Newbie Here and a little confused on how this works...

ErinJ1981
ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
So, I am supposed to eat 1360 calories a day, but once I'm done working out and plug that info in, it adds those calories to my "account" per say. I don't get that. Why does it do that? I don't want those calories back! I just worked my butt off to get them off, lol! Can someone explain what this means and why, if at all, is is beneficial?

Thanks!

Replies

  • Amber824
    Amber824 Posts: 51 Member
    I noticed the same thing, only I didn't realize it until AFTER I had already eaten. If you find out, please let me know! :smile:
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    You already have a calorie deficit calculated for you. So if you didn't exercise at all, you'd still lose weight. That's why you're supposed to eat the calories you burn from exercising. This is the way MFP is set up. Eating your exercise calories won't prevent you from losing weight, not eating them won't necessarily make you lose weight faster. Your body needs a certain amount of calories every day in order to function properly and burn fat. If you get less than you need over an extended period of time your metabolism will slow down and you won't burn fat. In fact, you'll store fat instead. It happened to me, it's happened to lots of other people here.

    Just follow this system as it's set up, it works.
  • ErinJ1981
    ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
    It's saying that I still need to eat over 1000 calories today. I just don't see how this works...
  • aeragusa
    aeragusa Posts: 40 Member
    It's saying that I still need to eat over 1000 calories today. I just don't see how this works...

    That means that your body has only received 360 calories for the day - not nearly what it needs. So, quite simply, you need to eat another 1000 calories to give you your 1360 net. Not eating these calories risks putting your body into starvation mode, and can actually make it much more difficult for you to lose weight. 1360 is still a deficit from what your body would need in order to maintain your current weight, so you will still lose.
  • ErinJ1981
    ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
    I get what you are saying, but in a way, I don't. How am I supposed to lose weight by eating 3500 calories and 300 carbs? That's how I got to 266lbs in the first place...
  • aeragusa
    aeragusa Posts: 40 Member
    I get what you are saying, but in a way, I don't. How am I supposed to lose weight by eating 3500 calories and 300 carbs? That's how I got to 266lbs in the first place...

    Because the exercise you did for the day burned many of those calories, so they're kind of a wash in many ways, especially as far as your body is concerned. There are actually many more detailed explanations that you can find on this forum. Believe me, this is a topic of much debate and can be a little difficult to understand for most people, myself included when I first joined MFP. I would definitely recommending pursuing a little further and see what you can find - I'm sure others can explain this better than I can :)
  • melzteach
    melzteach Posts: 550 Member
    I get what you are saying, but in a way, I don't. How am I supposed to lose weight by eating 3500 calories and 300 carbs? That's how I got to 266lbs in the first place...

    I would suggest reading "Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads". I checked it out at the library today and so far I'm enjoying it. It's helping me to understand the how's and why's of eating "right". Here are the first few chapter titles:
    How Salads Got Us Into Big Fat Trouble
    The ABC's of Weight Loss
    It's The Amount That Counts
    The Beauty of Balance
    Much Around the Clock
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    The recommended minimum daily intake for a healthy female is 1200 net. That is just for basic healthy body functions. So if your goal is 1360, you eat (or plan to eat) 1360, and exercise off 800 cals (1360 - 800 = 560 net cals) you are now below the recommended 1200 net. MFP has already calculated a deficit in your goal for the 1-2 pounds a week that you requested, so you don't HAVE to do any exercise if you don't want to and you will still lose weight. But now that you have gone below the goal set by MFP it will add the exercise calories back in to get you back to that preset deficit. You DON"T HAVE to eat all the exercise calories back. It is highly suggested that you DO get back to that 1200 net minimum for healthy body function. Using the above example of 1360 - 800 = 560, you would need to consume 640 calories to get to the 1200 net.

    Edit: If you are not hungry for food, you can have a before bed treat..... when I have extra I work in a little ice cream or some dark chocolate. Then I don't feel like my life has become misery because I can't have a goodie once in a while. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Life includes treats! :wink:
  • ErinJ1981
    ErinJ1981 Posts: 72
    Thank you Mzbug! That made total sense to me! I've been reading about more and I'm coming to understand what it all means. Well, there is no way I'm going to eat another 1200 calories tonight, so I'll do better tomorrow. Thanks again!
  • millerll
    millerll Posts: 873 Member
    Go to the top of this forum section and read the "sticky" notes marked with the red push pin icon. There are many excellent posts in there for new folks that explains how all this works. It's worth the time to read through them and you'll much better understand how the site works. Good luck!

    Edit - Oops, I meant go to the top of the General section.
  • Shawnalee0703
    Shawnalee0703 Posts: 1,093
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

    This is a wonderful explanation of the calorie intake. Basically the workout calories are readded so you CAN eat them. That does not mean you have to! You just need to make sure you are not eating too little if you are working out hard. If you are burning 500+ calories many times a week it is recommended that you eat SOME of those calories each of those days. Some can be between 0 and 500 lol whatever tickles YOUR fancy and as long as you feel like you have enough energy. You should NEVER feel hungry. If you are eating wholesome real foods you will stay full and be fine with no major hunger pangs.

    I eat 100 or so of my workout calories some of my workout days. But go by your body. If you are eating 1350 each day and you eat ALL of your workout calories, you body is still getting a caloric deficit, therefore you should still lose weight.
  • Shawnalee0703
    Shawnalee0703 Posts: 1,093


    Edit: If you are not hungry for food, you can have a before bed treat..... when I have extra I work in a little ice cream or some dark chocolate. Then I don't feel like my life has become misery because I can't have a goodie once in a while. It is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Life includes treats! :wink:
    If we earn our treats we should definitely ENJOY them! :-D And I STRONGLY agree with the fact that this is not a diet! Moderation is key as long we we have control we will WIN! :-D
  • kimcat73
    kimcat73 Posts: 687 Member
    I like to look at it like money. I need to work to earn money in order to spend it. I need to workout in order to earn calories that I can spend on food, or treats. As long as my account isn't in the red at the end of the day, I'm good! For example, I wanted Chinese for dinner yesterday so I made sure to work out extra hard yesterday morning in order "earn" those calories:) This works, believe me:) Good luck to all!
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