Caloric intake and exercise

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maryvalekingz602
maryvalekingz602 Posts: 19 Member
in Getting Started
Hey everybody,
Is it healthy to consume about 1500 calories daily while burning 1400 through cardio? I’m an extremely overweight male 27 yrs old 5’8 at 200 lbs.

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    First 1500 is the absolute minimum you should be consuming, and even that number is likely too low (I'm a 36 year old female, a bit shorter, and I eat closer to 2000 a day).

    Second, you should be eating your exercise calories back. That said, it's pretty unlikely, depending on what you did and how you measured your burn, that you burned that much.

    There are serious consequences that come with underfueling your body...muscle loss is the most noticeable, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.
  • maryvalekingz602
    maryvalekingz602 Posts: 19 Member
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    I burn at LEAST 1400. I know that because i weight 200 lbs and use the stationary bike 2x a day, for 50 minutes each, at various speeds from 13-17mph.

    So I’m over-exercising? I should limit my cardio to once a day?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I didn't say you were overexercising, I said you're likely burning less than you think. Where are you getting your burn estimate from?
  • maryvalekingz602
    maryvalekingz602 Posts: 19 Member
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    http://www.nowloss.com/weight-loss-calculators/bicycle12139.htm
  • DaintyWhisper
    DaintyWhisper Posts: 221 Member
    edited June 2018
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    Sometimes, those calorie burning calculators or the numbers given to you on the machine itself will tell you that you're burning more calories than you actually are. It's just a calculated estimate based on weight and output. Since you're trying to lose weight, you may want to only eat back a portion of the burned calories. But yes, you should eat at least some of your exercise calories. Especially if you find it to be an intense workout. I would be exhausted on 1500 calories while biking for nearly 2 hours! You may also want to reassess your daily calories all together. 1500 really isn't that much. Try setting it for losing a pound a week instead. I think that will give you a more appropriate and manageable calorie goal. (Probably around 1800 or so.) Other than that, just make sure you're tracking the food you eat accurately and you'll be well on your way! Good luck~
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    maryvalekingz602 wrote: »
    Hey everybody,
    Is it healthy to consume about 1500 calories daily while burning 1400 through cardio? I’m an extremely overweight male 27 yrs old 5’8 at 200 lbs.

    I'm not going to get into your exercise cal burn, except to say 1400 cals is a massive burn.

    MFP gives you a calorie goal assuming you will log your exercise and eat back at least some of them. Since 1500 is the absolute minimum for an adult male, you should for sure eat back at least some of them.

    Understand that your body burns calories all day to beat your heart and power your brain and breathe and digest food (BMR). Based on your stats, your BMR is around 1900. If you are legit eating 1500 and burning 1400 with exercise, you are only leaving your body with 100 calories to work with to just keep you alive, rather than the 1900 it needs. Probably not a great idea. You would hit the proverbial wall or do yourself harm way before you'd lose your weight. Definitely not healthy.

    You're trying to lose what, 60 or so lbs? Set your goal on MFP to lose 1 or 1.5 lbs per week. Eat the calories it gives you, plus some of your exercise calories. Log accurately and consistently. Do some strength training so you don't burn through too much muscle.

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