iPhone steps ????

csantiago245
csantiago245 Posts: 9 Member
edited November 16 in Fitness and Exercise
ok, I use my iPhone to keep track of my steps. Myfitnesspal puts those steps as "exercise" and since I've burned calories, it brings my daily calorie intake higher. But my thing is why???? If I'm burning calories, then why put my calorie goal higher? I don't want to burn calories but yet have to eat more calories because of the ones I burned. Can someone explain this to me??

Replies

  • Loopylinda4949
    Loopylinda4949 Posts: 5 Member
    Hello Csantiago245, when you exercise you burn more calories, therefore you get to eat more if you choose to or if you don't eat more then you will loose weight faster. I hope that helped.
    What app are you using to track your steps on the iphone?

    I have been wearing my pedometer doing 10,000 steps a day which equates to 1 mile for every 2,000 steps.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
    MFP already sets the deficit for you so if you exercise more you can eat more and the deficit remains the same.

    Look at it like this:

    I give you $20 and you are required to still have that $20 by the end of the day. Someone else gives you $10. Can you keep it yes, because you will have $30 now instead of $20. But since I told you that you must have $20 by the end of the day it is okay to spend the $10 because you'll still have the $20 you are supposed to have.

    So like money, you can "bank" those extra calories that you burn from exercise and lose weight quicker. Or you can enjoy eating them and still achieve your goals, just at a slower rate than you would have you saved the calories.

  • csantiago245
    csantiago245 Posts: 9 Member
    Ok, so then it's best to NOT eat those extra calories u burned off with exercise right? That way u lose weight quicker
  • csantiago245
    csantiago245 Posts: 9 Member
    O
    Loopylinda4949 wrote: »
    Hello Csantiago245, when you exercise you burn more calories, therefore you get to eat more if you choose to or if you don't eat more then you will loose weight faster. I hope that helped.
    What app are you using to track your steps on the iphone?

    I have been wearing my pedometer doing 10,000 steps a day which equates to 1 mile for every 2,000 steps.


    Oh ok, so 2000 steps is a mile? I'm not using an app for it... Myfitnesspal uses my iPhone to keep track of my steps, but that's if I have my phone on me at all times
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
    csantiago245 wrote: »
    Ok, so then it's best to NOT eat those extra calories u burned off with exercise right? That way u lose weight quicker

    Correct. It's entirely up to you. Some people like to eat them back because it keeps them motivated by not depriving themselves. Others like to be more strict and eat the same amount of calories regardless of what they burn- I do a mixture of the two.

    The only time I recommend eating them back is if your calorie intake is very low and your activity is very high. That creates too high of a deficit and your body needs a certain amount of calories to function properly. So if you are eating 1,200 calories but burning 600 in the gym, you should eat some back.
  • csantiago245
    csantiago245 Posts: 9 Member
    Ok thanks for the help guys. Do any of u keep track of ur steps using MFP? I'm just wondering if it's accurate?
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    csantiago245 wrote: »
    O
    Loopylinda4949 wrote: »
    Hello Csantiago245, when you exercise you burn more calories, therefore you get to eat more if you choose to or if you don't eat more then you will loose weight faster. I hope that helped.
    What app are you using to track your steps on the iphone?

    I have been wearing my pedometer doing 10,000 steps a day which equates to 1 mile for every 2,000 steps.


    Oh ok, so 2000 steps is a mile? I'm not using an app for it... Myfitnesspal uses my iPhone to keep track of my steps, but that's if I have my phone on me at all times

    Careful... I am 5'1" and my 10k steps a day is closer to 4 miles, or 2500 steps per mile. Everyone is different.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited April 2015
    csantiago245 wrote: »
    ok, I use my iPhone to keep track of my steps. Myfitnesspal puts those steps as "exercise" and since I've burned calories, it brings my daily calorie intake higher. But my thing is why???? If I'm burning calories, then why put my calorie goal higher? I don't want to burn calories but yet have to eat more calories because of the ones I burned. Can someone explain this to me??

    I have a FitBit One synched to MFP ......so I'll assume this is the same principal.

    Let's say you have your activity level set to sedentary and your phone app synched to MFP.....MFP will compare your actual steps to sedentary.....if your steps are more....it adds calories.....if your steps are less....it subtracts calories (provided you have a setting that enables negative adjustments).
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    csantiago245 wrote: »
    Ok, so then it's best to NOT eat those extra calories u burned off with exercise right? That way u lose weight quicker

    Depends...........eating back exercise calories is not a one-size-fits-all.

    Yes, you will lose "weight" faster if you eat none back. For morbidly obese people the "weight" will be fat. For people who are merely overweight...we have to be careful of losing fat+lean muscle. I (personaly) don't just want to lose "weight"....I want to lower my body fat percentage. I need a more modest deficit.

    MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE any exercise. So eating calories back should get you to your original deficit. However, calorie burns are estimates. Many people start by eating back 50% and adjust as needed.
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