Calories

res417
res417 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 16 in Food and Nutrition
This has always confused me. Apparently my calorie goal for the day is 1200 calories. When I log exercise...I get more available calories. If I eat those extra calories that I have earned from the exercise...won't I be eating more that my daily calorie goal. Now I have a fitbit and it is giving me a credit of calories too...just not sure that I am supposed to be eating more calories...confused...

Replies

  • itscattopaz
    itscattopaz Posts: 10 Member
    Hello! So the calories they give you are the calories you would need to lose xx amount of weight per week assuming you did NOTHING. However, because you are doing more than nothing your expenditure is greater and therefore you would need more food to maintain the loss of xx a week. Hope this helped!
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
    MFP's calorie goal already has a deficit worked into it. You can eat that number and lose weight while doing nothing. (If you have selected sedentary).

    Think of your body as a car. It burns fuel as it runs. You drive a longer road, you'll need more fuel. Same deal here. You burn those calories off extra, you need to replenish them, otherwise (especially if you eat so little) you have a larger chance to become malnourished over time.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
    If you eat 1200, then go and burn off 200, it's not terribly different from just eating 1000. It's called net calories. MFP wants you to NET your target, not eat it, and then burn half your target off! (And netting below 1200 is considered unhealthy, so MFP will always warn you if you do it.)

    If you didn't exercise even a bit, you'd still lose weight, because MFP calculates your target without knowing or making any assumptions about your exercise habits. If it knew you planned to go biking every day, say, it would give you a higher calorie target to begin with, because you need fuel if you're going to go biking every day!

    It's just a way of looking at it, and it's just because of the way the app is. Eating 1500 and burning 300 a day is the same as eating 1200, burning 300, then "eating back" the 300. If you were working with a personal trainer, they'd probably simplify it that way -- give you a target to eat, and a target to burn. But it's the same either way, just the way of thinking about it that changes.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Only use one..MFP or Fitbit. It is confusing, but your body requires a minimum calorie goal to just survive (BMR) and anything else (walking, exercise, working, sitting) also burns calories which is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE..basically the calories you need in a day). If you set your MFP goal to lose 2 lb/week it defaults to 1200 calories, but for most this is too low. If you keep it there at least eat back the calories you burn with exercise for better results. You will still lose if you eat more than 1200 calories.
  • splashtree5
    splashtree5 Posts: 210 Member
    I eat back my calories and iloose weight
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    If you add your exercise and have your FitBit linked in you may be getting double bonus calories which is why I don't count my FitBit adjustment as extra calories I can eat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    res417 wrote: »
    This has always confused me. Apparently my calorie goal for the day is 1200 calories. When I log exercise...I get more available calories. If I eat those extra calories that I have earned from the exercise...won't I be eating more that my daily calorie goal. Now I have a fitbit and it is giving me a credit of calories too...just not sure that I am supposed to be eating more calories...confused...

    Because your calorie goal is your deficit to lose weight WITHOUT any exercise. Obviously if you're exercising, you're doing more than what you stated in your activity level...thus your body would obviously require more energy (calories) and nutrients.

    It's important to learn how to fuel your fitness...fit and healthy people eat.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I use a FitBit. I eat back the calorie adjustments. I only log exercise in MFP that FitBit is not good at calculating - strength training, stationary bike, etc. If you do that, and check what is entered, then check your FitBit, then check back at MFP, it will usually adjust downward so that you aren't getting double credit for the activity.

    I've had my FitBit for 18 months, eat back all my calorie adjustments, and have been losing weight predictably.
    I did have to adjust my activity level in MFP so that my adjustments weren't so large - went from Sedentary to Lightly Active to now Active. It doesn't give me any adjustments until I exceed 9000 steps or so, which is fine, I average 13K.

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Lizzy622 wrote: »
    If you add your exercise and have your FitBit linked in you may be getting double bonus calories which is why I don't count my FitBit adjustment as extra calories I can eat.

    OP - FitBit adjustments can be exercise and/or activity level.

    For example - if you set your activity level in MFP to sedentary and let FitBit add calories, you could get added calories with no exercise what so ever because FitBit is comparing to sedentary. If you workout and it's step based....FitBit does a pretty good job of calculating....other types of workouts not so much.

    Here is some information for FitBit users.......http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

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