Adding calories

From the MFP Help pages...

When you create your profile, we ask you for your age, height, weight, gender, and normal daily activity level. We use these factors to determine the calories required to maintain your current weight. We also ask how much weight you would like to lose or gain per week, and with this goal in mind we subtract calories (for weight loss) or add calories (for weight gain) to determine your daily calorie and nutrient goals.

We also ask you for your weekly exercise goals (which should not be included in your initial activity level), in order to provide an incentive for you to reach. However, we do not account for additional exercise outside of your reported daily activity level, until you actually perform and log exercise to your diary under the "Cardiovascular" section.

Because your daily calorie goal already accounts for your intent to gain or lose weight at a particular rate, you can achieve your goal by eating the specified number of calories per day, with no additional exercise required. If you do exercise, your daily calorie goal will then increase for the day, to stabilize your weight loss or weight gain at the rate you initially specified.

​Please see this article, and search for other helpful articles, on the MFP Help pages...

https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/en/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

ncboiler89 wrote: »

Danie3kids wrote: »

I don't understand why you add calories for exercise if you're trying to lose weight. Please help me understand this...?

Calories are like money. If you exercise it's giving you calories back, like someone giving you money. You can eat back your calories, spend the money given to you, or you can save/bank them. It's all up to you.

If you are trying to save money, and someone gives you money, you can spend that money and still meet your saving goal in the same amount or time or bank it to meet your goal faster.

I eat exercise calories back sometimes and sometimes I don't. Just depends on my hunger level. .

If only I banked money like I did calories.

Danie3kids wrote: »

I don't understand why you add calories for exercise if you're trying to lose weight. Please help me understand this...?

Example:
Say MFP thinks based on your stats and activity level section you will maintain your weight on 2200 calories. You say you want to lose 2 lbs per week.

2200 calories to maintain WITHOUT exercise
-1000 calories to lose 2 lbs per week
1200 calorie goal to lose 2 lbs per week WITHOUT exercise

Lets say you burn 400 calories through exercise

2200 calories to maintain WITHOUT exercise
+400 calories burned through exercise
2600 calories to maintain WITH exercise

2600 calories to maintain WITH exercise
-1000 calories to lose 2 lbs per week
1600 calorie goal to lose 2 lbs per week WITH exercise

(2 lbs per week is the max recommended deficit for safe/healthy weight loss)

Now since determining exercise calorie burns is done with estimates, it is recommended to start with eating 50 % back and then adjusting after say 4 weeks based on your average weekly loss. Lost more than planned on avg; eat more. Lost less than planned on avg; eat less.