Help Understanding

science24
science24 Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I am new to all of this and I have decided I am confused about a couple things,

first: My calories per day i am supposed to eat seems high and I have ate a good bit of food today and it is still not at the amount it says I am supposed to eat which is 21 something, is that an issue? I dont want to lose weight in an unhealtyh way

second: Am I supposed to burn more calories then I eat ?

third: I want to be certain I am doing this in a healthy way but I do not want to eat a couple thousand calories if I do not eat that anyways(My biggest issue in life is potato chips which I have just recently cut out) SO I am unsure how to figure this all out,,,,Thank you very much for your time and help.

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    first: what is the calories? if you don't mind me asking, what is your age, height and current weight?
    second: you are supposed to net the amount of calories MFP tells you to
    third: eat the number of calories MFP tells you to, it doesn't matter if you have some potato chips
  • blaccoffee
    blaccoffee Posts: 26 Member
    1: Use this calculator here to determine if MFP is correct on the amount of calories you need to consume to meet your weight loss goals. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    2: Yes and no. Your body will use up a certain amount of calories for energy. The point of a diet (calorie deficit) is to use more calories than you consume in a day (Calories In < Calories Out or CICO for short). You can do exercise which will cause you to burn more calories than you have consumed. Do not attempt to burn 1000+ calories doing exercise because then you will be increasing your deficit to a dangerous level. If you set your goals right on MFP, your calorie limit is already set to a certain deficit.

    3: I get the feeling you have been underestimating the amount of calories you take in. It happens to everyone, including myself at one point in life. My suggestion is to follow the limit that MFP or the calorie calculator I gave you a link to suggest.

    Buy a digital scale that has the option to switch between grams, ounces and pounds. I got one from Walmart for about 15 bucks. Use it and weigh everything that is going to enter your mouth. Get precise in order to have a better idea of how many calories you are actually consuming.

    Good luck
  • science24
    science24 Posts: 42 Member
    I put in all the food I ate today and it is a good bit of food but it says it is only 1700 calories and it says I should be eating 2112 a day or something to that effect thats why I was asking because I dont want to eat more I am full lol
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    your body burns calories all day by virtue of you being alive. the deficit (and it is a deficit) that mfp set you up on doesnt assume any exercise past whatever your normal daily activities are, so you dont have to exercise to lose weight.

    and eat your food. you will still lose weight on 2100 calories a day. i'm female order than you and i assume shorter than you and i'm losing fat and i probably eat around 2000 calories (my diary shows around 1700 calories for goal, but since i dont weigh and measure anything i'm assuming i eat 200-300 calories more).

    ETA: nothing wrong with potato chips if they fit your calories.
  • science24
    science24 Posts: 42 Member
    I dont know what else to eat lol I usually eat this much,,,,I dont eat no fried foods, no sweets not because I dont want to but because I have gerd. but I don;'t lose weight. I just got confused as I was looking up a lot of stuff about it and read a lot about how dangerous it is if you cut your calorie intake to much and it confused and scared me lol
  • science24
    science24 Posts: 42 Member
    Wow I didnt know I was supposed to add drinks as well lol
  • MargaretSobers
    MargaretSobers Posts: 167 Member
    Good if you are taking your diet in a balanced way.
    As, you are mentioned here about weight loss, you must have to find that how much calories you are consuming as well as you also have to know whether you are losing that much calories or not. For a well-balanced diet you need to understand your calorie deficit and for that you have to calculate your daily calorie deficit.

Categories