Calorie intake

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babyirishamy
babyirishamy Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
Hi there, I've been using MFP for quite a while but wanted to clarify about the calorie goals. When you have calories remaining in green at the end of the day I realize that is good but when my calories are set to 1210 per day and I meet that goal is that set for me to lose 1.5 lbs. a week via diet alone? A lot of days I'll stick to my 1210 calories but my workouts say I have additional 500+ calories remaining to eat... if I then eat 1710 calories am I just maintaining my weight or still set to lose 1.5 lbs.? Someone please help clarify for me! Thank you! -Amy

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  • yoosed
    yoosed Posts: 2 Member
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    Still set to lose 1.5
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    MFP gave you a calorie deficit with zero exercise factored in. So yes, you do eat exercise calories back.

    However, calorie burns are estimates. Many MFP users start by eating back a percentage, say 50-75%. Then as weight loss progresses you can tweak this % up or down as needed to reach intended results.
  • babyirishamy
    babyirishamy Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you!!! I use a chest strap for all my workouts so I get a pretty accurate calorie burn but most days I really am not hungry enough to eat those extra calories I've burned... sometime I do but I'm assuming it will help lose weight more quickly if you are way under your calorie goal?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    babyirishamy wrote: »
    Thank you!!! I use a chest strap for all my workouts so I get a pretty accurate calorie burn but most days I really am not hungry enough to eat those extra calories I've burned... sometime I do but I'm assuming it will help lose weight more quickly if you are way under your calorie goal?

    Yes you'll lose more, but a lot of that loss will be muscle. In addition, your body likely won't be getting enough nutrients and you could start to see some serious health issues that come along with rapid weight loss (hair loss, fatigue, irregular cycle, etc.). This is why MFP is set up for you to eat those exercise calories back, especially when you're just barely above the minimum.
  • babyirishamy
    babyirishamy Posts: 3 Member
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    Thanks for your input! I have autoimmune hypothyroidism so it's tough for me to lose these 30 lbs that I gained during my 2 pregnancies!
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    Just some advice - set a more realistic goal. If you are only looking to lose 30 lbs. 1.5 lbs. /week is very aggressive. Set yourself up for success and goal at 1 lb./week. Don't eat back exercise calories if you can help it as these are difficult to measure and often inflated. This will also help you account for the 20% margin of error in caloric estimations.

    As for hypothyroidism - don't let this stop you. This will cause a marginal increase in weight - about 5-10 lbs, but this is usually limited to a short term cellular uptake. It does not slow your metabolism nearly as much as thought. The other aspect of this is that your weight reduction will help your hypothyroidism. Hormones are free cycling and cannot maintain balance if you are overweight. There are several posters on here with variations of thyroid disorders, myself included, who have been successful in their goals.

    Know your thyroid panel numbers and monitor these along with your MFP entries - TSH, fT3, fT4, rT3. Your goal for TSH should be between 0.2-2.0.

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