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Calories

cristied3
cristied3 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I guess I am dumb, but I guess what you have to do to lose weight is, if I eat 1200 calories do I need to work out or exercise off 1300 calories to do any good? It said to intake less calories then you burn off. So what if you can only workout say 500 -700 calories a day. How many calories should you be eating. I weigh 234pounds and need to be around 165 pounds. What's the best calories to eat to get there and how much should I burn a day. Thank you for any help you can give. Because I am dumb when it comes to this stuff.

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    1200 is your base calories, the deficit is already built in. You earn extra calories by exercising. IE: you have 1200, you exercise 500, you (most only eat a portion to accommodate overestimations of burns) get (half) 250. You get to eat a total of 1450 that day.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Your body burns a ton of calories just keeping you alive. You don't need to burn off everything you eat through exercise. In fact, you really shouldn't. You need some of those calorie to fuel your body's processes. MFP took all of that into account when it gave you a calorie goal.

    Read through some of the stickies at the top of each forum. Follow MFP the way it was designed. And you should be well on your way to losing weight :flowerforyou:
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    As above. You're not supposed to work off the 1200. If you do some exercise, it gives you more calories that you can eat and keep losing. Well, some can eat all the extras and lose. Some can't. As above, lots of people eat half of the extra exercise calories.

    You poor thing, thinking you had to exercise off everything you ate! I bet it gets easier for you now! :)
  • cristied3
    cristied3 Posts: 4 Member
    Okay thank you. My sister was worried that 1200 cals were to little of calories for me to lose any weight. So I didn't know were to start. I am not hungry when I only eat around 1200 - 1400 cals a day. I feel pretty good doing that. And I try to burn off caps walking the dog and light exercises. So is that a good place to start or should I try eating more calories?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    cristied3 wrote: »
    Okay thank you. My sister was worried that 1200 cals were to little of calories for me to lose any weight. So I didn't know were to start. I am not hungry when I only eat around 1200 - 1400 cals a day. I feel pretty good doing that. And I try to burn off caps walking the dog and light exercises. So is that a good place to start or should I try eating more calories?
    MFP is designed so you eat back a portion of your exercise calories. Remember, you're working for sustainability here. If you over restrict, you're less likely to succeed.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    Eat what's comfortable and also not below a reasonable amount for your height/weight (definitely 1200 for you!). My hunger varies A LOT with activities and hormones. Some days, I eat 1700. Some days, I eat 1000. I don't like being hungry. At my weight, I MUST not have a deficit more than 1050 calories or so (for reasons that don't apply to you), so I make myself eat more if I'm not hungry and have burned more than that much extra. :) But as long as I get a minimum of 500 calories burn above what I eat, I don't beat myself up too much about where I end up in that range.
  • cristied3
    cristied3 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for all the help and input. I have never had trouble with weight loss. But now I am 40 and I have gained a lot of weight in the past few years. I am at the heaviest I have ever been and I feel terrible about it. My husband doesn't seem to mind he says I'm big boned and that kills me. Lol I weighted 205 pounds when I had my daughter and lost the weight pretty fast. (but I was 20) I didn't get on scales for a long time so not sure when all this started. But I know that I have never felt big until the last few years. I went from a size 12 to a 20 in about the last 10 -15 years. I can really tell it in my back. I am a care taker to a disabled woman. So I tend to sit a lot of the day. But when I am busy it may be 3 hours of non-stop moving. So some days I can only snack.( not eat a good lunch) doctor said no aerobics to hard on my joints. But I do try them sometimes. I just really need help. Ok life story over!! Lol thanks for reading and all the info and help
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