Calorie & exercise help

rileysowner wrote: »

Assuming your calorie burns for exercise are accurate, yes, you are supposed to eat them. Unlike other places, MyFitnessPal does not include intended exercise in the calorie goal you are given so with no exercise at all you will lose eating the number of calories you have been given. When you add calories burned through exercise you increase that daily calorie deficit, which sounds good until you realize that a bigger deficit will often result in excessive lean mass loss (muscles and the like) which you want to minimize by using a moderate deficit. That is why eating exercise calories back is important.

Having said that, there are confounding factors. First, most people starting out don't actually measure the food they are eating correctly, so the calories they eat in a day tend to be more than what they think they are eating. That means that even logging 1210 calories, it is likely you are eating more than 1210 in a day. This is not a personal slight toward you, simply an observation from many years on here. Second, many times the calories burn through exercise are overstated, that is, they are higher than the actual calories burned. There are various reason for this, but again it is quite common.

Taking both of these into account you can start to see a problem. If you are eating more than you think, and your exercise is burning less than you think, eating all your exercise calories back could mean you are not actually eating at a calorie deficit. In light of that I make these suggestions. First, try eating about 75 percent of your exercise calories back as a maximum to start. If after 3 weeks you find your weight loss stalls or slows down a great deal, drop that percent to about 50 percent only eating more if you are really hungry.

rileysowner wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

Assuming your calorie burns for exercise are accurate, yes, you are supposed to eat them. Unlike other places, MyFitnessPal does not include intended exercise in the calorie goal you are given so with no exercise at all you will lose eating the number of calories you have been given. When you add calories burned through exercise you increase that daily calorie deficit, which sounds good until you realize that a bigger deficit will often result in excessive lean mass loss (muscles and the like) which you want to minimize by using a moderate deficit. That is why eating exercise calories back is important.

Having said that, there are confounding factors. First, most people starting out don't actually measure the food they are eating correctly, so the calories they eat in a day tend to be more than what they think they are eating. That means that even logging 1210 calories, it is likely you are eating more than 1210 in a day. This is not a personal slight toward you, simply an observation from many years on here. Second, many times the calories burn through exercise are overstated, that is, they are higher than the actual calories burned. There are various reason for this, but again it is quite common.

Taking both of these into account you can start to see a problem. If you are eating more than you think, and your exercise is burning less than you think, eating all your exercise calories back could mean you are not actually eating at a calorie deficit. In light of that I make these suggestions. First, try eating about 75 percent of your exercise calories back as a maximum to start. If after 3 weeks you find your weight loss stalls or slows down a great deal, drop that percent to about 50 percent only eating more if you are really hungry.

Im still a bit confused lol....So I log and weigh literally everything now when I signed up I said I was lightly active but I'm now actually more active as I have incorporated swimming for an hour about 5 times a week I weigh 13st 12 lb an I'm 5' 3" my bmi is 35 so do I still stick to 1210 calories a day as this is what mfp gave me to do before I started swimming (60 lengths so not a slow swim in 50min) I'm aiming for 2lb loss every week but will this happen? I've heard of you have to burn more calories than you eat etc an a lot of other things hence my confusion

your activity level should notinclude exercise.

Then you log exercise and eat back at least 50% of those calories.

MFP is designed to help you lose weight without exercise hence eating exercise calories back.

The 2lbs a week will not always happen...and remember when you have less to lose that number should decrease as well.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

But everyone is saying the calories burnt aren't right its what I log on MFP so it comes up with the number

I have no idea if your calorie burns are right. The one comparison from a person who is 125 pound to you is not going to be helpful since you will burn substantially more calories at your weight of 194 pounds, not to mention age works in there as well.

In terms of setting us your goals, 1) Activity level only has to do with your normal daily activity outside of intentional exercise. If you work at a desk all day, you are likely sedentary or a little more active than sedentary as sedentary is quite literally sitting pretty much all day only getting up and moving around on occasion. An active activity level would be a job where a person is always on their feet moving around like a nurse or retail sales were you are moving things around a lot and going all over a store all day. 2) Set your weight loss goal per week based on the chart posted earlier. Usually people just default to 2 pounds per week, but that is often too aggressive a goal for many.

Once you have done that, the calories given are your base calories. They already have a deficit built in to lose the amount of weight per week that you selected. Any exercise above that you need to eat the calories for.

Now comes the part that can be an issue . . . the exercise calories from Myfitnesspal (MFP) those numbers can sometimes be quite good. I know of people who have used MFP as it was designed to be used, using the calorie numbers it gives and have lost just fine. Others look and see certain exercises giving far more calories than they should. That is why I suggested eating less than all those calories burned in exercise 75% and if weight loss is slow then drop it to 50%. You should eat them though.

As to why MFP's numbers for some exercises are incorrect or at least seem incorrect, I am not sure. I am guessing it would simply be errors in data entry that have no way of being corrected. Since you are weighing your food, your calories eaten are likely pretty accurate, so I would suggest go through the goal setting process again making sure your account is set up right, then us MFP as designed eating back your exercise calories at the proportions I suggested. I hope this helps.

rileysowner wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

Assuming your calorie burns for exercise are accurate, yes, you are supposed to eat them. Unlike other places, MyFitnessPal does not include intended exercise in the calorie goal you are given so with no exercise at all you will lose eating the number of calories you have been given. When you add calories burned through exercise you increase that daily calorie deficit, which sounds good until you realize that a bigger deficit will often result in excessive lean mass loss (muscles and the like) which you want to minimize by using a moderate deficit. That is why eating exercise calories back is important.

Having said that, there are confounding factors. First, most people starting out don't actually measure the food they are eating correctly, so the calories they eat in a day tend to be more than what they think they are eating. That means that even logging 1210 calories, it is likely you are eating more than 1210 in a day. This is not a personal slight toward you, simply an observation from many years on here. Second, many times the calories burn through exercise are overstated, that is, they are higher than the actual calories burned. There are various reason for this, but again it is quite common.

Taking both of these into account you can start to see a problem. If you are eating more than you think, and your exercise is burning less than you think, eating all your exercise calories back could mean you are not actually eating at a calorie deficit. In light of that I make these suggestions. First, try eating about 75 percent of your exercise calories back as a maximum to start. If after 3 weeks you find your weight loss stalls or slows down a great deal, drop that percent to about 50 percent only eating more if you are really hungry.

Im still a bit confused lol....So I log and weigh literally everything now when I signed up I said I was lightly active but I'm now actually more active as I have incorporated swimming for an hour about 5 times a week I weigh 13st 12 lb an I'm 5' 3" my bmi is 35 so do I still stick to 1210 calories a day as this is what mfp gave me to do before I started swimming (60 lengths so not a slow swim in 50min) I'm aiming for 2lb loss every week but will this happen? I've heard of you have to burn more calories than you eat etc an a lot of other things hence my confusion

your activity level should notinclude exercise.

Then you log exercise and eat back at least 50% of those calories.

MFP is designed to help you lose weight without exercise hence eating exercise calories back.

The 2lbs a week will not always happen...and remember when you have less to lose that number should decrease as well.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

But everyone is saying the calories burnt aren't right its what I log on MFP so it comes up with the number

I have no idea if your calorie burns are right. The one comparison from a person who is 125 pound to you is not going to be helpful since you will burn substantially more calories at your weight of 194 pounds, not to mention age works in there as well.

In terms of setting us your goals, 1) Activity level only has to do with your normal daily activity outside of intentional exercise. If you work at a desk all day, you are likely sedentary or a little more active than sedentary as sedentary is quite literally sitting pretty much all day only getting up and moving around on occasion. An active activity level would be a job where a person is always on their feet moving around like a nurse or retail sales were you are moving things around a lot and going all over a store all day. 2) Set your weight loss goal per week based on the chart posted earlier. Usually people just default to 2 pounds per week, but that is often too aggressive a goal for many.

Once you have done that, the calories given are your base calories. They already have a deficit built in to lose the amount of weight per week that you selected. Any exercise above that you need to eat the calories for.

Now comes the part that can be an issue . . . the exercise calories from Myfitnesspal (MFP) those numbers can sometimes be quite good. I know of people who have used MFP as it was designed to be used, using the calorie numbers it gives and have lost just fine. Others look and see certain exercises giving far more calories than they should. That is why I suggested eating less than all those calories burned in exercise 75% and if weight loss is slow then drop it to 50%. You should eat them though.

As to why MFP's numbers for some exercises are incorrect or at least seem incorrect, I am not sure. I am guessing it would simply be errors in data entry that have no way of being corrected. Since you are weighing your food, your calories eaten are likely pretty accurate, so I would suggest go through the goal setting process again making sure your account is set up right, then us MFP as designed eating back your exercise calories at the proportions I suggested. I hope this helps.

gnarlykickflip wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

leannecnry332 wrote: »

rileysowner wrote: »

Assuming your calorie burns for exercise are accurate, yes, you are supposed to eat them. Unlike other places, MyFitnessPal does not include intended exercise in the calorie goal you are given so with no exercise at all you will lose eating the number of calories you have been given. When you add calories burned through exercise you increase that daily calorie deficit, which sounds good until you realize that a bigger deficit will often result in excessive lean mass loss (muscles and the like) which you want to minimize by using a moderate deficit. That is why eating exercise calories back is important.

Having said that, there are confounding factors. First, most people starting out don't actually measure the food they are eating correctly, so the calories they eat in a day tend to be more than what they think they are eating. That means that even logging 1210 calories, it is likely you are eating more than 1210 in a day. This is not a personal slight toward you, simply an observation from many years on here. Second, many times the calories burn through exercise are overstated, that is, they are higher than the actual calories burned. There are various reason for this, but again it is quite common.

Taking both of these into account you can start to see a problem. If you are eating more than you think, and your exercise is burning less than you think, eating all your exercise calories back could mean you are not actually eating at a calorie deficit. In light of that I make these suggestions. First, try eating about 75 percent of your exercise calories back as a maximum to start. If after 3 weeks you find your weight loss stalls or slows down a great deal, drop that percent to about 50 percent only eating more if you are really hungry.

Im still a bit confused lol....So I log and weigh literally everything now when I signed up I said I was lightly active but I'm now actually more active as I have incorporated swimming for an hour about 5 times a week I weigh 13st 12 lb an I'm 5' 3" my bmi is 35 so do I still stick to 1210 calories a day as this is what mfp gave me to do before I started swimming (60 lengths so not a slow swim in 50min) I'm aiming for 2lb loss every week but will this happen? I've heard of you have to burn more calories than you eat etc an a lot of other things hence my confusion

your activity level should notinclude exercise.

Then you log exercise and eat back at least 50% of those calories.

MFP is designed to help you lose weight without exercise hence eating exercise calories back.

The 2lbs a week will not always happen...and remember when you have less to lose that number should decrease as well.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

But everyone is saying the calories burnt aren't right its what I log on MFP so it comes up with the number

I have no idea if your calorie burns are right. The one comparison from a person who is 125 pound to you is not going to be helpful since you will burn substantially more calories at your weight of 194 pounds, not to mention age works in there as well.

In terms of setting us your goals, 1) Activity level only has to do with your normal daily activity outside of intentional exercise. If you work at a desk all day, you are likely sedentary or a little more active than sedentary as sedentary is quite literally sitting pretty much all day only getting up and moving around on occasion. An active activity level would be a job where a person is always on their feet moving around like a nurse or retail sales were you are moving things around a lot and going all over a store all day. 2) Set your weight loss goal per week based on the chart posted earlier. Usually people just default to 2 pounds per week, but that is often too aggressive a goal for many.

Once you have done that, the calories given are your base calories. They already have a deficit built in to lose the amount of weight per week that you selected. Any exercise above that you need to eat the calories for.

Now comes the part that can be an issue . . . the exercise calories from Myfitnesspal (MFP) those numbers can sometimes be quite good. I know of people who have used MFP as it was designed to be used, using the calorie numbers it gives and have lost just fine. Others look and see certain exercises giving far more calories than they should. That is why I suggested eating less than all those calories burned in exercise 75% and if weight loss is slow then drop it to 50%. You should eat them though.

As to why MFP's numbers for some exercises are incorrect or at least seem incorrect, I am not sure. I am guessing it would simply be errors in data entry that have no way of being corrected. Since you are weighing your food, your calories eaten are likely pretty accurate, so I would suggest go through the goal setting process again making sure your account is set up right, then us MFP as designed eating back your exercise calories at the proportions I suggested. I hope this helps.

Do you know anything about BMR as mine has been calculated to 1569 so how does this work on 1200 calories a day and then exercise on top

bmr stands for basal metabolic rate, so the base metabolism for your body in a given day. what the bmr means is how many calories your body would burn if you did absolutely nothing in a day, just lied in bed breathing. so, your bmr is what your body would burn in a coma.

so since youre fairly active, on your feet during your workday i think you said, you will burn a lot more than your bmr without exercise. even someone "sedentary" with a desk job would burn more than their bmr, because they are awake and getting up to eat and use the restroom. does that make sense?