Food+ exercise= remaining ? What?

ABatesMD
ABatesMD Posts: 8 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know this can't be right. My calorie goal is about 2400 a day. I am a very active person doing carpentry for work, wood chopping, dirt bike riding don't sit for very long, work out regularly and active father of a 4 year old. When I log my activities in the diary the remaining calories is another 2000 calories or more meaning a recommended of 4000 calories a day! ? I've just stuck with the 2400 calories a day and my goal is to drop just 2 or 3 more % of body fat to fully expose my abs which is taking for ever. How should you treat the exercise calories in this situation?

Replies

  • caylacff
    caylacff Posts: 2 Member
    Maybe you really do need to up your calories to see the results you want. You have to give your body the fuel to put on the muscle you want. Although 4,000 calories seems like a lot!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    The goal MFP gives you is calculated without exercise. So when you exercise, you burn more than they think you will. To keep that deficit consistent and fuel your body, you're expected to eat a portion of those calories back. But that's only for actual exercise...anything that you do for a living and taking care of your family, that's already included in the activity level you chose.
  • ModernRock
    ModernRock Posts: 372 Member
    Are you picking a high activity level AND adding those activities as exercise? If so, you are counting them twice. Either include those (regular) activities in your activity level, or pick a lower activity level and log those activities as exercise.
  • ABatesMD
    ABatesMD Posts: 8 Member
    I have played with the activity level from mild to active. It only adjust the total daily calories by like 80 cal, it gives the same outcome 4000 cal. I've hit a wall dropping fat wise for a few months now with a committed diet.
  • jeanielie
    jeanielie Posts: 1 Member
    So happy u can eat that much! I even gain weight by only having 1800 cal :(
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    ModernRock wrote: »
    Are you picking a high activity level AND adding those activities as exercise? If so, you are counting them twice. Either include those (regular) activities in your activity level, or pick a lower activity level and log those activities as exercise.

    This. Sounds like you're double dipping OP?
  • datsundriver87
    datsundriver87 Posts: 186 Member
    General rule of thumb seems to be eat back about half of your exercise calories. So if your allotted 2000 from mfp and get 2000 extra exercise calories you should be around 3,000 a day. Try that method for a few weeks and compare results
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited June 2016
    ABatesMD wrote: »
    I know this can't be right. My calorie goal is about 2400 a day. I am a very active person doing carpentry for work, wood chopping, dirt bike riding don't sit for very long, work out regularly and active father of a 4 year old. When I log my activities in the diary the remaining calories is another 2000 calories or more meaning a recommended of 4000 calories a day! ? I've just stuck with the 2400 calories a day and my goal is to drop just 2 or 3 more % of body fat to fully expose my abs which is taking for ever. How should you treat the exercise calories in this situation?

    You should set your activity level to Active and only log exercise. Logging anything else will result in you accounting for some of the calorie burns twice and as a result the program will end up giving you more calories to eat then you need.

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