how many calories/day to lose weight, what kind of exercise?

rainycafe1
rainycafe1 Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'1 and 117 pounds now, I have a small frame. I entered my info in myfitnesspal, and it told me that my daily calories is 1200 and I would burn 580 calories/week. Is this healthy?
Does it mean that on average then on a daily basis my net calories is less than 1200?
I was reading online to never go below 1200 calories but if I burn 190/day 3x a week then I would be doing about 1200 calories on 4 days and 1000 calories on the other 3 days - is this right?

Also a gym question:
I can manage to fit in 3 sessions at the gym, for 45 minutes each. I need an exercise that isn't too strenuous or I lose motivation (like super intense workouts, I have a tendency to keep pushing it off because i Need to get myself really in the mode emotionally for it and it doesn't always happen.
or I will get myself to do it once but I can't do it consistently over time). But if it's something light, moderate or easy I can manage to do it, and any exercise I can stick with is better than something I'll only do once.
So what's the best exercise if I have 3x45 minutes a week, that I can probably do consistently?
I went to the gym yesterday and I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes treadmill - that wasn't too bad, and I can probably do this consistently.


Nutritional Goals Target
Net Calories Consumed* / Day 1,200 Calories / Day
Carbs / Day 150.0 g
Fat / Day 40.0 g
Protein / Day 60.0 g
*Net calories consumed = total calories consumed - exercise calories burned. So the more you exercise, the more you can eat!
Fitness Goals Target
Calories Burned / Week 580 Calories / Week
Workouts / Week 3 workouts
Minutes / Workout 45 minutes
If you follow this plan...
Your projected weight loss is 0.6 lbs/week
You should lose 3 lbs by October 12




Thanks!

Replies

  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    edited September 2017
    MFP calculates your calories before exercise. When you exercise, it adds calories which you are expected to eat back. However, because the exercise burns can be inaccurate, it's best to start by eating back a portion of them (I do 50%) and seeing how you do.

    1200 is the minimum MFP will give. You're shorter than me and not too far from goal, so it sounds about right. I've 5'3" with 44 lbs left before I reach goal and I'm on 1380 before exercise. With exercise and eating back half, I usually close my diary on about 1700. But that's me.
  • rainycafe1
    rainycafe1 Posts: 6 Member
    what is the point of eating the calories back?
    i mean, if i eat 1200 calories a day, what is the point of exercising 3x a week to lose then eating those calories back if i can just not exercise at all? (if my goal is just to lose weight)?

  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    MFP gives you a calorie goal without factoring in ANY intentional exercise. So, when you do your elliptical or treadmill or whatnot, you get extra calories to eat to make up for the extra ones you've burned.

    You don't need to exercise to lose weight. Exercise is beneficial for other health reasons, but not at all necessary for weight loss.

    ~Lyssa
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited September 2017
    rainycafe1 wrote: »
    what is the point of eating the calories back?
    i mean, if i eat 1200 calories a day, what is the point of exercising 3x a week to lose then eating those calories back if i can just not exercise at all? (if my goal is just to lose weight)?

    Because exercise is good for you. And because more calories means more food.

    MFP goal is assuming no exercise. So if you chose 1 lb per week and it gave you 1200 cals, then if you eat 1200 cals and don't exercise you'll lose @ 1 lb per week. If you exercise it allows you to eat a little more, which is nice when you're only dealing with 1200 calories.

    Since you are already so light, you really don't want to lose faster than 1 lb per week at most. With so little weight to lose you risk losing muscle if you lose too fast.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited September 2017
    Because it's a life lesson you need to learn when young regarding weight.

    You do more - you eat more.
    You do less - you eat less (that's the one that gets people as they get older usually or life changes).

    In a diet to lose hopefully just fat weight - a tad less in either case.

    So first you misunderstood MFP setup.

    The exercise calories was per YOUR options you selected - it's not expected you do them, it's not accounted for.
    It's a goal. It's not used in any math regarding your eating level (unlike every other site out there).

    Your eating goal, which your choices also basically selected - is based on you leading daily the activity level you selected.
    Let me guess - sedentary for daily life? (most select that even when not in reality)

    Being 10-15 lbs to goal weight - your body would find it more reasonable, and less of a fight, if you selected the 1/2 lb weekly option.

    And because your eating goal is based on you being sedentary - when you do more (like exercise), you eat more.
    So if indeed 3 x weekly, your eating goal won't be 1200 (or hopefully a tad more with 1/2 weekly) 3x weekly. Or more if you want to eat more.

    Otherwise your body being underfed too much for what you are asking it to do - will soon stop doing as much.
    Meaning your workouts will generally start to suck as far as actually transforming your body - though they may feel just as hard to do (with a tired unrecovered body of course).

    Keep straight that exercise is for heart health and body transformation. Side effect is not weight loss, usually gain.

    Diet is for weight loss, done right just fat loss, done wrong throw some muscle in there you'll regret big time later.

    What do you plan on your workouts being?
    Some the database can inflate.
    Some it's easy for people to inflate.
    Some are right on in the database.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    rainycafe1 wrote: »
    what is the point of eating the calories back?
    i mean, if i eat 1200 calories a day, what is the point of exercising 3x a week to lose then eating those calories back if i can just not exercise at all? (if my goal is just to lose weight)?

    In my case, I'm pretty hungry on 1380 and it's harder to make room for indulgences. Plus, I take daily 2-hour walks (or 1-hour sessions on a fitness glider) and strength-train three days a week. I need more calories to fuel that kind of activity.
  • bendix85
    bendix85 Posts: 1 Member
    Wow a fellow petite traveler!

    Weight loss for us shorties can be a little bit hard, - we need so few calories, that just a few extra can throw the whole thing off course. A book that really helped me understand why a lot of the average advice on weight loss doesn’t work for petites is this book; The Petite Advantage Diet by Jim Karas. I highly recommend. 

    Last time I lost weight I didn’t add any exercise, just reduced calories. I lost plenty of weight fast - unfortunately a lot of it was muscle mass not just fat - and I was really hungry all the time. Also, I haven’t been able to keep it off. So here I am three years later, ready to admit that I do need to add some exercise, both to earn more calories, and to retain my muscle-mass. I’m three weeks into my new diet, and so far, it’s been much easier to manage cravings etc. on 1400 kcal pr. day, that it was 1200 kcal. 

    I go to the gym for 30 min five times a week. With a combo of waking/running on the treadmill and rowing on the ergometer.

    A word of caution: Some exercise machines are too big for people below 5,2. My legs are actually too short for the standard model of exercise bike, so I hurt my knee over-stretching a few years back. 

    Lots of luck with your weight-loss journey. You're clearly off to a great start. Keep thinking about what works for YOU.

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