Calorie Confusion
NerdyNix
Posts: 111 Member
Bare with me as I know this has probably been asked a trillion times but I'm fairly new to calorie counting.
I have burned a lot more than I've eaten today and MFP is telling me I still have over 2000 calories left to eat. Is it recommended that I eat the calories it tells me or is it ok to have th left over like that?
I have burned a lot more than I've eaten today and MFP is telling me I still have over 2000 calories left to eat. Is it recommended that I eat the calories it tells me or is it ok to have th left over like that?
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Once your over 1200 calories it should let you complete your entry for the day , if your not eating 1200cals your not eating enough0
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That depends on how much you ate. Unless you are really big and worked out really hard or didn't touch a lot of your calories I don't even see how you can have 2000 calories. Thats the most most people would have in a day. It would take an average sized person hours to burn that at the gym and that would be while working hard. Either you aren't eating enough or you are over estimating your burn.0
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Well I've eaten 1,139 and that's with cereal breakfast, stir fry lunch and chicken salad dinner plus mixed dried fruit snacks and a meringue (sp) and fruit pudding.
I've burned 1,820. I didn't personally estimate any of it. My wii tells me what I burn during the workouts, my exercise bike also shows the calorie burn on its display. And then MFP estimated the amount burned during 30 minutes swimming. So I'm not sure if any of it could be wrong.
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Oh and I'm about 3 stone over weight.0
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I would suggest to eat eat some of your exercise calories back if you're sure your food logging is accurate (weighing food, measuring liquids, logging every bite). If that's true and you're using MFP estimates, try eating 25-50% of the calories earned. Increase this percentage if you're losing faster than you should after a few weeks. If you're doing 1 or more hours of exercise a day and not eating back some calories you may end up starving your body.0
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Just to add perspective, 1,820 calories burned is a little MORE than the equivalent of running a half marathon! I'd be cautious of the Wii and exercise bike burn estimations, unless you really did spend ~2 hours with your heart rate consistently between 140-160bpm...0
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I also stick with the thought that most calories we consume are underestimated (we probably eat more calories than we think we do) and most calories we burn are overestimated (we don't burn as many calories as we think we do). If you're hungry eat some of them back...0
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[...] The estimated calorie burn was somewhere in the range of 2200 calories. 20 miles.
Sounds about right! When I first started calorie counting (LiveStrong's Daily Plate before I switched to MFP), I was horrified to learn that just a small (12oz) mocha frappuccino with whip was the caloric antithesis of a running a 5k race...
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Well I've eaten 1,139 and that's with cereal breakfast, stir fry lunch and chicken salad dinner plus mixed dried fruit snacks and a meringue (sp) and fruit pudding.
I've burned 1,820. I didn't personally estimate any of it. My wii tells me what I burn during the workouts, my exercise bike also shows the calorie burn on its display. And then MFP estimated the amount burned during 30 minutes swimming. So I'm not sure if any of it could be wrong.
Did you weigh all of that food and calculate the calories using verified or authoritative entries in MFP?0 -
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lindsayk324 wrote: »Just to add perspective, 1,820 calories burned is a little MORE than the equivalent of running a half marathon! I'd be cautious of the Wii and exercise bike burn estimations, unless you really did spend ~2 hours with your heart rate consistently between 140-160bpm...
I did 3 and a half hours worth of workouts, including 30k of the bike. But I will definitely be more cautious of the possibility that the wii and the bike are over estimating
thanks
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Even if I'm full? Seems a little counter productive to me!0 -
Well I've eaten 1,139 and that's with cereal breakfast, stir fry lunch and chicken salad dinner plus mixed dried fruit snacks and a meringue (sp) and fruit pudding.
I've burned 1,820. I didn't personally estimate any of it. My wii tells me what I burn during the workouts, my exercise bike also shows the calorie burn on its display. And then MFP estimated the amount burned during 30 minutes swimming. So I'm not sure if any of it could be wrong.
Did you weigh all of that food and calculate the calories using verified or authoritative entries in MFP?
Yes I weigh all of my food. Don't always use the authoritative MFP things though. I tend to pick the ones that are from the shop I got them from. Like Tesco thin cut steaks. Rather than just picking another thin cut steak entry.
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Fantastic replies. OP - you say you are new to calorie counting but don't seem keen on the correct answers/information you've been given. It's up to you how you process this info but it wouldn't do you any harm whatsoever to have a good mooch round the forum, especially the sticky posts, to get yourself a bit more clued up about it all. Your choice.
You're not eating near enough by the way. Unless you're 3ft 11.
Good luck0 -
Thanks, I didn't mean to appear like I don't want the answers so apologies if I come across like that. Was just trying to answer questions I was asked. How do I get the correct burn amounts if my wii and bike are overestimating?
Most days I eat more than I did yesterday. That was the first day I went under 1,200 (although MFP did let me complete the entry with under that amount) I usually eat between 1,300 and 1,500. I'm not quite hobbit short but I'm only 5ft 2! MFP says I should have 1,350 a day.0 -
Ooooo 1 last thing. People who ask about calorie counting generally have their food diary open for a little while, so it might be an idea to open it so people can review your calorie intake.
You'll get answers about your calorie counting based on your calorie counting0 -
I'm 5ft 3 and 14 stone - I need at least 1700. Check a tdee calculator and change mfp0
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I was 13 stone when I started, an down to 12st 5 now. I think my diary is open? I thought I was eating enough as I am never hungry. And I'm eating more than I did when I was on weight watchers! I tend to fill up on fruits and veg. But I will try to get more calories down me
Ok what is a tdee?0 -
Ooooh my activity level was at sedentary ( which was correct last year but not so much now!) so I have changed it to lightly active and its upped my daily calories intake to 1,500 0
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I think the figures on mfp aren't as accurate as they could be. Google tdee. Total daily energy expenditure - general idea of the calories you're body needs to function (bmr) and the amount needed to stay at the weight you are and you pick an amount in the middle of the two.
People eat peanut butter as its a great protein provider and for its high calorie content. Seems mad to increase calories but it's about what macros your body needs not all about the minimum amount of calories you can survive on. And that would only be short term as you couldn't live like that.
Have a read of the sticky posts x0 -
Thank you0
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Plan better next time and eat higher calorie foods.
If you have alot left over from one day, carry it over to the next. ALot of people go by weekly averages than by daily.
Also, just because you're full doesn't mean you're fueling yourself properly. It's not a good indicator of proper nutrition, whatsoever.0 -
I personally think that calories burnt on machines, wii, and even mfp calculations can be over board.
So even though you did a great job working out, you may have not burnt as much as they say you have.
1,139 calories is low, so I would try to have a bit more. Even a few scoops of peanut butter will help you bring up that number a bit. I haven't looked at your diary so don't know if you eat that low all the time, or if it's just one day. One day being low won't hurt, but it shouldn't become a habit.
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Ooooh my activity level was at sedentary ( which was correct last year but not so much now!) so I have changed it to lightly active and its upped my daily calories intake to 1,500
And do realize that every description in there for those activity levels is about daily life, NOT exercise.
MFP estimates your daily burn based on NO exercise being done.
The subtracts deficit for eating goal.
But the moment you do exercise, or more than your activity level said you'd do - you have burned more now.
Subtract same deficit for eating goal - you are now eating more.
But that's only if you want the exercise to be of benefit in actually changing your body. Which is why most people do exercise.
Some mistakenly think exercise is about losing weight, when it normally has weight increase as side effect.
You merely need to eat a little less than you use to, and move a little more than you used.
Extremes in either or worse both directions will be nothing but a stress to your body.
If you have no idea what you used to eat that got you in to trouble, then it's hard to know what calorie eating levels truly sound high. Most people base their opinions on the only thing they've seen - 1200. They have no clue how much they or others might burn in their daily activity.0 -
No it was just yesterday, I've already eaten more than that today and I've not had my dinner yet. I don't think I ate badly at all yesterday. It's possible I underestimated on a few things so my actual intake was probably higher anyway as as people have said I probably didn't burn as many as it's taking me either so I'm pretty sure I'm not doing myself any harm.0
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And do realize that every description in there for those activity levels is about daily life, NOT exercise.
MFP estimates your daily burn based on NO exercise being done.
The subtracts deficit for eating goal.
But the moment you do exercise, or more than your activity level said you'd do - you have burned more now.
Subtract same deficit for eating goal - you are now eating more.
But that's only if you want the exercise to be of benefit in actually changing your body. Which is why most people do exercise.
Some mistakenly think exercise is about losing weight, when it normally has weight increase as side effect.
You merely need to eat a little less than you use to, and move a little more than you used.
Extremes in either or worse both directions will be nothing but a stress to your body.
If you have no idea what you used to eat that got you in to trouble, then it's hard to know what calorie eating levels truly sound high. Most people base their opinions on the only thing they've seen - 1200. They have no clue how much they or others might burn in their daily activity.
It's complicated for me as every day is different. I don't work so it's not like I'm active everyday working so some days I can be very sedentary. I have Lupus so when I am in a flare I hardly move out of bed or off the sofa. Then when I have a good week I can be anywhere between lightly active to very active so it's hard to know the exact amount I need to eat on average. Unless I was to change it up everyday to suit my movement? But that would have the same effects as a to to diet surely? Eating different calorie amounts every day?0 -
Double post0
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Your body burns calories even if you do not exercise at all. For most women it is anywhere from 1200 calories to thousands of calories burned even if you slept all day. You need to fuel your vital functions such as your digestion, pumping blood through your body, fighting off infection, kidney and liver function, etc. if you do not eat enough to fuel your vital functions you risk losing large amounts of lean muscle mass which will make you look very squishy/flabby once you lose all the weight and you then will have to work hard to rebuild your muscle mass. Side effects like hair loss, and other health issues can also be caused by malnutrition.
Also, you may not feel hungry now but eventually your body will let you know it is exhausted and not getting enough fuel and you will be very hungry and too weak to work out. Seriously, you need to eat.0
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