Maintenance calories: am i supposed to count in exercice calories,or are they all accounted in ?

pumpkinpocalypse
pumpkinpocalypse Posts: 104 Member
edited November 18 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I used this calculator http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm to find out my actual daily cal intake on maintenance, since it seems to be the most efficient from what I've found.
I got 1850 by choosing the ''Daily'' exercise level, considering their criteria is '15-30 min elevated heartrate''. Accurate, I take a 40 min brisk walk everyday to come home from school.
Except that's still kind of off, since I also workout/do sports at least 3-4 times a week, minimum 1h per session! They just didn't have that option though...
I've heard here and there that when you get your daily calorie intake number, it already considers your fitness level/lifestyle, so even if on x day you do a hour of, say, tennis, you can't add that 300 (or whatever) calories burned to your day's account. So, should I ALWAYS consider my 1850 calories everyday and 1850 only, without eating back any exercice calories/think of that workout as some wiggle room to go out?

I'm pretty confused!

Replies

  • solarfish
    solarfish Posts: 50 Member
    It is all confusing and the more you read the more confusing it all gets. I have gone back to basics, I picked a number I thought was about right, made sure my macro ratios were reasonable and then stuck to that number for a couple of weeks. If my weight gain/loss was not what I wanted I just adjusted the calories accordingly and went another couple of weeks. We're all different and every calculator you find out there is making general assumptions, so I am now convinced that monitoring yourself is the best way to go. Finally remember that as you get bigger/smaller/fitter whatever, your 'number' will change anyway, so even if some magic formula has it right to start with it sure will need adjusting as you and your life change.
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    It looks like you'd have to include your weekly 3-4 sport sessions to get an accurate calorie level. It looks like a tdee calculator (as far as I could tell) which is supposed to include all your excersize.

    Why not use the mfp calculator and enter your excersize as it happens or slowly increase your calories till your not losing and not log your excersize (giving you your tdee).

    Either way you'll have to adjust up or down as the calculators are just estimations. The scale will be your best indicator of if you're at your maintenance calories.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited May 2015
    if the descriptor mentions exercise and you are entering your activity level based on exercise then exercise is included in your calorie goals.

    also remember that your real world results trump all. people tend to think these calculators are some kind of gospel and forget to take into account real world results.

    also, given what you described as your activity, I'm going to say that you're actually going to be short on 1,850 calories.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    What method of accounting for exercise did you use when you were losing weight - MFP's or TDEE?

    Why do you think a random "calculator" will give you a better idea of your maintenance calories than your own data and results?
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Like they said. If you choose an activity level, then it includes exercise at that level. I vary a lot, so I use MFP to calculate the calories at sedentary, then log steps with a fitbit and 'above and beyond' exercises that aren't measured with the fitbit by logging. This gives me calories to match my real, not projected, activities. Works for me.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Since the tool says it includes exercise then you should not add exercise calories on top of that. But really, what you want to know is what your TDEE is, not what the average TDEE for people like you is. You should use your own data to find it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited May 2015
    Use this to get a better quick TDEE estimate.
    Since 1 hr walking isn't the same as 1 hr lifting as 1 hr running.
    And those TDEE levels never seem to include daily activity time beyond desk job.
    If maintenance, ignore the deficit eating levels and just eat the TDEE.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
    edited May 2015
    Firstly, I'll admit to being so OCD that I actually sneak and clean off the counters again after my husband does the dishes. I absolutely hate the way most TDEE calculators figure a person's calories. I ended up using this calculator (IIFYM) with the No Exercise option. I then found a way to figure out approximately how many calories I burn per exercise, and, to this day, I calculate my exercise separately, add my exercise to the TDEE I get from my calculator, and that's how many calories I can have that day.

    It's not quick, but it satisfies my crazy desire to have an exact number.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    PokeyBug wrote: »
    Firstly, I'll admit to being so OCD that I actually sneak and clean off the counters again after my husband does the dishes. I absolutely hate the way most TDEE calculators figure a person's calories. I ended up using this calculator (IIFYM) with the No Exercise option. I then found a way to figure out approximately how many calories I burn per exercise, and, to this day, I calculate my exercise separately, add my exercise to the TDEE I get from my calculator, and that's how many calories I can have that day.

    It's not quick, but it satisfies my crazy desire to have an exact number.

    That's exactly the method that MFP does already.

    Non-Exercise TDEE, add exercise when actually done.

    Have you actually compared methods?
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
    Yes, and MFP always give me different results. Their 'calories burned' are not very accurate for me.
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