Now that I'm exercising for 20 minutes a day, how should my calories be looking?

AshlynnHH
AshlynnHH Posts: 27 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I lost 20+ and today I just started doing 20 minutes(half walking and half dancing) I noticed that now
I'm getting more hungry the past couple of days along with gaining a sweet tooth. My life on here is labeled sedentary at 1800 calories to lose a lb a week. Should I be labeled as lightly active which would raise my count to 2000 or just keep it as is and try and find even low calorie but high filling food?

Replies

  • AshlynnHH
    AshlynnHH Posts: 27 Member
    edited September 2017
    I have ~80 more lbs to lose. Yeah, It's not like I'm working out vigorously depending some dances are moderate. The walking is new to my exercise, though.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    AshlynnHeartful wrote: »
    I have ~80 more lbs to lose. Yeah, It's not like I'm working out vigorously depending some dances are moderate. The walking is new to my exercise, though.

    How much weight are you losing per week?
  • AshlynnHH
    AshlynnHH Posts: 27 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    AshlynnHeartful wrote: »
    I lost 20+ and today I just started doing 20 minutes(half walking and half dancing) I noticed that now
    I'm getting more hungry the past couple of days along with gaining a sweet tooth. My life on here is labeled sedentary at 1800 calories to lose a lb a week. Should I be labeled as lightly active which would raise my count to 2000 or just keep it as is and try and find even low calorie but high filling food?

    Your Activity Level is based on your job, not exercise. Log 10 minutes of walking and 10 minutes of dancing in your exercise diary and eat those calories back.

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    I see, thank you for clearing that up for me!

  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,744 Member
    Unfortunately, 20 minutes of exercise doesn't burn that many calories. It will help your health and muscles, but you're not likely to burn more than 100 calories or so.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Any exercise is better than none, but honestly, 20 minutes of exercise is pretty much nothing, calorie-wise. Seriously, like 2 crackers worth or something. I would see how your weight loss changes and see from there.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,254 Member
    AshlynnHeartful wrote: »
    I lost 20+ and today I just started doing 20 minutes(half walking and half dancing) I noticed that now
    I'm getting more hungry the past couple of days along with gaining a sweet tooth. My life on here is labeled sedentary at 1800 calories to lose a lb a week. Should I be labeled as lightly active which would raise my count to 2000 or just keep it as is and try and find even low calorie but high filling food?

    On the face of it the answer is no.

    However it really does depend on your actual deficit and your rate of weight loss over time (your weight trend).

    Since continued progress, even at a slower rate, beats giving up and making no progress at all, I would log the exercise and eat the calories back if doing so would help me stay the course.

    Also the more active you become the better off you will be. So (again depending on your rate of actual loss), eat back enough of your exercise calories such that you're encouraged to seek to add exercise whenever you can.

    I would only move purposeful exercise into the daily activity setting when it becomes a constant and a given. A base level of activity so to speak. And only in order to make meal planning easier.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    Don't change anything. Maybe add 200 calories total to a weekend meal if anything.
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
    edited September 2017
    When I walk 25 minutes using the app. Map my Run which links into My Fitness Pal, it logs it as 150 calories. I would think 20 minutes of walking and even more strenuous dancing would around that much. Why is everyone only saying 20 to 30 calories?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited September 2017
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    When I walk 25 minutes using the app. Map my Run which links into My Fitness Pal, it logs it as 150 calories. I would think 20 minutes of walking and even more strenuous dancing would around that much. Why is everyone only saying 20 to 30 calories?

    @J9LynnHelton

    Map my Run family of apps do have a reputation for exaggerated calorie burns.
    Walking is a very efficient movement and is therefore a low calorie burner. With a low calorie activity it becomes more significant to try and estimate net calories rather than gross calories (which includes all the calories you burn just by living).

    Your body weight in pounds X 0.3 X miles walked gives you a reasonable net calorie estimate for normal speed walking on level ground.

    You are correct that dancing would most likely be more strenuous but hard to quantify.


  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,744 Member
    If combining walking and dancing in one session, log it under low impact aerobics and see what it says.
  • LynnJ9
    LynnJ9 Posts: 414 Member
    edited September 2017
    sijomial wrote: »
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    When I walk 25 minutes using the app. Map my Run which links into My Fitness Pal, it logs it as 150 calories. I would think 20 minutes of walking and even more strenuous dancing would around that much. Why is everyone only saying 20 to 30 calories?

    @J9LynnHelton

    Map my Run family of apps do have a reputation for exaggerated calorie burns.
    Walking is a very efficient movement and is therefore a low calorie burner. With a low calorie activity it becomes more significant to try and estimate net calories rather than gross calories (which includes all the calories you burn just by living).

    Your body weight in pounds X 0.3 X miles walked gives you a reasonable net calorie estimate for normal speed walking on level ground.

    You are correct that dancing would most likely be more strenuous but hard to quantify.


    Well that is disappointing. But it makes sense, I do the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred video which also takes 25 minutes and that is obviously 3x as strenuous, and the calories for that is 175 (at least that is what I have found in MFP). So walking being only 70 calories for the same amount of time is logical. Hmmm, now need to eat even less, or walk a lot more.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    J9LynnHelton wrote: »
    When I walk 25 minutes using the app. Map my Run which links into My Fitness Pal, it logs it as 150 calories. I would think 20 minutes of walking and even more strenuous dancing would around that much. Why is everyone only saying 20 to 30 calories?

    @J9LynnHelton

    Map my Run family of apps do have a reputation for exaggerated calorie burns.
    Walking is a very efficient movement and is therefore a low calorie burner. With a low calorie activity it becomes more significant to try and estimate net calories rather than gross calories (which includes all the calories you burn just by living).

    Your body weight in pounds X 0.3 X miles walked gives you a reasonable net calorie estimate for normal speed walking on level ground.

    You are correct that dancing would most likely be more strenuous but hard to quantify.


    Well that is disappointing. But it makes sense, I do the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred video which also takes 25 minutes and that is obviously 3x as strenuous, and the calories for that is 175 (at least that is what I have found in MFP). So walking being only 70 calories for the same amount of time is logical. Hmmm, now need to eat even less, or walk a lot more.

    It is depressing, but it does add up.
  • buffgrl
    buffgrl Posts: 32 Member
    What I do is calculate the calories burned and then subtract about 40-50 calories from whatever the activity calculator comes up with, then I eat those back. For example, say I walked 2 miles and the activity calculator says I burned 100 calories per mile, for a total of 200 calories. I subtract 50 calories per mile, then eat back the other 50 per mile. So I add 100 calories to my daily food intake. I'm still in a caloric deficit, but my body is satisfied and so I don't get cravings. This works beautifully for me and solved the whole exercise/hunger problem that always happens when dieting.
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