help needed

cheekydon
cheekydon Posts: 12 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm new to this I'm trying to lose weight and tone my body iv been told to have 1200 calories a day ..I went the gym today burned off over 400 calories now my available calories left to have as gone up because of the calories I burnt off so does that mean iv got to eat more to use them calories up thank you in advance X xdonna

Replies

  • kCalCrusher
    kCalCrusher Posts: 54 Member
    I eat 1500 calories a day if I'm working out and 1200 calories if I don't....regardless of what I burn off at the gym. It depends on what your goal is- are you trying to lose weight (calorie deficit is needed meaning you need to burn off more in a day than you eat).
  • jackguest3
    jackguest3 Posts: 1 Member
    Your total daily energy expenditure is what you need to know. http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ is one way to estimate that.

    This is the amount of calories your body needs, including what you generally burn off with activity. My TDEE is generally around 3400, so to lose body fat I need to take in about 2900-3000 calories a day.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Whether or not you have "got to" eat those additional calories is dependent on what calorie deficit that would put you at. Generally, people shouldn't have a calorie deficit greater than 1000 calories.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    The way MFP is designed is your deficit according to the rate of loss you selected is already built into your goals. When you exercise you are supposed to eat those calories back so you do not lose faster as creating too large of a deficit can have negative effects on your body. You can opt not to eat those calorie (or just part of them) if you prefer, just remember to listen to your body if it is giving you signs that you are not eating enough (fatigue, irritability, uncontrollable hunger).

    Since you are new I would recommend reading this thread.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    This was not part of your question but I am going to throw it in there anyways. 1200 calories is a tough goal to stick to long term. It may be right for you; however, it is a common indicator that people have set their goals too agressive for the weight they need to lose. The thread above goes over appropriate goals and how to successfully reach them.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I don't eat back the calories I burn during exercise. I have my set calorie goal that I try to hit regardless of whether I exercise or not.

    What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    cheekydon wrote: »
    Hi I'm new to this I'm trying to lose weight and tone my body iv been told to have 1200 calories a day ..I went the gym today burned off over 400 calories now my available calories left to have as gone up because of the calories I burnt off so does that mean iv got to eat more to use them calories up thank you in advance X xdonna

    Since you are new and 1200 is the lowest MFP will go I would suggest yes eating them back...at least 75% of them.

    After a few weeks if you have lost a few pounds you know you are succeeding. If you haven't lost much than eat 50% of them back.

    MFP is designed to set your calories pre exercise.

    To get into TDEE so early in is not advisable until you know your exercise will be consistent.
  • cheekydon
    cheekydon Posts: 12 Member
    I don't understand what MFD means or TDEE as I said I'm new to this its all to complicated I just want to lose weight and tone my stomach
  • cheekydon
    cheekydon Posts: 12 Member
    Sorry MFP
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    cheekydon wrote: »
    I don't understand what MFD means or TDEE as I said I'm new to this its all to complicated I just want to lose weight and tone my stomach

    MFP (which is what I assume you mean, not MFD) = MyFitnessPal.
    TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, how many calories you burn in total on an average day.

    Basically the answer to your question is yes, eat your exercise calories back. But if you're getting your calories burnt by what it says on the machine or what MFP tells you then you probably don't want to eat them all back as those sources tend to overestimate how much you've burnt.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    cheekydon wrote: »
    I don't understand what MFD means or TDEE as I said I'm new to this its all to complicated I just want to lose weight and tone my stomach

    Totally understand...hence my thoughts that it's a better bet not to over complicate this for you atm.

    Eat back some of your exercise calories...at least half of them...
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    Just stay within your caloric limits and exercise when you can. They are both impossible to correctly assess. Once you start losing weight, your energy level will soar and you can start eating more. It's all CICO (Calories in, calories out) that controls our weight loss.
  • cheekydon
    cheekydon Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks everybody I'm just struggling to replace the calories that iv burned off I burned off about 700 calories to day at the gym and walking so I have to eat a extra 700 calories I just don't want to eat more calories and it effect my weight loss
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