New to MFP and concerned about calorie counts

bka8
bka8 Posts: 92 Member
edited September 2024 in Introduce Yourself
So I'm new to this and message boards in general!

I jockey a desk and struggle to keep my motivation to work out and eat well. Its so tempting to just snack all day and eat all the goodies that come into the office. I'm hoping that this will help.

I'm a bit concerned because this estimates I should only be eating about 1300 cal a day...I once was so obsessed with counting and cutting calories that I was developing an eating disorder. Thankfully my friends and family intervened, I got a personal trainer for a couple sessions and got me back on the right track. He had me eating about 1800 a day...

I'm at about the same weight I was then and hopefully losing at about the same rate (1 pound a week) with the same work out idea (3-4 times a week, about an hour each time) ...does anyone else think the calorie count on this is a bit low?

Replies

  • vcatmb44
    vcatmb44 Posts: 129 Member
    It is low but the more you excercise the more you can eat. You are suppose to eat your excercise cals for instance im suppose to eat 1200 cals a day but i go to gym for 2 hrs a day so if i burn 700 cals it automatically adds that to ur intake for the day so now ur cals for the day become1900. Now this obv doesnt mean go eat bad food stick to healthy but if u work out then u can eat more and the only way u will llose is to work out good luck:happy:
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 611 Member
    Yep! My trainer said the same thing, but he wasn't accounting for exercise calories either. So the more you exercise, the more you eat!
  • sabell82
    sabell82 Posts: 43 Member
    I also can only eat 1265 calories if I do NOTHING all day. But if I exercise I can eat those calories. I try to eat them nutritiously as well. What I do is I eat my 1200 and if I want more then I have to go exercise, otherwise I'm bound to eat the extra and "want " to exercise but excuse my way out of it at the end of the day.

    I force myself to earn my eating calories :)
  • KayakDeb
    KayakDeb Posts: 19 Member
    I wouldn't worry about it because if you get some exercise, I think they rate the calories burned during exercise, a bit too high (based on what my elliptical reads that I've burned vs. what MFP says I've burned)
  • cspinney
    cspinney Posts: 81 Member
    If you have been finding that 1800 cals/day is working for you, then stick with it. I think the trick is to track honestly and watch your progress. Everyone is different, and, as others mentioned, that base calorie recommendation does not account for calories burned through exercise. You know your body best, do what's right for you!
  • bka8
    bka8 Posts: 92 Member
    Ooooh! I didn't know that the calorie counter here doesn't account for exercise until you log it....I have only been on here a day and didn't make it to the gym yet =op What a relief! Thanks everyone!
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