How many calories do you eat when you are exercising daily?

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  • pendennis
    pendennis Posts: 117 Member
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    How do you calculate your exercise calories burned? Because most devices and tables are just estimates and cannot give a real accounting of calories burned during exercise. If I eat back my calories I will only eat back 1/4 to 1/2 of the estimates calories burned. Also you say you are starving by the end of the night. How are your calories and macros spread out during the day? I eat up to half my calories during dinner and keep the rest of the day lighter and I never get that "empty gas tank" feeling at the end of the night.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
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    I eat back half, or slightly more, of my exercise calories. That puts me at 2200-2300 most days, with my normal goal at 1840.
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
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    depends. if i'm hungry, then i would eat.

    no reason to eat if you're not hungry.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
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    I currently am eating 3900 calories a day aiming for .5-1lb a week. My work is very unpredictable so it's hard to gauge the right calories daily.

    In a month or two i will be cutting, I will drop my calories to 3300 on some days and then 2900 on others depending on the level of physical activity for a .5-1lb a week loss.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    avedabean85 wrote: »
    I'm a 5 ft 3 female currently trying to lose 15 more lbs. thanks in advance!!

    that sounds like about what i was when i joined mfp and started logging. maybe 10 pounds instead of 15, and for reference i was 49 at the time.

    i did about 90 minutes of cycling and added weight training [stronglifts] to it, and yup; i lost weight steadily, for a couple of months. and then i stalled out with everything else, so i started eating again just to be able to do the stuff i was more interested in. like getting strong and all that.

    i can't comment on whether it's okay for you since people and their lives are so different. and can't tell you what i'm eating now since i gave up logging. but i know that now i'm not doing that anymore, there's just not no way. i'd be lucky to just lie around the house all day long on 1200 now :tongue.

  • avedabean85
    avedabean85 Posts: 18 Member
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    Yes I'm pretty active I have 2 little ones and am a hairstylist so I'm on my feet all day.
  • avedabean85
    avedabean85 Posts: 18 Member
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    @pendennis I track by using a Fitbit Alta but I do have the negative calorie adjustment turned on for the reason of inaccurate estimates.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    That sounds low. I'm 5'3" and right now I'm in a more aggressive deficit at 1400 calories on days I don't workout, and 1600 on days I do workout. I'm losing weight with this amount. Also, I have a desk job to give you an idea of activity level.

    I can still lose weight (at a slower rate) at between 1700-1900 calories a day as well.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    nrbutton wrote: »
    I weigh 183 right now and I have to get my BMI down to no more than 27% by August for an abdominal surgery I need so yeah I am in a bit of a hurry. Normally no I wouldn't be so strict, but I'm on a timetable to get down to 150 at least by August.

    @nrbutton: I'm sorry to second guess your goals, but it would be very unusual for a doctor to direct anyone to lose weight rapidly for any reason, particularly a surgical procedure. I urge you to stay complaint with sound medical advice.

  • _Bro
    _Bro Posts: 437 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Recomposition so my range is {1,300-1,450} to {6,000-8,500}.

    Low Calories
    4x per week
    High rep, and tension training.
    Optional cardio

    High calorie days:
    once a week
    Heavy/compound movements.

    I will eat at mainentnace 1x per week before starting over again : varying workouts and calories.
  • SylviazSpirit
    SylviazSpirit Posts: 694 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Lately, I've been working out maybe 2 hours a day, getting about 15,000 min. steps daily, and eating 2500 calories. That's with my goal set at 2lb loss. 1200 is very low for an active female. For active females your lowest should be 1500 calories. The exact amount depends on a lot of different things but personally, 1200 doesn't sound like enough, especially if you feel starved.
  • rachel141269
    rachel141269 Posts: 4 Member
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    Really interesting discussion. I've lost nearly 4 and a half stone and now do loads of exercise- 5 classes a week plus I walk 5 to 8 miles. I'm trying to stay under 1400 calories but I'm getting increasingly hungry. I'm probably at target but I'm scared of putting on weight.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    _Bro wrote: »
    Recomposition so my range is {1,300-1,450} to {6,000-8,500}.

    Low Calories
    4x per week
    High rep, and tension training.
    Optional cardio

    High calorie days:
    once a week
    Heavy/compound movements.

    I will eat at mainentnace 1x per week before starting over again : varying workouts and calories.

    If you average that out, are you eating at maintenance for the week?
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Most days I eat back half. I used to not feel I had to, but at the time, I weighed more and had a bigger calorie 'budget'. I kept the calories as a cushion in case I wasn't measuring accurately. Since I've gotten more active,

    1) My daily calorie allotment has dropped from 1720 to 1470 (and my weight has dropped 45 lbs)
    2) Because I'm more active, I find that I do feel hungry on the bare 1470
    3) I still feel more comfortable having a cushion. If I eat something out that I didn't prepare, I can only guesstimate the calories. And MFP is known to overestimate fitness burns. But if I eat them all back one day, I don't feel guilty about it.

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