I need help! Newbie here

dideroch
dideroch Posts: 6
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok I am thoroughly confused. I use MyFitnessPal on my Droid X to keep track of my calories. I use CardioTrainerPro to track my exercise, then input that information into MFP. It tells me how much calories I have still for the day. I thought this was all good, but people are saying don't eat your exercise calories. Others say go ahead. Some say don't track any workouts except real workouts. CTP I can track driving, dancing, etc... I have XBox360 Kinect so I get most of my exercise from dancing and doing a workout on EA Sports Avtive2. So do I eat my exercise calories or not? Do I track my activities like driving, dancing etc... or not? I am sooooo confused!!!!!

Replies

  • TabbyJustice
    TabbyJustice Posts: 132 Member
    You should eat your exercise calories if it makes you go under about 1,100-1,200 calories a day.

    Also, I log any exercise I do that goes above my "activity level". I work a desk job so I selected "sedentary" as my activity level. That way I can manually log any exercising I do, whether it is Kinect, Gym, workout DVD's, walks, etc.

    I hope this helps!
  • Mollywater
    Mollywater Posts: 42 Member
    Well, you really need to just see what your body needs. EVERYONE is different, and EVERYONE has a different opinion on eating back calories. I say start by eating them back. If you are not losing a half pound or more a week, decrease the amount of cals you eat back, to maybe half. And then see where you are at with weight loss. For me, I can eat back 100 or so and still lose, but if I go over and eat more, I plateau or go up.
  • lessertess
    lessertess Posts: 855 Member
    The answer is "it depends".

    Normally you should eat your exercise calories. However, there are a few things to consider. Most people overestimate how much they burn when they work out. So I would recommend only eating a portion of the exercise calories that you earn. This is under the assumption that when you set up your account and listed your activity level, that you did not inlcude your exercise.

    If you included your exercise in your activity level then don't eat them as that would be double counting.

    As for workouts, I recommend you only track real workouts not daily activity. Others may disagree, but I've always cleaned the house, done laundry and grocery shopped. I didn't count it as exercise before so why should I now.

    I also recommend that you read these posts: they will answer most of your questions much better than I can.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition
  • dmf0924
    dmf0924 Posts: 2
    You need to eat more when exercising as your body will demand more. I've worked out my entire life and when I'm working hard, I eat more. The key is to eat healthy, not all the garbage calories. Otherwise, the exercise time will have been wasted.
  • chelekaz
    chelekaz Posts: 847 Member
    Hi. Here is a great link for anyone new with questions. It has links to popular discussions including to your question.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Everyone is different on what they feel is right for them. The true way to track true calories burned is with an HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) so if you are just going by what a program says be careful how much you consume back (should you decide to). I've lost nearly 32 pounds since Sept and I can say that I do not eat back all of my calories but I do usually go over my goal calories just because I need more fuel on those massive workout days at the gym.

    Maybe try for a few weeks to eat back 1/2 of your calories IF you are hungry. If that doesn't work you can try not eating them back. Again, it is all for the individual to decide what works best for THEM.

    Good luck.
  • dideroch
    dideroch Posts: 6
    Thanks everyone for your input. I think I understand a little better now.
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