Dreaded exercise calories
v_cowley
Posts: 70 Member
First off, I am a 6ft female.
Lost 53lb so far but have been plateaued since October. (At least no gain!)
Currently weigh 15st 13lb (223lb) with a fat percentage of around 31.9%
I have another 47lb before I meet my goal.
EXERCISE CALORIES!!! What is everyones view on eating/not eating exercise calories? I am alloted 1330cal on 'sedentary' from MFP. If I change to 'Lightly active' it allows me 1600cal. My Fitbit always gives me a few more on top. I am so so so confused about what I should do. When I initially lost my weight I walked and occasionally ran and generally tried to stick to no exercise cals but usually fell into them a bit.
Now I walk lots, run at least twice a week and gym three times a week (mainly free weights, weights machines and HIIT). I feel like I'm going nowhere right now (loss wise) I like to have a fixed number I know I should aim for and I just have no clue what it should be.
Any help would be great!
Lost 53lb so far but have been plateaued since October. (At least no gain!)
Currently weigh 15st 13lb (223lb) with a fat percentage of around 31.9%
I have another 47lb before I meet my goal.
EXERCISE CALORIES!!! What is everyones view on eating/not eating exercise calories? I am alloted 1330cal on 'sedentary' from MFP. If I change to 'Lightly active' it allows me 1600cal. My Fitbit always gives me a few more on top. I am so so so confused about what I should do. When I initially lost my weight I walked and occasionally ran and generally tried to stick to no exercise cals but usually fell into them a bit.
Now I walk lots, run at least twice a week and gym three times a week (mainly free weights, weights machines and HIIT). I feel like I'm going nowhere right now (loss wise) I like to have a fixed number I know I should aim for and I just have no clue what it should be.
Any help would be great!
0
Replies
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I really like this explanation: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf4
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Fab thanks, just needed a solid answer. My brain was all over the place!2
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Thank you for posting this. This may explain why I gained this week. I have been doing this for 2 weeks now. Had a perfect week I did not eat my exercise calories which was 800-900 for each of my 3 workouts. I will try eating some of them this week and see what happens.1
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bleudolphin wrote: »Thank you for posting this. This may explain why I gained this week. I have been doing this for 2 weeks now. Had a perfect week I did not eat my exercise calories which was 800-900 for each of my 3 workouts. I will try eating some of them this week and see what happens.
One week with a gain is normal, especially if you lost a lot of water weight the first week. It isn't because you didn't eat your exercise calories back, it's just a normal fluctuation. That said, you should still be eating some of your exercise calories back to fuel your body. I would take that burn with a grain of salt, so to be safe only eat back 50% at the most.1 -
I find that it works best to eat back half of what it says you burned.1
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OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?0
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First off, I am a 6ft female.
Lost 53lb so far but have been plateaued since October. (At least no gain!)
Currently weigh 15st 13lb (223lb) with a fat percentage of around 31.9%
I have another 47lb before I meet my goal.
EXERCISE CALORIES!!! What is everyones view on eating/not eating exercise calories? I am alloted 1330cal on 'sedentary' from MFP. If I change to 'Lightly active' it allows me 1600cal. My Fitbit always gives me a few more on top. I am so so so confused about what I should do. When I initially lost my weight I walked and occasionally ran and generally tried to stick to no exercise cals but usually fell into them a bit.
Now I walk lots, run at least twice a week and gym three times a week (mainly free weights, weights machines and HIIT). I feel like I'm going nowhere right now (loss wise) I like to have a fixed number I know I should aim for and I just have no clue what it should be.
Any help would be great!
If you want a fixed number, what I do is take my Fitbit burns from the previous month (which amounts to TDEE) and take 20% off of that and just eat that amount each day. My Fitbit is no longer connected to MFP. But you still have to log everything accurately and honestly. It doesn't look like you're weighing everything you eat.0 -
If you're not losing now eating back more calories isn't going to help. Tighten up your logging before upping calories.3
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^^^yep^^^ if you're going to eat back exercise calories then you need to make sure your food logging is as accurate as possible. There are some people who don't eat their exercise calories back, but their logging is less than stellar, so they use their ex calories as a buffer.4
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Word of warning about walking calories, according to this article most trackers are wildly overestimating burn:
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning
After MapMyWalk has logged to MFP I manually reduce the minutes logged into MFP until it meets the calculation of that article, namely:
weight in lbs x no. miles x 0.3
Which gives the net calories.
Most other models at least double this result and personally I always felt they were too high and didn't 'feel' right.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?
Yes, I've been losing and gaining the same 4lb (16st2lb-15st12lb) I just can't get past that bloody point. Argh. The frustration is making me try different things without giving them a chance to work really.
I try to be honest with myself both with my logging and in general and looking back I've just been half assing.
As I say, that's why a fixed number to aim for religiously would help me.
Did a TDEE calculation and it said (with -25%) I should eat 1800. That feels like too many.
Overall from the above comments I think I should stick back to the sedentary cals (1330cal) and eat half my Fitbit cals. Making sure I am religious with logging.
Does that sound right??0 -
If you're set to lightly active here then you are already eating back some exercise calories.
As you haven't lost in several months it really sounds like you are eating at maintenance calories.
Are you accurately logging your meals? Its likely you've just got complacent and are eating more than you think - happens to most of us. Just tighten up the logging.
Fitbit calories aren't usually far away so you should be losing, if you look at the total calories burned at the end of an average day on Fitbit, you'll know if you eat at say 10-20% deficit of that number then you WILL lose.
All the best.
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OP 1800 is not a lot for someone your height. I'm only 5ft 2" and I lost 1/2lb a week eating 1800 calories gross.1
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WinoGelato wrote: »OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?
Yes, I've been losing and gaining the same 4lb (16st2lb-15st12lb) I just can't get past that bloody point. Argh. The frustration is making me try different things without giving them a chance to work really.
I try to be honest with myself both with my logging and in general and looking back I've just been half assing.
As I say, that's why a fixed number to aim for religiously would help me.
Did a TDEE calculation and it said (with -25%) I should eat 1800. That feels like too many.
Overall from the above comments I think I should stick back to the sedentary cals (1330cal) and eat half my Fitbit cals. Making sure I am religious with logging.
Does that sound right??
25% from TDEE would likely be too big of a deficit with the amount of weight you want to lose.
When you said you did a TDEE calculation, do you mean you entered stats on a site and it calculated an estimated TDEE for you? If you have a FitBit you should have a rough idea of your TDEE, your total calories burned is basically the same. I would look back at your last month or two on the FitBit website I think you can see the average daily calories burned for a period of time. Then, if you are aiming to lose 1 lb/week you would subtract 500 cals from that number and set that as your calorie goal in MFP but NOT eat back exercise cals as they are factored already.
Or do as you've suggested and set MFP to lose 1 lb/week and then eat back the adjustments from FitBit. I use one, and have found it to be very accurate, I lost the 30 lbs I set out to lose and am currently maintaining eating back all my exercise adjustments.
With regards to the activity setting, how many steps are you averaging from your FitBit? I was initially set at sedentary when I got mine but when I was averaging 10k steps/day and seeing those big exercise adjustments I questioned it too, but got the good advice here on the boards that averaging 10k steps/day is not sedentary, no matter what kind of job you have. I upped it to lightly active to start at a higher cal level (in your case 1600!vs 1330) and the size of the adjustments were smaller and more in line with my actual exercise. Now that I average 15k steps/day I'm set at active and I maintain at 2200 cals (I'm 5'2 and 120 now).
Lastly, as you mentioned, if you are frustrated and keep changing things you will likely keep bouncing around. Pick a calorie goal and way of dealing with your exercise cals, start logging everything as accurately as possible, using a food scale ideally, and stick with it for 6-8 weeks then adjust.
Good luck!3 -
Thank you everyone. This has all really helped. I will be making sure I weigh everything, I have no doubt slipped more than I think!0
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WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?
Yes, I've been losing and gaining the same 4lb (16st2lb-15st12lb) I just can't get past that bloody point. Argh. The frustration is making me try different things without giving them a chance to work really.
I try to be honest with myself both with my logging and in general and looking back I've just been half assing.
As I say, that's why a fixed number to aim for religiously would help me.
Did a TDEE calculation and it said (with -25%) I should eat 1800. That feels like too many.
Overall from the above comments I think I should stick back to the sedentary cals (1330cal) and eat half my Fitbit cals. Making sure I am religious with logging.
Does that sound right??
25% from TDEE would likely be too big of a deficit with the amount of weight you want to lose.
When you said you did a TDEE calculation, do you mean you entered stats on a site and it calculated an estimated TDEE for you? If you have a FitBit you should have a rough idea of your TDEE, your total calories burned is basically the same. I would look back at your last month or two on the FitBit website I think you can see the average daily calories burned for a period of time. Then, if you are aiming to lose 1 lb/week you would subtract 500 cals from that number and set that as your calorie goal in MFP but NOT eat back exercise cals as they are factored already.
Or do as you've suggested and set MFP to lose 1 lb/week and then eat back the adjustments from FitBit. I use one, and have found it to be very accurate, I lost the 30 lbs I set out to lose and am currently maintaining eating back all my exercise adjustments.
With regards to the activity setting, how many steps are you averaging from your FitBit? I was initially set at sedentary when I got mine but when I was averaging 10k steps/day and seeing those big exercise adjustments I questioned it too, but got the good advice here on the boards that averaging 10k steps/day is not sedentary, no matter what kind of job you have. I upped it to lightly active to start at a higher cal level (in your case 1600!vs 1330) and the size of the adjustments were smaller and more in line with my actual exercise. Now that I average 15k steps/day I'm set at active and I maintain at 2200 cals (I'm 5'2 and 120 now).
Lastly, as you mentioned, if you are frustrated and keep changing things you will likely keep bouncing around. Pick a calorie goal and way of dealing with your exercise cals, start logging everything as accurately as possible, using a food scale ideally, and stick with it for 6-8 weeks then adjust.
Good luck!
I average at 11k steps a day and I looked back and my last month averaged 3009cal burned a day so it looks like 1800cal a day actually would be pretty good for me. I have just been nervous to think of eating more calories! (Although who knows how many more once I log precisely.) Thank you for your help.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?
Yes, I've been losing and gaining the same 4lb (16st2lb-15st12lb) I just can't get past that bloody point. Argh. The frustration is making me try different things without giving them a chance to work really.
I try to be honest with myself both with my logging and in general and looking back I've just been half assing.
As I say, that's why a fixed number to aim for religiously would help me.
Did a TDEE calculation and it said (with -25%) I should eat 1800. That feels like too many.
Overall from the above comments I think I should stick back to the sedentary cals (1330cal) and eat half my Fitbit cals. Making sure I am religious with logging.
Does that sound right??
25% from TDEE would likely be too big of a deficit with the amount of weight you want to lose.
When you said you did a TDEE calculation, do you mean you entered stats on a site and it calculated an estimated TDEE for you? If you have a FitBit you should have a rough idea of your TDEE, your total calories burned is basically the same. I would look back at your last month or two on the FitBit website I think you can see the average daily calories burned for a period of time. Then, if you are aiming to lose 1 lb/week you would subtract 500 cals from that number and set that as your calorie goal in MFP but NOT eat back exercise cals as they are factored already.
Or do as you've suggested and set MFP to lose 1 lb/week and then eat back the adjustments from FitBit. I use one, and have found it to be very accurate, I lost the 30 lbs I set out to lose and am currently maintaining eating back all my exercise adjustments.
With regards to the activity setting, how many steps are you averaging from your FitBit? I was initially set at sedentary when I got mine but when I was averaging 10k steps/day and seeing those big exercise adjustments I questioned it too, but got the good advice here on the boards that averaging 10k steps/day is not sedentary, no matter what kind of job you have. I upped it to lightly active to start at a higher cal level (in your case 1600!vs 1330) and the size of the adjustments were smaller and more in line with my actual exercise. Now that I average 15k steps/day I'm set at active and I maintain at 2200 cals (I'm 5'2 and 120 now).
Lastly, as you mentioned, if you are frustrated and keep changing things you will likely keep bouncing around. Pick a calorie goal and way of dealing with your exercise cals, start logging everything as accurately as possible, using a food scale ideally, and stick with it for 6-8 weeks then adjust.
Good luck!
I average at 11k steps a day and I looked back and my last month averaged 3009cal burned a day so it looks like 1800cal a day actually would be pretty good for me. I have just been nervous to think of eating more calories! (Although who knows how many more once I log precisely.) Thank you for your help.
Do you have a food scale to help with logging accuracy? Tighten up that logging and then it's likely you can eat more than 1800 and lose (I'm 5'2 and that's about what I ate when I was losing). I would just pick one method and stick with it. If you are really burning 3000 cals/day then even 1800 would be too low, as that would be a 1200 cal deficit. But the important thing is to get the logging back on track and then you can adjust your cals accordingly. Remember losing too fast means you are losing lean muscle in addition to fat.5 -
WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP did you say you've been plateaued since October?
Yes, I've been losing and gaining the same 4lb (16st2lb-15st12lb) I just can't get past that bloody point. Argh. The frustration is making me try different things without giving them a chance to work really.
I try to be honest with myself both with my logging and in general and looking back I've just been half assing.
As I say, that's why a fixed number to aim for religiously would help me.
Did a TDEE calculation and it said (with -25%) I should eat 1800. That feels like too many.
Overall from the above comments I think I should stick back to the sedentary cals (1330cal) and eat half my Fitbit cals. Making sure I am religious with logging.
Does that sound right??
25% from TDEE would likely be too big of a deficit with the amount of weight you want to lose.
When you said you did a TDEE calculation, do you mean you entered stats on a site and it calculated an estimated TDEE for you? If you have a FitBit you should have a rough idea of your TDEE, your total calories burned is basically the same. I would look back at your last month or two on the FitBit website I think you can see the average daily calories burned for a period of time. Then, if you are aiming to lose 1 lb/week you would subtract 500 cals from that number and set that as your calorie goal in MFP but NOT eat back exercise cals as they are factored already.
Or do as you've suggested and set MFP to lose 1 lb/week and then eat back the adjustments from FitBit. I use one, and have found it to be very accurate, I lost the 30 lbs I set out to lose and am currently maintaining eating back all my exercise adjustments.
With regards to the activity setting, how many steps are you averaging from your FitBit? I was initially set at sedentary when I got mine but when I was averaging 10k steps/day and seeing those big exercise adjustments I questioned it too, but got the good advice here on the boards that averaging 10k steps/day is not sedentary, no matter what kind of job you have. I upped it to lightly active to start at a higher cal level (in your case 1600!vs 1330) and the size of the adjustments were smaller and more in line with my actual exercise. Now that I average 15k steps/day I'm set at active and I maintain at 2200 cals (I'm 5'2 and 120 now).
Lastly, as you mentioned, if you are frustrated and keep changing things you will likely keep bouncing around. Pick a calorie goal and way of dealing with your exercise cals, start logging everything as accurately as possible, using a food scale ideally, and stick with it for 6-8 weeks then adjust.
Good luck!
I average at 11k steps a day and I looked back and my last month averaged 3009cal burned a day so it looks like 1800cal a day actually would be pretty good for me. I have just been nervous to think of eating more calories! (Although who knows how many more once I log precisely.) Thank you for your help.
Do you have a food scale to help with logging accuracy? Tighten up that logging and then it's likely you can eat more than 1800 and lose (I'm 5'2 and that's about what I ate when I was losing). I would just pick one method and stick with it. If you are really burning 3000 cals/day then even 1800 would be too low, as that would be a 1200 cal deficit. But the important thing is to get the logging back on track and then you can adjust your cals accordingly. Remember losing too fast means you are losing lean muscle in addition to fat.
Yeap, I have a food scale. As I said, I've lost 53lb so far, 41lb with MFP but I wasn't really exercising much at the time. I've slackened with accuracy and consistancy and the exercise just muddled me a bit. Just need to be solid on it for a few weeks.0
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