I Need Help.....Soo confused.....

mizzmercury
mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I am utterly confused about something. So, when it comes to the calorie amounts in the daily summary area, what is it that I should really be paying attention to? My goal is 1200. Today my food calories are 1568 but my exercise calories are 925 and my net is 643. The summary says I still have 557 calories remaining. I am obviously not hungry anymore, but I am just very confused....even though I am OVER my calorie goal (1200) am I still in a deficit due to the exercise since my net is only 643?? How does this work??

Replies

  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
    What did you do to get 925 calories from exercise?
  • demarcan
    demarcan Posts: 10 Member
    yes you are still in a defecit. myfitnesspal even says "you earned x amount of extra calories today due to exercise".
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    If you add 925 calories to 1200, you should have 2125 calories for the day. So where is this number 1568 coming from?

    Also, that sounds like a very very high calorie burn.
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    I did a hip hop dance class this morning, a tabata workout in the afternoon and kickboxing in the evening
  • SusanUW83
    SusanUW83 Posts: 152 Member
    When I was in the successful weight loss phase I tried to not eat more than 1/2 the burn because that compensated for overestimating calories burned and underestimating calories eaten. Now I'm eating back most of my exercise calories and not being as successful. Just my experience
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    1568 is the amount of food I consumed today.
  • vivmom2014
    vivmom2014 Posts: 1,649 Member
    mizzmercury wrote: »
    1568 is the amount of food I consumed today.

    OK, so assuming your calorie burn is accurate, you would subtract 1568 from 2125. You're in a deficit of 557 calories. Eat some more.

  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    1200 + 925 = 2125-1568 =557. That is how MFP calculates it. I am also wondering how you burned 925 calories from exercise, (run a marathon maybe?) but even if it is true, many successful MFPers choose to not 'eat back' all their exercise calories until they are in maintenance mode, not in weight loss. You need to eat to nourish your body for/from exercise, not replenish all of the nutrients you may have burned. So if you ate 1568, 368 over your daily goal, either that's enough and you are done, or 1200 calories is not workable for you and you should adjust your goal.
  • jnewheiser
    jnewheiser Posts: 5 Member
    I've found eating my exercise calories makes me not lose weight. Assuming I have some though I don't feel bad about going over a bit, but if I ate all of them I'd just stay the same.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    Are you using a food scale? If not, your food logging will be off. If you're not hungry, that would be the first place I would look. Most people who have a 1000+ calorie deficit aren't full. (If you're set for 1 pound a week, you already have a built in 500 calorie deficit so that puts you at a 1057 deficit for the day. If you're set for 2 pounds per week, your deficit for the day would be 1557, way too high to not be hungry).
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    I'm not hungry anymore at all. It was just confusing to me that's all and I didn't want to be unknowingly sabotaging my efforts in any way either. I got the 925 number because I use the numbers that my HRM gives me, which are more accurate than my Fitbit.
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    jnewheiser wrote: »
    I've found eating my exercise calories makes me not lose weight. Assuming I have some though I don't feel bad about going over a bit, but if I ate all of them I'd just stay the same.

    If your logging is accurate, you will lose weight eating back part of your exercise calories. Use a food scale, log accurately, calculate your rate of loss over time, and adjust accordingly. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside#latest
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    I use a food scale for all of the foods except for those I eat at restaurants.
  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
    If you are not hungry, don't eat. You have not eaten much for the amount of calories you burned today, but so what. Just don't make that a habit.
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    I also had a very late dinner tonight. I literally just got home from eating dinner like 30 minutes ago, so that may be why I'm not feeling hungry right now.
  • sus49
    sus49 Posts: 94 Member
    I am less successful losing weight if I don't eat back some of my calories. I try to eat back all but 200-300 calories on super high calorie burning days.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited January 2016
    Your 1200 calories includes the deficit you need to lose weight. You should eat back a portion (50-75%) of your exercise calories. If you're not hungry today, don't worry about it. That's a whole lot of exercise in one day. Is it new, or have you been doing this a while? At the end of the day, you want to eat enough to fuel your workouts while maintaining your calorie deficit. As for the calorie burn, trial and error will tell you. Most devices overestimate calorie burns, that's why consuming less back is recommended. Watch what is happening to your weight, and adjust accordingly so you are not losing too fast.

    ETA: A single day under calories when you really aren't feeling hungry happens once in a while. This shouldn't be a regular occurrence there are many health risks associated with not eating enough (this includes eating enough while exercising a lot).
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    This is new this week. My trainer has been having me try out a bunch of things this week to find which program I like best. Normally I do about 400-600 per day.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    mizzmercury wrote: »
    This is new this week. My trainer has been having me try out a bunch of things this week to find which program I like best. Normally I do about 400-600 per day.

    Okay. I was curious. It seemed like a lot. It's great to find something you really enjoy! Makes it easier to stick with it. :smile:
  • mizzmercury
    mizzmercury Posts: 30 Member
    Definitely! :)
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    See how you feel and make notes. Over time, you should be able to see what works for you in terms of weight loss and managing hunger.

    The idea is that you should consume all of your exercise calories. However, lots of people here eat back half of those calories instead, since estimates tend to be really high.

    I don't eat back my exercise calories until I get to a certain point beyond which I know I am going to feel lousy if I don't eat more. I've been tracking for several years, so know exactly where this point is.

    Track and see what works for you.

    P.S. There is nothing wrong with burning 1200 calories in a day...some of us do it quite frequently. :)
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Your real exercise calories are NOT 925. Too funny! Half that, MAYBE..... ;)

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