour of Yoga so not that much, but I can't fathom having to eat 2000 more calories when its already 5pm. I'm trying to not eat super late in the evening also.

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  • stephqj
    stephqj Posts: 20
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    Make up at least part of the calories, so you net at least 1200-1500. My trainer says to try to limit it to half of the calorie deficit.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    A few things to consider -

    1) How are you calculating your exercise calories? Unless you're using a HRM/Bodybugg, it is really easy to overestimate. You don't want to eat back 100% of exercise calories when there's a good chance you've overestimated.

    2) How much do you have to lose? If you have quite a bit to lose your body can handle bigger deficits more easily.

    3) What is your base calories? The less you're eating before exercise, the more important it is to eat more of your exercise calories to fuel your body.

    I usually aim to eat back 50-75% of my exercise calories when I'm on a 1200 cal/day base, and about 50% when I'm at a higher base (like right now I'm at 1550/day before exercise).
  • Baby_Belles
    Baby_Belles Posts: 39
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    To answer your questions :) I clocked in that I did an RPM class for an hour and a yoga class for an hour equalling 817 and normally my limit on calories before work out is 1200 with todays work out my total should be 2017 which seems like quite a lot for me.

    I only ate a banana before the work out and took vitamin c after.

    I am also trying to lose 60 lbs eventually. Not rapidly or anything just healthy.
  • megsta21
    megsta21 Posts: 506 Member
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    It sounds like you need to read this... its a got a few links on it which explain how to lose and how MFP works... good luck....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

    Please take the time to read as it will help you understand alot.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    To answer your questions :) I clocked in that I did an RPM class for an hour and a yoga class for an hour equalling 817 and normally my limit on calories before work out is 1200 with todays work out my total should be 2017 which seems like quite a lot for me.

    I only ate a banana before the work out and took vitamin c after.

    I am also trying to lose 60 lbs eventually. Not rapidly or anything just healthy.

    So you're using MFP to estimate your exercise calories (vs a HRM or Bodybugg)? - this means you easily could have overestimated them - so I wouldn't feel guilty about not eating ALL of them! I almost always leave a cushion - and that's with using a Bodybugg type device to calculate.

    I think you misunderstood my question #3 - I wasn't asking how much you ate specifically before your workout, but how much you have to eat per day before exercise is considered (your "normal" daily calorie goal before exercise). If it's 1200, then you definitely need to eat some of your exercise calories... LIke I said, I aim for 50-75% when my before-exercise calorie goal is 1200, but I only aim for 50% when it's higher.

    You might try for some high-calorie/calorie-dense but healthy snacks, like peanut butter, almonds (really, any nuts), avacado, oatmeal (warm oatmeal with vanilla and cinnamon, maybe some nuts stirred in is a great evening snack!), potato (a small baked potato with some lemon pepper or something like that is delicious!), etc. If you need protein, cheese/dairy, beans or nuts are great. Dark chocolate is high in calorie but has tons of health benefits - eaten in moderation ( a small portion) of course!
  • Baby_Belles
    Baby_Belles Posts: 39
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    I am hoping to get a HRM then, that will tell me the exact calories and such right. Sorry I'm very new to the fitness thing, love health and healthy food just new to the whole workout scene.

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