Calories target increases if I excercise

FrancesLaverty
FrancesLaverty Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,

I'm new today and have a question that I hope someone might be able to explain.

I've entered all my food for the day and my target calories is 1500, however, once I add my exercise, my target calories increases to over 2500. I understand that people who are nearer their goal weight need to eat back their calories, but I need to lose a lot and would like MFP not to add my exercise calories onto my target as this looks like I can eat more.

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to enter exercise onto MFP without it effecting my calorie target for the day, or should I just not enter the exercise at all.

Thank you,
Frances

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Your missing the whole point MFP already give you a calorie deficit so you need to eat back those exercise calories (or a portion of) in order to have the energy and nutrition to exercise. If you don't want to you need to change counting method to the TDEE method where you will have a set amount of calories each day (which will be higher than your baseline calories at present)
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    Your missing the whole point MFP already give you a calorie deficit so you need to eat back those exercise calories (or a portion of) in order to have the energy and nutrition to exercise. If you don't want to you need to change counting method to the TDEE method where you will have a set amount of calories each day (which will be higher than your baseline calories at present)

    agreed. if you really don't want to eat back the calories you exercised, just don't eat it back. You don't have to eat it because MFP says you can.
  • gerla_k
    gerla_k Posts: 495 Member
    Your missing the whole point MFP already give you a calorie deficit so you need to eat back those exercise calories (or a portion of) in order to have the energy and nutrition to exercise. If you don't want to you need to change counting method to the TDEE method where you will have a set amount of calories each day (which will be higher than your baseline calories at present)

    agreed. if you really don't want to eat back the calories you exercised, just don't eat it back. You don't have to eat it because MFP says you can.
    +1
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
    MFP often overestimates calories burned through workouts, so you may need to adjust how many you eat back.
  • sakura989
    sakura989 Posts: 10
    MFP often overestimates calories burned through workouts, so you may need to adjust how many you eat back.
    That's why I use a heart rate monitor, it's not super precise, but more than MFP
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    You can also change the amount of calories burned from what MFP says when you log it. Some people change it to 1 calorie for each entry (can't do zero) so that they don't get added to your total. This is helpful if you monitor your macros. But if you don't pay attention to those, I would suggest just letting it be and using those calories as a cushion rather than eating them all back.
  • Bernadette60614
    Bernadette60614 Posts: 707 Member
    This isn't something I'm recommending for you, but something which works for me:

    I don't add back my exercise. I track it in a little 3 x 5 notebook, but I don't track it in MFP.

    I suspect that MFP may overestimate calories burned and I suspect I probably underestimate the calories I consume. It gives me a little margin for error.
  • RachaelWoo
    RachaelWoo Posts: 7
    MFP adds the extra calories on for your knowledge. You do not have to eat them all back but i recommend you eat a portion of them back. You see, your basic daily calories is 1500. This is calculated using things such as your basal metabolic rate (BMR) plus a few extra. Your BMR is what you need just to survive - breathing, moving, living. You have to eat this everyday in order for your body to function properly, otherwise it will enter starvation mode and you won't lose any weight.

    Now you add exercise into the mix and MFP have given you 2500ish calories for the day. It will also give you a net value of your calories. This net value is important - you want it to be above 1200, or your personal BMR (which you can calculate online). This is not only to avoid your body entering starvation mode but it is also to allow it to recover from the exercise you've done.

    So in short, it is your choice on how many calories you re-consume after your workout but i would definitely keep an eye on your net calorie intake each day to avoid running into problems. Feel free to add me or drop me a message if you're confused or wanting to ask more questions :)
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Think about it this way ... might make sense. If you eat 1500 cal per day ... and you burn off 1000 of those doing exercise, you are at 500 left.

    That is starvation levels ... your body will lose tons of weight .. but you may die if you do it for a large amount of time, especially at your age. The medical issues are just not worth it .. slow and steady weight loss is the key here. So .. take your pick.

    So .. as everyone has suggested eat back a good portion of those exercise calories ... so rather than your 1500 I would suggest that a level around 2000-2200 would be reasonable as yes there is a tendency to somewhat over estimate calorie burns.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Hi all,

    I'm new today and have a question that I hope someone might be able to explain.

    I've entered all my food for the day and my target calories is 1500, however, once I add my exercise, my target calories increases to over 2500. I understand that people who are nearer their goal weight need to eat back their calories, but I need to lose a lot and would like MFP not to add my exercise calories onto my target as this looks like I can eat more.

    Can anyone tell me if it is possible to enter exercise onto MFP without it effecting my calorie target for the day, or should I just not enter the exercise at all.

    Thank you,
    Frances

    It's like this .......if you eat 1500 calories and exercise for 1,000....then your heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. only get 500 calories to do their job. Check out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) .....that will tell you how many calories your heart, lungs, kidneys, etc need everyday. It's way more than 500.

    Now, the tricky part is MFP (and many machines) give "generous" calorie burn estimates. Start by eating back a %....say 60%. If you start to feel rundown or fatigued....eat more. If you stop losing weight....eat less.

    Losing weight quickly doesn't help your body support existing muscle. If you want to lose mainly fat.....eat some of your calorie back.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Just to add:

    Your post makes it sound like you burned 1000 calories through exercise. I don't know what exercise you are doing, but that's a fairly large burn. I (M/47 yo/157 lb) would have to walk for 3+ hours at 4 MPH, or go really hard on the rowing machine for 90 minutes to get that.

    So make sure you are estimating your calorie expenditure correctly.
  • sakura989
    sakura989 Posts: 10
    Hi all,

    I'm new today and have a question that I hope someone might be able to explain.

    I've entered all my food for the day and my target calories is 1500, however, once I add my exercise, my target calories increases to over 2500. I understand that people who are nearer their goal weight need to eat back their calories, but I need to lose a lot and would like MFP not to add my exercise calories onto my target as this looks like I can eat more.

    Can anyone tell me if it is possible to enter exercise onto MFP without it effecting my calorie target for the day, or should I just not enter the exercise at all.

    Thank you,
    Frances

    Some days, I plays tennis for 2 hours. According to my heart rate monitor i burn about 1200 Cals. I don't eat it completely back (because it's too much for me), but i make sur i get at least 1200 Cals net, so i don't go into starvation mode, which is nasty for your body
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You have to look at the entire mathematical equation here...

    Let's say your calorie goal of 1500 calories is to lose 2 Lbs per week. With MFP your activity level is just your day to day stuff...no exercise included in your activity level...just your day to day hum drum. So, this means that MFP is estimating your NON EXERCISE maintenance calories to be around 2,500 calories (1,000 calorie deficit from 2,500 is 1,500 to lose 2 Lbs per week).

    So now you go run for an hour and burn 600 calories...MFP gives you these calories to "eat back" but you will still have your deficit...because your new maintenance number now includes exercise and would be 2,500 + 600 = 3,100 calories and 3,100 - 1,000 = 2,100 gross calories to still lose 2 Lbs per week. You would still be netting 1,500 calories.

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