My introduction + concern

dburgess2014
dburgess2014 Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Good morning everyone. I'm Devon. 20 years old and living in Texas. I've started working out and being more active a month ago in my effort to lose weight. I'm currently the heaviest that I've ever been in my entire life and after being somewhat in denial about my weight for the past two years, stepping on the scale was a huge wake up call for me. I've been working out but my diet (though somewhat improved) is still pretty unhealthy. My friend suggested checking out Myfitnesspal to help get tips and also get some inspiration from seeing others results. All that being said I'm confident that things will start to get better as far as my health and I'm really excited for that! Quick question though, I downloaded the Myfitnesspal app for my iPhone and entered in my information. The app suggested that I take in 2,890 calories per day.. Is that not too high? I was always under the impression that to lose weight you had to burn more calories then you intake. Would that mean that I would have to burn more than 2,890 calories per work out? If so how do I even begin to work out that intensely? Right now I'm doing things at my a comfortable pace and I'm only burning 400 calories at most. How would I increase that to nearly 3,000? Thanks everyone!

Replies

  • Kevvboy
    Kevvboy Posts: 81 Member
    Hi Devon. Congratulations on making a great start. Just deciding to do something, coming here and signing up are big positive steps. You Can Do This! So listen, I don't know what your workout is, but burning 400 calories is just great. Your body requires a certain number of calories just for you to get out of bed, and since you are a bit on the heavy side right now you actually burn more calories in everyday activities and in your workout than thinner people. If you have set your goal to something steady and reasonable, say, losing one pound per week, then I would follow the app's advice and try eating the amount of cals it suggests. If you are 100 percent honest in logging everything you eat and drink, you will soon see either a nice steady weight loss, or if you want to lose a bit faster, you can increase the time you are spending on exercise or cut your calorie intake 200 a day just to experiment. Have you considered a bike? It's low impact and great for getting your heart rate into the fat burning zone. I quite often burn 1000 cals or more on a 1-hour bike ride. Keep doing things at your comfortable pace. Slow and steady wins this race. Good luck!
  • shadowsofyou
    shadowsofyou Posts: 12 Member
    The suggested calorie intake is based of your current weight and activity level. As you revisit your goal it will adjust according to your then current weight. MFP goal is should be your food intake calories minus your exercise. For example if your goal is 2000 calories, and you eat 2200 calories and exercise and burn 300 calories your total becomes 1900, putting you below your calorie goal. Keep in mind your body has a base calorie burn just by functioning so no you don't have to turn around and burn every calorie you ate. That's a basic response I'm sti pretty new hope that helps!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    When people talk about burning more than they eat, you have to take into account all of the calories your body burns just keeping itself alive (your BMR) as well as all the calories you burn just doing normal, everyday things like brushing your teeth, going to work, etc (your NEAT). If you're curious to get a better idea of how many calories your body uses in a day, google a TDEE calculator and plug your information into it. This will give you an estimate of how many calories your body burns (and how many calories you could eat to maintain your current weight).

    Your calorie needs are going to depend on a lot of factors, including your size, age, and activity levels. Without knowing your stats it would be impossible for us to tell you if 2890 is a good number for you, but if you've inputting your information accurately into the site then it should be a good starting point.
  • mrron2u
    mrron2u Posts: 919 Member
    Hey Devon, I'll give you my best info here. Your body will burn a certain amount of calories without any real effort every day. The real goal is to create a calorie deficit of 500 or so calories a day to burn some of your stored fat as energy. You might be burning 3000 calories a day with normal activity and 1 workout session daily. So if you kept your intake to 2500 calories you would end each day with a 500 deficit. After 7 days that could equal 2-3 pounds of weight loss. If I followed MFP on suggested Calorie intake it would probably have me eating more than I do. I stick to about 2400 calories and try to at least walk on purpose 30 minutes a day. I also limit my carbs to 100-120 a day (as I am a Type 2 Diabetic) and between all that I keep seeing weight loss each week and my diabetes si under control. Once I got over the carb addiction I really noticed I felt more energetic and the weight is really coming off. Just some food for thought - I've heard it said that a diabetic diet is a great way to lose weight.

    Good for you for getting on here and really looking to understand how you can better yourself. I wish I had been more focused back in my 20's. But I'm on track now and will stay that way from now on!
  • dburgess2014
    dburgess2014 Posts: 2
    Thank you everyone! These are the exact type of responses I was looking for. Some of it is a little confusing but I'll get the hang of it as time goes on. Excited for my new journey!
  • Kevvboy
    Kevvboy Posts: 81 Member
    Devon, be sure and ask if anything is confusing. We're glad to help. Also, a bit of advice: go back and recalculate your calorie and weight loss goals. Set your activity level at "most sedentary" and set your weight loss goal at 1 lb per week. What number do you come up with then? This number MINUS the amount of actual exercise you do each way will be close to the correct # for you to eat each day in order to lose your lbs safely and efficiently.

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