TDEE factoring in exercise

CaliEmz
CaliEmz Posts: 4 Member
edited November 19 in Getting Started
Hello...I've recently returned to MFP and I was given a calorie target of 1200 per day. I'm 5ft7 and I would like to go from 146lbs to 135lbs.
I stated that I have a sedentary lifestyle (I work at a computer for most of the day) but I added that I exercise for an hour five days a week. I have been eating back my exercise calories but I thought maybe I shouldn't, as I had already told MFP about my exercise when they were calculating my goal.
Then I started to read about calculating my TDEE and cutting back 20% (this also included my exercise) and that gave me a calorie total of over 1400 calories. Do you think I should stick with this total and just not log exercise?. It may be mind games but 1200 is such a low number to me!
Sorry if this is a bit rambling..I have read a lot of threads now and I'm not very clear on the subject. I would like to lose weight in a healthy way. Thank you for reading and for any advice you have.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    You don't have that much to lose, so I would adjust your goal to half a pound a week if you follow MFP's calories (it doesn't include exercise in the initial goal, which is why you eat your calories back). or about TDEE-10%.
  • CaliEmz
    CaliEmz Posts: 4 Member
    Hello!..Thank you very much for your quick reply!. I just went in to the goal section and did what you suggested. That gave me over 1400 calories too. I think what was confusing me was they way MFP was asking how many days a week/how long I was going to exercise each week and I presumed they took this into account. But actually, when I entered zero values for this, I got the same calorie total. Mystery solved!. So I'll go back to eating the exercise calories. Thanks again :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,325 Member
    MFP uses your input about how many times per week you exercise, and for how long, in only one place: On your exercise diary page, to show you how your actual exercise time stacks up against that goal. It doesn't - as you learned - affect your calorie goal at all. This confuses nearly everyone at first, it seems.
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