Calorie Confusion

purplegirl0411
purplegirl0411 Posts: 4
in Introduce Yourself
Many minutes later: Just realized this posted under "introduce Yourself." Sorry, thought I had backed out of that. Oops...Thanks for the answers, though.

Okay. Here it is:

I am about to turn 35 next month. I'm 5'4" and I currently weigh 194. I've been doing martial arts for about 4 weeks now. I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing 3 nights a week and just the Jiu Jitsu one night and I run 3 days a week. So, I burn between 800-2000 calories a day. To lose 1.5 lbs/week, MFP says I need to eat about 1200 calories/day. Is this before exercise, after exercise? I mean, if I eat 1203 calories, but I burn almost 900, should I be eating more? And if so, how much more? The last thing I want to do is go into starvation mode.

Thanks,

PG0411

Replies

  • tikikris
    tikikris Posts: 81 Member
    You earn extra calories by exercising. So if you burn 900 calories, you can eat a total of 2100 calories to give you "net" calories of 1200.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    MFP sets your calorie goals before exercise. The site expects you to log your exercise and will add more calories to your goal as you earn them.

    There are some alternate ways to set up your calorie goals if you don't want to use MFP's default. I really like this link and I think it answers most of the important questions about how to set your calorie goals: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • purplegirl0411
    purplegirl0411 Posts: 4
    Okay. So, if my goal intake is 1200/day and I'm burning 2,000, I should be eating around 3200?
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Okay. So, if my goal intake is 1200/day and I'm burning 2,000, I should be eating around 3200?

    How are you determining your calorie burns? Calories burned from exercise are usually estimates but you are pretty active I would eat maybe 3/4 of the cals back. That's just me though other people eat them all back some people eat less than 3/4.
  • hellodmo
    hellodmo Posts: 23
    Enter your exercise calories into the app, and then pay attention to the big green number that says "Calories Remaining". That's all you should have to do.
  • purplegirl0411
    purplegirl0411 Posts: 4
    I have entered everything I've eaten today and what I am planning to eat (I pre-pack all my meals and snacks), along with tonight's activity (Jiu Jitsu). It says I have 596 calories remaining. That's what I go by? I'm sorry if I seem slow, but this is new to me....
  • joan23_us
    joan23_us Posts: 263 Member
    Many minutes later: Just realized this posted under "introduce Yourself." Sorry, thought I had backed out of that. Oops...Thanks for the answers, though.

    Okay. Here it is:

    I am about to turn 35 next month. I'm 5'4" and I currently weigh 194. I've been doing martial arts for about 4 weeks now. I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing 3 nights a week and just the Jiu Jitsu one night and I run 3 days a week. So, I burn between 800-2000 calories a day. To lose 1.5 lbs/week, MFP says I need to eat about 1200 calories/day. Is this before exercise, after exercise? I mean, if I eat 1203 calories, but I burn almost 900, should I be eating more? And if so, how much more? The last thing I want to do is go into starvation mode.

    Thanks,

    PG0411

    1. determine your bofyfat, seek professional help... trainer in the gym, dexa scan, etc.
    2. from there LBM (LEAN BODY MASS) X 15 CALORIES = CALORIE INTAKE PER DAY ( pay attention on how your weight changes from this intake in a few weeks) then adjust depending if your weigh go up or down.
    3. SPLIT MACROS TO YOUR DESIRED PERCENTAGES ex. protein 40% carbs 40% fat 20%
    4. LOG YOUR FOODS accurately ( use measuring cups, scale, nutrition labels, etc.)
    5. record your activity/exercise and progress
    6. adjust food intake when your progress stalls for a good 3-4 weeks....
    7. repeat until you reach your goal.
  • hellodmo
    hellodmo Posts: 23
    I have entered everything I've eaten today and what I am planning to eat (I pre-pack all my meals and snacks), along with tonight's activity (Jiu Jitsu). It says I have 596 calories remaining. That's what I go by? I'm sorry if I seem slow, but this is new to me....

    Yes, that's what you go by. Just do your best to give accurate measures of your food. I tend to admit there's some fudge factor in my estimates, so I tend to leave a couple hundred calories on the table at the end of the day just in case. (I always eat more than 1200, however).

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