CONFUSED

minyME
minyME Posts: 10
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
What is "Calories Remaining"? My goal is 1210 cal/day but now it says 1413 calories...So, do I now have to eat a total of 1413 calories today? because I exercised...How am I going to lose weight doing that? SO CONFUSED

Replies

  • cmiles23
    cmiles23 Posts: 234 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/117726-eating-exercise-cals-slowing-your-weight-loss-read-this?hl=exercise+calories+slowing&page=1#posts-1605512



    YOU ONLY WANT TO BE AT A 500 CALORIE DEFICIT YOU ARE ALREADY AT A 500 CALORIE DEFECIT WITHOUT EXERCISE
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
    the calorie deficit is built in so you will lose weight whether you exercise or not, according to MFP's goals for you. if you exercise, eat more, so your deficit stays the same.
  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    Whenever you exercise, the calories you burn are added onto your total calories you can eat for the day. Many people eat these calories, others stick with their 'normal' limit.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    Yes, eat those calories back. MFP already puts you at a deficit when you sign up. 1210 is what you need to eat to lose the amount of weight that you entered. When you burn calories off, you need to re-eat those & re-fuel your body.
  • cathyAprice
    cathyAprice Posts: 81
    If you exercised, you burn calories, so yes, you need to go by your NET calories on food intake. I try to at least get to 1200 net calories so my body doesn't go into starvation mode :( hope this helps!
  • zml_mom
    zml_mom Posts: 270 Member
    you don't have to eat your exercise calories back, but if you work out a lot then I would eat some of them back

    for example my daily goal is 1200/day and I usually eat about 1000 and loose around 400-800 in exercise but I never eat them back because I don't feel comfortable with eating that much
    hope that helps
  • ACook42
    ACook42 Posts: 111 Member
    I don't usually add back the calories from exercise....I don't see how that will help either LOL but I will use it as a cushion if I need an extra 10 or 15 calories. I guess it takes away some of the guilt for me.
  • camy_chick
    camy_chick Posts: 277 Member
    i don't know if there is a limit to it, but however many calories you burned, that gets added onto your calories remaining. it confuses me a bit too, but my general way about it, is that it gives me more play with what i want to eat in a day, you can still try and stay under your new calorie goal.
  • HotSouthernMess
    HotSouthernMess Posts: 474 Member
    YIKES!!!! here we go....smiley-scared002.gif
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    What is "Calories Remaining"? My goal is 1210 cal/day but now it says 1413 calories...So, do I now have to eat a total of 1413 calories today? because I exercised...How am I going to lose weight doing that? SO CONFUSED

    The 1210 is to lose your goal amount of weight, it already factors in a daily caloric deficit, so if you workout you increase the deficit, so MFP adds the calories back to ensure your deficit is at your goal level. Put simply eating 1210 and not working out is the same as eating 1413 and burning 203 from exercise as 1413-203 = 1210-0.
  • ANeWcRe8N
    ANeWcRe8N Posts: 1,180 Member
    YIKES!!!! here we go....smiley-scared002.gif

    LOL thought the little round person running around crazy was funny.. and kind of cute.
  • babs23
    babs23 Posts: 86
    MFP creates a calorie deficit (which is needed to lose weight) through a calories IN restriction only.

    So, if you ate 1210 calories everyday without exercise, you would still (theoretically) lose weight. With that logic, any calories OUT, should be eaten back so you don't have a huge deficit.


    A huge deficit is fine if you have a large amount of weight to lose, but once you're down to that last 20-30 lbs, you'll get better results if you eat those calories back.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    What is "Calories Remaining"? My goal is 1210 cal/day but now it says 1413 calories...So, do I now have to eat a total of 1413 calories today? because I exercised...How am I going to lose weight doing that? SO CONFUSED

    MFP wants you to have a consistent calorie deficit independent of exercise. So if you are set to lose 1 lb per week, for example, MFP will calculate your calorie goal to be 500 calories lower than you need to get through your day whether or not you exercise. Eating 1210 on a day without exercise is a 500 calorie deficit. Eating 1413 today (when you exercised) is still a 500 calorie deficit.

    Whether or not to eat exercise calories is a very hotly debated topic on MFP, so you'll probably only get more confused as you read more threads on the topic.
  • zdaliagarcia
    zdaliagarcia Posts: 1
    Since your goal is 1210 per day you should keep your consuption of food calorie count to that amount. Due to the fact that you exercised you earned 203 calories, which means you can eat an extra 203 calories worth of food or not which would help you loose weight faster. Obviously the higher the amount of calories you are under at the end of the day for your goal the more weight/faster pace at which you will reach your ideal weight.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    you don't have to eat your exercise calories back, but if you work out a lot then I would eat some of them back

    for example my daily goal is 1200/day and I usually eat about 1000 and loose around 400-800 in exercise but I never eat them back because I don't feel comfortable with eating that much
    hope that helps

    This is very dangerous, eating 1200 and burning 800 is like eating 400 and not working out. You have to keep in mind that your body at rest burns around 2000 calories/ day with no exercise, so eating 1200 would already have you lose weight. What you are doing can damage your metabolism and cause you to burn a high % of lean muscle instead of body fat not to mention hit a plateau do to not enough fuel.

    To maintain your weight if you burn 800 calories you would have to eat 2800 assuming maintenance is 2000. So if you are only eating 1200 your are 1400 under your maintenance, MFP recommends no more than 1000, but suggest 500 under this amount.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Since your goal is 1210 per day you should keep your consuption of food calorie count to that amount. Due to the fact that you exercised you earned 203 calories, which means you can eat an extra 203 calories worth of food or not which would help you loose weight faster. Obviously the higher the amount of calories you are under at the end of the day for your goal the more weight/faster pace at which you will reach your ideal weight.

    Not eating exercise calroies may not lead to faster weight loss, it may lead to the loss of muscle instead of fat, a plateau, malnutrition etc.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Oops, double post.
  • jpeterburs88
    jpeterburs88 Posts: 201 Member
    ah the most controversial topic on MFP- to eat or not to eat exercise calories? many people feel very strongly about eating them back- and there is a lot of support to back that up... but i believe that you are losing weight for you- you should do it the way you feel comfortable. if you don't want to eat back your exercise calories, then don't- if you want to, thats great too. just make sure you are eating enough for your body and getting all the nutrients that you need to stay healthy.
    I only really feel strongly about eating at least SOME of your exercise calories back if you are burning over 500 in a work out... then you need to eat some back just to keep your energy levels up and your metabolism from dropping.
    good luck to you!
  • minyME
    minyME Posts: 10
    @Hotsouthernmess I like the picture on your counter :) Congrats on the 50lbs lost! Where can I find one like it?
  • mjennings
    mjennings Posts: 10 Member
    Even Though you exercise continue to only take in the 1210 calorie intake otherwise you will not lose weight and may gain:smile:
  • minyME
    minyME Posts: 10
    Thanx for ALL the replies. Very Helpful! I get it now :bigsmile: @cmiles23 Thanx for the link
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    If you understand the math behind the formula, you really should eat back your calories. This is even more important the closer you get to your goal. The more weight you have to lose, the higher the deficit can be but should never really exceed 500 calories. Those of you who don't eat your calories back are more likely to lose muscle instead of fat. Over time, this is really bad as it lowers your BMR which is the calories you burn while at rest. On top of that, you risk not gettin enough nutrients for your body to properly function. If you look at all the people who are really fit (not just skinny) but have a low body fat, you will notice they all eat a lot. Depending on the workout I do, I eat 2600-3000 calories to lose weight; 3200-3500 calories to maintain. The two times I have plateaued in weight lose, I have increase my caloric intake by 200 calories and the weight loss imediately started again. I also don't really look at weight, I look at body composition. I could care less what I weight but my goal is 8% body fat, and a stretch goal of 6%. Below is what I have been saying a lot so I just quote myself.



    My approach looks at Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you slept 24 hours, for me, my BMR is 2000 calories. I then mutliply it by my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE); how many calories I should eat to make up for daily activities (walking, working out, etc) to get a total number of calories. Because I do a program like p90x, I multiply my 2000 calories by 1.725 which equals 3400 calories. This amount of calories is the amount I need to eat to maintain weight. I back off 500 caloires as my deficit and eat 3000 calories in a day. This is the website I use.


    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    I set up custom ratio's. I do 45% of carbs, 35% of protein and 20% for fats. As I progress, I will lower protein and increase carbs. This method has worked for me and others I have worked with on the site. MFP just makes it simple for anyone to come on and lose weight. I take more of a scientific approach to weight loss. When I started I was 210 & 18% body fat. Now I am 189 and 12% body fat and hoping to break single digits within 3 months.

    Cliff notes: if you go by the sites calculations, you absolutely should eat back your workout calories as they preload the deficit. If you go by the more scientific method, you don't have to worry about it, it's already figured in your number.

    Good luck everyone.
  • HotSouthernMess
    HotSouthernMess Posts: 474 Member
    @Hotsouthernmess I like the picture on your counter :) Congrats on the 50lbs lost! Where can I find one like it?

    im not sure if this was meant for me or not but i have only lost 40 pounds lol anyway, i googled it but there are sites where you can go to make your own. i can send you some links if you want.
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