Help with understanding please

victoriaal621
victoriaal621 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 20 in Getting Started
Hi! Can someone help me out to understand how the calories work and so on!? I always stay under but I want to understand how it works!

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited June 2015
    Your body uses a certain number of calories to maintain your current weight it's called TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). You need to eat less than this to lose weight.

    There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound. So if you want to lose 1 pound a week (3,500/7=500)....take 500 calories away from TDEE every day.

    Now, some calculators (My Fitness Pal is one) start with a number BEFORE exercise and use your "I want to lose XX pounds per week" to get to your daily goal. Because MFP hasn't included exercise up front....you are awarded extra calories when you log it. Eating back these calories ideally gets you back to your original deficit.

    Ideally because calorie burns are tough to estimate. Many MFP users eat back 50-75%....check their progress and adjust as needed.

    All weight loss is not created equal. Fast weight loss (unless you are obese) often results in a larger percentage of lean muscle mass than most people are comfortable with. So the idea is to choose a moderate weekly goal and to MEET your daily calories + a % of exercise.


    Pound per week goals
    75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • victoriaal621
    victoriaal621 Posts: 6 Member
    Okay so with how mine showed the past few days would I be doing it the right way ? 4osl58mvaqsx.jpg
  • Gwyffendor
    Gwyffendor Posts: 6 Member
    The above is vague, and partially incorrect.

    A more accurate and simple explanation is:

    Your body needs energy to function, which means maintaining a steady temperature, pumping around blood, providing energy to muscles and organs and of course keep your brain working. Some of this energy can be obtained directly from the food we eat, but most of it is first absorbed by the body. It is then turned into the right type of energy through various processes. If the energy is not used, the body tries to store it, mainly as fat.

    The calories are originally a way to describe how much energy something can deliver when burned to heat water. Because your body needs to do more than just stay warm, 'calories' do not necessarily mean 'bad energy'. That is why MFP shows you grams of carbs, fat, and protein. They function differently, but all may provide energy.

    When you put less energy into your body - eating/drinking less calories than your body uses that day - your body starts to convert fat into energy, the remainder of which you then breathe and sweat out. This means losing weight by losing fat. If your body quickly needs to produce energy, other energy sources will be used. The main one is (after carbs, and fat) protein. Your tissues start to break down and you create lactic acid.

    This process is bad for your health and will cause pain - sending a signal that something is wrong. Proper drinking and improving circulation (cardio training) will help reduce this.

    The right way to lose weight is to monitor your energy needs (using a tracker, etc.), then adjust your carbs and fat intake. The next step is to exercise enough to burn fat, but not too much, so you can maintain and improve the fitness of muscle tissue and organs.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    victoriaal621 wrote: »
    Okay so with how mine showed the past few days would I be doing it the right way ?

    you have over 700 cals left to eat on that screenshot, having eaten a bit less than your goal and then added 500+ calories of extra energy expenditure.

  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    calories are a unit of energy... calorie ratings for food... indicate how much energy is "stored" in that food. SO... when you eat something with a caloric value you have potentially ingested that MUCH energy... in order to use SOME of that energy... you have to go about your daily business... in order to make use of ALL that energy.. you have to engage in a purposeful physical activity... whether it's from a physically demanding job... OR taking your pet rabbit for a walk... or participating in a sporting endeavor... that's why.. if the calories you ingest... are greater than the calories you burn... you will gain weight...
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Your body is a machine and like any machine, it requires energy to function. Calories are a unit of energy...calories provide your machine energy. Your machine requires XXXX amount of energy to function optimally and maintain the status quot...the vast majority of this energy requisite for most people is simply existing...the energy you need for your lungs to work, heart to pump, kidneys to function, etc...these are your basal calories (BMR).

    Beyond that, you do stuff throughout the day...you get out of bed, brush your teeth, go to work, drive your car, type, etc...these things also require energy...these things are referred to as your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and for most people (outside of being an athlete or training like one) these activities provide for 2nd place in RE to your machine's calorie requirements.

    After that, you have deliberate exercise...outside of actually training or being an athlete, exercise energy requisites are rather small compared to your BMR and NEAT.

    When you put everything together you get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)...this is your machine's energy requisites to function optimally and maintain the status quot. In fairness, this is more a range than a fixed number though...nobody really has a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories.

    When you consume more energy (calories) than you require, that surplus of energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy (calories) than you require, that deficit of energy is accounted for by burning stored energy...burning body fat.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    An "aha" moment for me was a National Geographic special where it ran through a thought exercise, "what if all the people suddenly disappeared off the earth?" Pretty close to the first thing that happens is the earth cools by several degrees. Every one of us, all day, give off the same heat as a sixty watt light bulb (I reveal my age. I remember incandescent light bulbs). Where does that heat and energy (Calories Out, or CO) come from? From the foods we eat (Calories In, or CI). Eating, digesting, burning, is going on all the time as long as we are alive.
  • Xanna89
    Xanna89 Posts: 31 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Your body is a machine and like any machine, it requires energy to function. Calories are a unit of energy...calories provide your machine energy. Your machine requires XXXX amount of energy to function optimally and maintain the status quot...the vast majority of this energy requisite for most people is simply existing...the energy you need for your lungs to work, heart to pump, kidneys to function, etc...these are your basal calories (BMR).

    Beyond that, you do stuff throughout the day...you get out of bed, brush your teeth, go to work, drive your car, type, etc...these things also require energy...these things are referred to as your NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and for most people (outside of being an athlete or training like one) these activities provide for 2nd place in RE to your machine's calorie requirements.

    After that, you have deliberate exercise...outside of actually training or being an athlete, exercise energy requisites are rather small compared to your BMR and NEAT.

    When you put everything together you get your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)...this is your machine's energy requisites to function optimally and maintain the status quot. In fairness, this is more a range than a fixed number though...nobody really has a TDEE of exactly XXXX calories.

    When you consume more energy (calories) than you require, that surplus of energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy (calories) than you require, that deficit of energy is accounted for by burning stored energy...burning body fat.

    You put it in a way that I understand thank you! I was looking for this same information I was confused. Not anymore.
  • victoriaal621
    victoriaal621 Posts: 6 Member
    Yes thank you !!
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
    Cwolfman13-- I have been on this sight for almost a year-- your explanation bar none is the most straight forward and easy to understand. Thank you!
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