Help understanding what I need to do/Clarification

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InvincibleJ
InvincibleJ Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
Hi there,

I started using MFP again on Saturday and wanted clarification on something (sorry to ask, I did look but I’m still unsure).

I intend on losing 50 lb (I’ve already lost 21 lb since April, quite slow :/ but I did spend about 6 week recovering from a fractured ankle ) and my calorie goal is set out as 1,710 per day. What I’m sure of is on days that I workout and I burn off say, 500 calories, do I consume 2,100 for example? Or do I consume only 1,710 only and then burn off 500 calories?

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Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • Nataliegetfit
    Nataliegetfit Posts: 395 Member
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    The days I exercise I do eat more, a lot of people eat back about half the exercise calories, it depends on how aggressive you want your weight loss. Try one week one way and see how you do, and change it up and see what works for you.
  • Damien_Scott
    Damien_Scott Posts: 108 Member
    edited September 2015
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    You should set your activity level to sedentary. Don't eat back the calories you burn from any exercise either. I'm at a 1000 calorie deficit and I'm at 1880 calories/day. 1710 seems like a lot, my girlfriend was at 1450 (1lb/week) at around 190lbs and shes now down to 1200 calories/day (supposedly 2lb/week).

    If you do work out a lot then don't feel bad going over by 100-200 calories that day. If you sit there and eat back all of your calories then the exercise will not help you lose weight. Plus the exercise estimates on MFP are pretty shotty at times and I wouldn't trust them while starting out.

    Exercise is more for getting healthy and fit. Eating back the calories you burn is more for when you are maintaining your goal weight. It also helps you balance getting fit while not losing too much weight.

    I don't exercise outside of work and I'm still losing 2-3lbs/week while being at or over my calorie limit by 100-200/day. It was faster in the beginning, but It has stabilized as my diet has also. Not that I diet really either. I eat the same stuff as before, just less with a few low calorie alternatives.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    Ok, essentially, your daily calorie limit with the deficit built in is 1710. That's what you would normally eat every day if you never exercised.

    But if you exercised, you're burning more calories than that calculation accounts for. So, MFP adds them in as extra calories for you to eat for the day. If it's only 100 or so, I wouldn't worry, but if you're doing serious cardio or something that ends up burning 400 calories, you need to eat them back. Dropping your deficit too much can mean you're not getting the nutrition you need.

    However, be aware that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn from exercise, MFP is notorious for over-estimating the burn. MFP uses averages to make that calculation, but there's a lot of variables involved, including your heart rate, that you really need to make an accurate burn count. So the general advice is that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn, only eat back about half to account for the over-estimation it does. If you want to be more accurate, get a heart rate monitor and make the calculations yourself, then add them in manually. Or get a tracker with a HRM and let it do it. Either way, it'll be more accurate than MFP.
  • Tic150
    Tic150 Posts: 23 Member
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    ^ That.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    dubird wrote: »
    Ok, essentially, your daily calorie limit with the deficit built in is 1710. That's what you would normally eat every day if you never exercised.

    But if you exercised, you're burning more calories than that calculation accounts for. So, MFP adds them in as extra calories for you to eat for the day. If it's only 100 or so, I wouldn't worry, but if you're doing serious cardio or something that ends up burning 400 calories, you need to eat them back. Dropping your deficit too much can mean you're not getting the nutrition you need.

    However, be aware that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn from exercise, MFP is notorious for over-estimating the burn. MFP uses averages to make that calculation, but there's a lot of variables involved, including your heart rate, that you really need to make an accurate burn count. So the general advice is that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn, only eat back about half to account for the over-estimation it does. If you want to be more accurate, get a heart rate monitor and make the calculations yourself, then add them in manually. Or get a tracker with a HRM and let it do it. Either way, it'll be more accurate than MFP.

    This^
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    dubird wrote: »
    Ok, essentially, your daily calorie limit with the deficit built in is 1710. That's what you would normally eat every day if you never exercised.

    But if you exercised, you're burning more calories than that calculation accounts for. So, MFP adds them in as extra calories for you to eat for the day. If it's only 100 or so, I wouldn't worry, but if you're doing serious cardio or something that ends up burning 400 calories, you need to eat them back. Dropping your deficit too much can mean you're not getting the nutrition you need.

    However, be aware that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn from exercise, MFP is notorious for over-estimating the burn. MFP uses averages to make that calculation, but there's a lot of variables involved, including your heart rate, that you really need to make an accurate burn count. So the general advice is that if you're counting on MFP to calculate your calorie burn, only eat back about half to account for the over-estimation it does. If you want to be more accurate, get a heart rate monitor and make the calculations yourself, then add them in manually. Or get a tracker with a HRM and let it do it. Either way, it'll be more accurate than MFP.

    This^

    Yes, this!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,504 Member
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    When you start, it seems like you have to get every detail right from the beginning. Not so. You can experiment. It's helpful.

    Focus at first on weighing food & logging accurately & consistently, even if you have an off day. Maybe eat back half your exercise calories to start.

    At the end of 2-3 weeks, compare your body weight loss to your weekly goal total (over/under), look at how often & by how much you went over calorie goals (if you did) and assess how you feel (energetic? fatigued? finding the calorie level achievable vs. too challenging to comply? etc.)

    If you feel great, and lost your target amount, yay, you! If you feel bad, or had trouble complying, but lost some; or if you lost too fast, consider upping your goal or eating back more exercise calories. Etc.

    Just keep re-evaluating periodically & tweaking what you do, and you'll do great, and learn a lot about your body in the process. Take your time losing the weight - stay healthy!

    This works: I'm 5'5", old (59), hypothyroid - joined MFP at about 154lbs (down from 183), and lost a couple pounds a week at 1200-1400 net while eating back nearly all my (very conservatively estimated) exercise calories (so 1600-1800 gross most days). Now at 141 and intentionally slowing my loss rate to coast into maintenance (GW 125-130ish, for my frame).
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    When you start, it seems like you have to get every detail right from the beginning. Not so. You can experiment. It's helpful.

    Focus at first on weighing food & logging accurately & consistently, even if you have an off day. Maybe eat back half your exercise calories to start.

    QFT. This is not an all or nothing, jump into the deep end process. You can start slow and build. I started by just logging for a week without changing anything. That gave me a baseline and let me see what habits I had I needed to change. Then, I changed one thing and gave myself time to get used to it. Then, changed something else. It's slow, but by doing so I'm much better about estimating how much I'm eating and it's a lot easier to keep my calories where they should be.
  • LoveIshie
    LoveIshie Posts: 94 Member
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    What is your current activity level settings? Sedentary, Active, Very Active. The frequency and amount of your caloric intake is determined by how active you are. You should only eat back calories if you are hungry. Don't fall into that trap of eating back calories if you are not hungry. Don't worry, you will know if you need it or not. It all depends on how hard of a workout you had on a given day. For example I am on Active level setting and MFP recommends I eat 3060, but I eat 2500-2800 calories per day and burn from 500-900 calories in exercise depending on the day. The days that I burn up to 800-1000 calories or more MFP give me back some calories. However I very seldom eat it back unless I need it. On my off days, I will normally eat less between 2300-2500 calories. I am 6ft-8'' and started at 275 lbs. So far I have lost 20 lbs and I have 10 lbs to go.

    I believe at some point as you get closer to your goal, MFP will automatically adjust your caloric intake. At some point it will stabilize for maintenance. I noticed the change in my caloric intake from 3060 to 3040. This happened a few days ago when I lost 4 lbs which brought me close to within 10 lbs of my goal weight. My goal is to lose 30 lbs all together. Trying to get down to 245 lbs.
  • sarankasukumar125
    sarankasukumar125 Posts: 2 Member
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  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    As per the way MFP is designed, I ate back 100% of my exercise calories (after some trial and error to find actual calorie burns) and I lost the exact amount that I had MFP set to. While you did don't necessarily need to eat them all, if you want to create a larger deficit for example, it certainly can help you to feel better and have more productive workouts. Either way, you're still in deficit and will lose.

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