Cals. Burned Help!!

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ace175
ace175 Posts: 518 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So you have to burn 3500 cals. a week to lose 1 lb (correct?)....but MFP tells me as a goal to burn 1730 cals/week and sometimes I don't reach that number...but I am losing @ least 2 pounds a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. What does this mean? I'm kind of worried now!

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  • kar013
    kar013 Posts: 4
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    3500 = a pound so thats how much you would have to burn a day if you were crazy and wanted to do that. It's less amount of calories for the whole week!
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
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    Ah, I don't get it! Haha
  • bethikabob
    bethikabob Posts: 128 Member
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    You also have to take into consideration the calorie deficit between what you eat and what your body (simply by being alive) burns to function. Don't worry and don't panic. (:
  • mishmash73
    mishmash73 Posts: 166 Member
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    but you are also burning calories typically throughout the day already just by walking, eating, etc. as long as you are not to far below your calories, you're good. you don't to know how it works other than burns lots of calories... My Fitness Pal will do the rest
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
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    you need to be in defiicit by 3500 not burn that much

    ie, the number of calories MFP gives you to eat per day is 500 calories less than what you need to maintain your current weight.

    if you did nothing but eat your calorie goal per week you should lose the 1lb per week. (can someone please explain to me how lb = pound.)

    anyways, the burning goal per week is just because you entered in you will exercise x times per week at y minutes per session so it calculated that that is what you would burn. if you burn them, it gives you extra to eat.


    if this is wrong, please let me know because this is how i am approaching it.
  • fiercegoddess
    fiercegoddess Posts: 12
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    MFP typically builds a 500 cal. deficit into your diet. It doesn't take exercise into the count until you actually log it in. Since you have a deficit in your intake whether you exercise or not you will lose the lb per week. If you are exercising, you may burn more calories than the estimates on MFP gives you. That's one way you could still lose the 2 lbs yet appear not to reach your exercise cal goals.
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
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    Yeah I guess that makes sense....I've just been surprised by how much if lost in the amount of time...so I was getting really worried I was losing too much too fast -- which I did over the summer and bad things happened!
  • ChefJenn
    ChefJenn Posts: 350 Member
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    ok to help a lil.
    we need to eat less 3500 calories to lose a pound, plus we work out so then add the calories you burn off
    plus:
    do you realize how many calories you burn when you sleep, breath, walk to the bathroom, sit here and type, walk around the house while on the phone, walk to your car, take a shower, and then your body burns calories to digest food too.
    i read a article on what the % was that we burn I will look for it and send it to you.
    but it help me realize the more we just keep moving around we burn more calories.

    so even if you are some weeks losing a pound and some none and some more.. realize its all in how much you do. and then just remember some weight doesnt "leave" the body as much as it should..
  • fiercegoddess
    fiercegoddess Posts: 12
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    Yeah I guess that makes sense....I've just been surprised by how much if lost in the amount of time...so I was getting really worried I was losing too much too fast -- which I did over the summer and bad things happened!

    If you feel like you are losing too fast you can eat some of your exercise calories. Or you can do more strength training to build lean muscle mass. More muscle means more calories burned at rest. Also, if you lose a bunch of weight at a time a lot of it is usually water and muscle. Losing muscle can slow your metabolism.
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
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    If you feel like you are losing too fast you can eat some of your exercise calories. Or you can do more strength training to build lean muscle mass. More muscle means more calories burned at rest. Also, if you lose a bunch of weight at a time a lot of it is usually water and muscle. Losing muscle can slow your metabolism.

    I only enter the calories I burn from my cardio exercises and nothing else. I also do strength training with weights and weight machines but I have never entered what I am burning from there. So I suppose that would be the answer to my problem?
  • cacrat
    cacrat Posts: 336 Member
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    You're getting it now. Let's say for example your body will burn 1200cal doing nothing all day. But since you're moving around all day it needs another 300. So just to SURVIVE, your body needs 1500cal a day. MFP usually sets their cal/day a bit higher, but the number doesn't really matter here. The moral of the story, your body burns calories even doing nothing. So everything you do during the day will put you in the negative. That means walking, running, gym, even paper shuffling at work.
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
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    Ok so take today... my calorie goal is 1440, I ate 1660 then burned 510 calories from just cardio. So it says my NET is 1150 calories....should I then eat more so my NET is close to the 1440 goal number? Even though I already passed it by 220 not counting exercise?
  • cacrat
    cacrat Posts: 336 Member
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    I would say to try not to limit your net intake to lower than 1200, its the upper limit to what a body NEEDS to survive. After that, I would say not to eat those burned calories again, it'll will make your deficit that much harder to attain. Meaning, if you're trying to get a 3500cal (1lb) deficit, then eating what you just worked off will only make it harder to get to that 3500 mark.

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