Calorie burning and consuming for weight loss

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jessdecardigans
jessdecardigans Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey there! I’m new to this calorie thing and I’m gonna sound like such a dumby but here it goes. My diary tells me my calorie thing is 1840 but I’m so confused because if that’s how much I need to eat, and then to lose weight I need to burn 500 to 1000 more calories than I eat daily, does that mean I need to burn approximately 2840? Jesus. Can someone just straight out tell me from this information how much I need to burn daily and how much I should eat daily. I just need someone smart to write it out for me haha. I’ve been going to the gym but now I’m worried I haven’t been burning enough calories to lose any weight and this has all been a waste of time.

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    You already burn plenty of calories just by living and going about your day. Exercise is only a small chunk of that. MFP sets you up with a deficit when you sign up if you told it you want to lose weight.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Mfp gave you 1840 cals? You set it up to lose 1lb a week? If so then eating 1840 cals will mean to will lose 1lb a week if you're logging your food intake accurately. If you exercise you will be able to eat even more.
  • threec
    threec Posts: 97 Member
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    Eat what it tells you too, the math is all done for you. If you log or sync exercise calories eat them back as well, some people eat half some eat all. That part is kinda learn as you go

    I set my activity level to the lowest and track my exercise, and eat about 1/2 back.
  • jessdecardigans
    jessdecardigans Posts: 11 Member
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    Okay. So the 1840 is the calorie intake they are basically saying I can eat that much with no exercise and still lose 1lb a week. But if I exercise and burn calories then I can eat more?
  • jessdecardigans
    jessdecardigans Posts: 11 Member
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    I think I get it
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    We burn calories even if we lay in bed all day. Google search BMR. So our total calorie burn is our BMR + NEAT (Which is basically calories burned just generally moving around) + purposeful exercise = TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    jessdecardigans wrote: »
    Okay. So the 1840 is the calorie intake they are basically saying I can eat that much with no exercise and still lose 1lb a week. But if I exercise and burn calories then I can eat more?

    Yes exactly.
  • jessdecardigans
    jessdecardigans Posts: 11 Member
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    RunRutheeRun wrote: »
    jessdecardigans wrote: »
    Okay. So the 1840 is the calorie intake they are basically saying I can eat that much with no exercise and still lose 1lb a week. But if I exercise and burn calories then I can eat more?

    Yes exactly.

    Wow thanks lol. That’s actually quite simple. I’m a newbie
  • jessdecardigans
    jessdecardigans Posts: 11 Member
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    I was a bit freaked out thinking I had to lose 2000+ calories daily to lose weight hahahaha I thought I might as well move into the gym
  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
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    No you don't have to burn 2840 calories. :) If your calorie intake goal is 1500 calories a day and you burn 350 calories at the gym, your calorie 'thingy' will read 1850 calories. That's how many calories you need for your body to function with your workout activity, your body breathing, heart pumping, digestive system working etc. Does that make sense?
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    If you want to tell us what you put into MPF when you set up your goals someone here can double check your numbers and make sure you're understanding everything. Also that you're not double counting. Just to set your mind at ease.

    Weight
    Height
    Gender
    Activity Level
    Weight Loss Goal per Week
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    jessdecardigans wrote: »
    Okay. So the 1840 is the calorie intake they are basically saying I can eat that much with no exercise and still lose 1lb a week. But if I exercise and burn calories then I can eat more?

    Yes - with the proviso that calorie burns from exercise are often overstated (sometimes grossly so) and you can put a hurt on your weight loss efforts if you believe you burned 800 calories in a 45 minute exercise session and proceed to eat them all back. A lot of people believe they burn a lot more exercise calories than they actually do.

    Many people opt to eat a portion of their exercise calories back - say 50% of them for starters - and evaluate the results over a few weeks and tweak accordingly.
  • kathycurry90
    kathycurry90 Posts: 7 Member
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    if you have a fitbit or whatever it indicates how much you are burning just sat around all day. Ive been up an hour and it says ive burned 745 calories so you can see that by the end of the day this could be quite a few without factoring in any exercise. I managed to change the mfp setting so it does not increase calories when I excercise so I do not eat them - but they are available if I ever need them.

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