Confused :/

starNbc86
starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
edited February 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm really confused about the calorie thing on MFP. So if my cal goal is 2430 is that how much i have to intake after workouts ??? can someone one help pls ? I've just been doing my 2430 cal - my 1000 cal burn at the gym except for yesterday :/ I hope thats right.

Replies

  • crfeen
    crfeen Posts: 85 Member
    So, your MFP starts out with a cal goal for the day. Say you start out at 1500 calories. That is assuming that you didn't work out at all. However, if you do a 1000 calorie burn, MFP will say you have 2500 calories to eat. I often don't eat back the calories it give me, but its up to each individual what you do!
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    I'm really confused about the calorie thing on MFP. So if my cal goal is 2430 is that how much i have to intake after workouts ??? can someone one help pls ? I've just been doing my 2430 cal - my 1000 cal burn at the gym except for yesterday :/ I hope thats right.
    Would love to know what sort of exercise you are doing to burn that many cals?
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    I do 35 min on the treadmill at a 4.5 incline at about a 3.2 speed that burns 506 cal (according to the machine) and then I do the Arc trainer (stepper) another 35 min at about 89-112 steps per min which burns about 535. Now I'm thinking because I have a lot a weight on me and after i input all my info in the machines it calculates my cals burned. I know a lot of pl say that the cal maybe inaccurate but i wouldn't know how to calculate them anyway lol so i go by the machines.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I'm really confused about the calorie thing on MFP. So if my cal goal is 2430 is that how much i have to intake after workouts ??? can someone one help pls ? I've just been doing my 2430 cal - my 1000 cal burn at the gym except for yesterday :/ I hope thats right.
    Would love to know what sort of exercise you are doing to burn that many cals?

    1/2 marathon?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I do 35 min on the treadmill at a 4.5 incline at about a 3.2 speed that burns 506 cal (according to the machine) and then I do the Arc trainer (stepper) another 35 min at about 89-112 steps per min which burns about 535. Now I'm thinking because I have a lot a weight on me and after i input all my info in the machines it calculates my cals burned. I know a lot of pl say that the cal maybe inaccurate but i wouldn't know how to calculate them anyway lol so i go by the machines.

    I would consider cutting those numbers in half. But yes to answer your question if you enter your exercise burn into MFP it adjusted your goal for the day and that becomes the amount you should eat.

    The risk there is if you overestimate your caloric burn from exercise by a lot then you can end up erasing much of your deficit.
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    So, your MFP starts out with a cal goal for the day. Say you start out at 1500 calories. That is assuming that you didn't work out at all. However, if you do a 1000 calorie burn, MFP will say you have 2500 calories to eat. I often don't eat back the calories it give me, but its up to each individual what you do!


    thanks
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    I do 35 min on the treadmill at a 4.5 incline at about a 3.2 speed that burns 506 cal (according to the machine) and then I do the Arc trainer (stepper) another 35 min at about 89-112 steps per min which burns about 535. Now I'm thinking because I have a lot a weight on me and after i input all my info in the machines it calculates my cals burned. I know a lot of pl say that the cal maybe inaccurate but i wouldn't know how to calculate them anyway lol so i go by the machines.

    I would consider cutting those numbers in half.

    How would you calculate cals burned without the machine ?
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    Are the fitbit or Jawbone more accurate? does anyone know
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    It's OK to not eat all of the "extra" calories that you get from exercising, as long as you don't end up with too much of a deficit between what you eat and what you burn. You do want to burn more than you eat (how much more depends on how much you are trying to lose), but you also have to eat enough to fuel the work your body is doing. (In general, you want a deficit of 250 calories a day to lose half a pound a week, 500 for a pound, 750 for a pound and a half, and 1000 for two pounds. The less you have to lose, the slower you need to go.)

    Yes, the calorie estimates on the treadmill are probably inaccurate, as are the estimates you would get from MFP. You'd get more accuracy from using a heart rate monitor.
  • michelleepotter
    michelleepotter Posts: 800 Member
    The fitbit and jawbone will tell you how active you are as far as every day activities. They're not for when you exercise. You would need a heart rate monitor for that.
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    It's OK to not eat all of the "extra" calories that you get from exercising, as long as you don't end up with too much of a deficit between what you eat and what you burn. You do want to burn more than you eat (how much more depends on how much you are trying to lose), but you also have to eat enough to fuel the work your body is doing. (In general, you want a deficit of 250 calories a day to lose half a pound a week, 500 for a pound, 750 for a pound and a half, and 1000 for two pounds. The less you have to lose, the slower you need to go.)

    Yes, the calorie estimates on the treadmill are probably inaccurate, as are the estimates you would get from MFP. You'd get more accuracy from using a heart rate monitor.

    Thanks :)
  • mr_mitch
    mr_mitch Posts: 176 Member
    IYeah machines and mfp really overestimate calories burned. That's why most people only eat back 50 to 75 % of calories burned.

    1000 is very high for what you did in the gym.

    I've heard people say that the most accurate way is a heart rate monitor, but even then, there is some margin of error involved.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    So personally I just set my calorie goal at something that I would lose weight on and mostly ignore the exercise calories unless I am actually hungry.

    Lots of people eat them back but the truth is most people underestimate the calories they eat and overestimate the calories they burn. I sort of just split the difference and ignore the ones I burn.

    All the estimates I get for everything I do seem to be sky high and a 1000 calories is half a pound of bacon, something I am confident will not aid me in my weight loss journey.

    At 5'9 250 lbs I eat 1700-200 calories a day and "burn" from 1000-3000 a day according to MFP after a 3-5 hour bike ride. I'm losing a few pounds a week right now so that works for me and if I get hungry, I have plenty of wiggle room to eat as much as I like guilt free. But I rarely get hungry.

    Do what works best for you though. Whatever you can stick with that keeps you healthy and losing weight is the right answer for you.
  • aledba
    aledba Posts: 564 Member
    I'm really confused about the calorie thing on MFP. So if my cal goal is 2430 is that how much i have to intake after workouts ??? can someone one help pls ? I've just been doing my 2430 cal - my 1000 cal burn at the gym except for yesterday :/ I hope thats right.
    Would love to know what sort of exercise you are doing to burn that many cals?

    1/2 marathon?
    Everyday, you think? What devotion! :laugh:
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I do 35 min on the treadmill at a 4.5 incline at about a 3.2 speed that burns 506 cal (according to the machine) and then I do the Arc trainer (stepper) another 35 min at about 89-112 steps per min which burns about 535. Now I'm thinking because I have a lot a weight on me and after i input all my info in the machines it calculates my cals burned. I know a lot of pl say that the cal maybe inaccurate but i wouldn't know how to calculate them anyway lol so i go by the machines.

    I would consider cutting those numbers in half.

    How would you calculate cals burned without the machine ?

    Honestly nothing is that accurate, especially gym machines. I'd take what it says, divide by 2 and eat that amount back because almost guaranteed it is overestimated your burn.

    10 calories per minute is about as fast as you are likely to burn calories and that is if your heart is pounding out of your chest and you cannot talk.
  • starNbc86
    starNbc86 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm really confused about the calorie thing on MFP. So if my cal goal is 2430 is that how much i have to intake after workouts ??? can someone one help pls ? I've just been doing my 2430 cal - my 1000 cal burn at the gym except for yesterday :/ I hope thats right.
    Would love to know what sort of exercise you are doing to burn that many cals?

    1/2 marathon?
    Everyday, you think? What devotion! :laugh:

    Well i obviously didn't get to where I'm at now by eating healthy and knowing how to exercise. So I'm learning and taking all the good advice thats given
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