Food Calories vs. Calories Burned

music4udeb
music4udeb Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't remember, but what is the rule of thumb if I take in 1200 calories a day and exercise? Can I eat the remaing calories that I burned off during exercise, or not? Is there a way to add calories burned into my daily log and not have it show that I have more calories that I can consume than I really need?

Replies

  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
    Yes you can consume them. MFP is designed with your exercise calories factored in (that's why it asks how active you are). Many people only eat a portion of their exercise calories though because MFP may overestimate how many calories you are really burning. You want 1200 net calories...so if your goal is 1200 and you eat 1400 but burn 200 then you end up with a net of 200. However if the exercise calories are off and you only burn 100 rather than 200 you would net 1300. Hope that helps. I do not eat back my exercise points most of the time or at least only a portion of them.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • music4udeb
    music4udeb Posts: 5 Member
    What are macros?
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    What are macros?

    Macronutrients. Fat, protein and carbohydrates. They're essential to our well being and health.
  • music4udeb
    music4udeb Posts: 5 Member
    Oh, ok. I have been watching that stuff. Didn't know they were called macros. Thanks!!

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