Does any one know the answer???

tashasbaby
tashasbaby Posts: 71
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
On MFP i'm set to eat 1240 cals everyday and to burn and to burn 343 cals 4 days a week. Now take today for instance, i have burned 350 calories and logged my food which works out at 1242 cals giving me a net cal intake of 892. So my question is do i leave my day like this because MFP has said eat x amount and burn y amount or am i supposed to eat the extra 348 to make my net cal intake up to 1240.
Last week i totally sabotaged my weight loss by eating between 1200 - 1400 cals a day and burning 800 cal a day, so i would like to get back on track. I know this question has probably been asked a thousand times before but i would be very greatful if someone could take the time to reply xx

Replies

  • ChRiStA_1983
    ChRiStA_1983 Posts: 380 Member
    You want your NET calories to be OVER 1,200. ("Eating back" exercise calories is highly debated on this site, but basically, try to eat as close to 1200 calories per day as possible, and no less).

    So in your case, I would recommend eating back 300 (roughly) of the 350 that you mentioned burning, to take your net calorie intake up to 1,200.
  • tashasbaby
    tashasbaby Posts: 71
    Ok thanks this would be much simpler to figure out if Mfp told you off if your net cals were lower than 1200
  • sunshine79
    sunshine79 Posts: 758 Member
    It does tell you off. When you click to button to finish logging for the day it will alert you that your calories are too low :smile:
  • Barelmy
    Barelmy Posts: 590 Member
    Ok thanks this would be much simpler to figure out if Mfp told you off if your net cals were lower than 1200

    ...it does.
  • tashasbaby
    tashasbaby Posts: 71
    Not if my net calories are low it doesn't ! If i put in enough calories to cover what MFP has told me to eat, it doesn't matter how low my net calories go, it doesn't say anything! It only tells me off if i don't eat what it has told me to.
  • ejha77
    ejha77 Posts: 63
    It does tell you off. When you click to button to finish logging for the day it will alert you that your calories are too low :smile:
    It doesn't tell you off if exercising takes you below 1200 net calories, just if you eat fewer than 1200 calories. I've noticed it myself and thought it was a mistake.

    For example if I eat 1145 kcal and do no exercise it tells me off for not eating enough.

    If I eat 1500 kcal but burn off 400 kcal from exercising (i.e. I eat 1100kcal net) it *doesn't* tell me off for not eating enough. It should, but it doesn't.
  • kalamitykate83
    kalamitykate83 Posts: 227 Member
    I get totally confused with this too hun!!! Today for example, it tells me to eat 1200 cals, but with all my intake I'm only upto 1000 and then I've done 650 cals of exercise, so it's telling me to eat 1850cals?!?!?! Confused.com!!! xx
  • ejha77
    ejha77 Posts: 63
    I get totally confused with this too hun!!! Today for example, it tells me to eat 1200 cals, but with all my intake I'm only upto 1000 and then I've done 650 cals of exercise, so it's telling me to eat 1850cals
    That's different though. Why are you confused by that? 1200 + 650 = 1850.
  • kalamitykate83
    kalamitykate83 Posts: 227 Member
    I get totally confused with this too hun!!! Today for example, it tells me to eat 1200 cals, but with all my intake I'm only upto 1000 and then I've done 650 cals of exercise, so it's telling me to eat 1850cals
    That's different though. Why are you confused by that? 1200 + 650 = 1850.

    I meant I'm confused by what to do - do I stick to my 1200 as it says or should I be eating nearer 1850!!
  • nomadcelt
    nomadcelt Posts: 4 Member
    MFP does the work for you when you put your goals in and tells you what calorie intake you should have per day to reach your goal. This is irrespective of exercise. If you stuck to the calorie goal and did no exercise, you would still lose weight.

    What MFP does, as I understand it, is to make you FITTER. Remember, the site is called My-FITNESS-Pal, not My-WEIGHTLOSS-Pal. Weight loss is a by-product of a good fitness regime.

    MFP tells me to have consumed 2100 KCal by the end of the day. I do about 640 KCal of exercise a day which means I can eat 2740 KCal of food.

    That's certainly how I've been using it and so far the weight has been coming off as per its plan.
  • ejha77
    ejha77 Posts: 63
    I meant I'm confused by what to do - do I stick to my 1200 as it says or should I be eating nearer 1850!!
    Ah, ok. That's discussed endlessly here. The short answer is that if you're very overweight you probably don't need to eat all of your exercise calories (but should eat some), but if you're near goal or quite thin to start with then you should eat most or all of them.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories