Recommend calories
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RedPowder
Posts: 44 Member
If I eat the recommend calories of say 1900 and I burn 700 of them away is it still safe ? Because it would put be below the recommend amount ?
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Replies
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Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.3
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Yes, that would make your net calories 1,200. That's too low for a man.
You want to eat to your calorie goal. That takes your regular everyday activity into account and still gives you a deficit to meet your weight loss goals. If you do additional purposeful exercise that increased the numbers of calories you burn, you want to make sure to eat those calories too. This returns you to your original goal to lose weight (1,900).6 -
It's recommended that whether you're in a surplus or deficit, to not go above/below 20% of your maintenance.1
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MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.janejellyroll wrote: »Yes, that would make your net calories 1,200. That's too low for a man.
You want to eat to your calorie goal. That takes your regular everyday activity into account and still gives you a deficit to meet your weight loss goals. If you do additional purposeful exercise that increased the numbers of calories you burn, you want to make sure to eat those calories too. This returns you to your original goal to lose weight (1,900).sharifsahmed wrote: »It's recommended that whether you're in a surplus or deficit, to not go above/below 20% of your maintenance.
Ok so let’s pretend I won’t be having a snack later just for the benefit of the question. I’m done doing any “real walking” so the steps won’t be going up much more.
How much more calories should I be eating according to my diary today? Anything else I’m doing wrong ?
I’m 5’10 and weigh 384lbs I’m pretty active and the activity on the diary is only a a small portion due to me just linking the Fitbit to the app.
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MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.
Yes, however (there's always a "however", isn't there?), that also depends on how much one has to lose... if you're trying to drop 80lbs... you can get away with not eating them back for quite a while- I know, I did. In that situation where you eat X, burn Y, and X-Y=Less than daily energy target, yeah, eat some back, roughly half if you want to or can..
But if you're not hungry and you feel fine, I wouldn't sweat it or lose sleep over having not forced myself to have a 700 calorie meal. I really don't need a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese at 8 at night just so that I net my 1900 calories.5 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.janejellyroll wrote: »Yes, that would make your net calories 1,200. That's too low for a man.
You want to eat to your calorie goal. That takes your regular everyday activity into account and still gives you a deficit to meet your weight loss goals. If you do additional purposeful exercise that increased the numbers of calories you burn, you want to make sure to eat those calories too. This returns you to your original goal to lose weight (1,900).sharifsahmed wrote: »It's recommended that whether you're in a surplus or deficit, to not go above/below 20% of your maintenance.
Ok so let’s pretend I won’t be having a snack later just for the benefit of the question. I’m done doing any “real walking” so the steps won’t be going up much more.
How much more calories should I be eating according to my diary today? Anything else I’m doing wrong ?
I’m 5’10 and weigh 384lbs I’m pretty active and the activity on the diary is only a a small portion due to me just linking the Fitbit to the app.
Right now your net calories are very low because you have burned 686 more calories than MFP estimated you would when it provided your initial goal. You have 1,760 calories left. The way MFP is set up, you would be eating all of those.
If you're worried that your logging might not be accurate or that your Fitbit is over-estimating your calorie burn, you can always begin with eating a portion of your extra calories. Some people start with 50%. I always found that my adjustments were a good guide and I eat all my calories. Others find they need more or less -- nobody can know for sure what your situation will be. The best thing to do is choose a method, pay attention to your results, and then adjust if you find yourself losing too quickly or too slowly.
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jasondjulian wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.
Yes, however (there's always a "however", isn't there?), that also depends on how much one has to lose... if you're trying to drop 80lbs... you can get away with not eating them back for quite a while- I know, I did. In that situation where you eat X, burn Y, and X-Y=Less than daily energy target, yeah, eat some back, roughly half if you want to or can..
But if you're not hungry and you feel fine, I wouldn't sweat it or lose sleep over having not forced myself to have a 700 calorie meal. I really don't need a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese at 8 at night just so that I net my 1900 calories.
You don't have to force yourself to eat a 700 calorie meal at night to eat back your activity adjustments. Over time, people can get a sense for how many calories they have to "play with" on a typical day. This allows us to add calories to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Very few people eating back activity calories are adding them all after dinner in one final meal.8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »
Right now your net calories are very low because you have burned 686 more calories than MFP estimated you would when it provided your initial goal. You have 1,760 calories left. The way MFP is set up, you would be eating all of those.
If you're worried that your logging might not be accurate or that your Fitbit is over-estimating your calorie burn, you can always begin with eating a portion of your extra calories. Some people start with 50%. I always found that my adjustments were a good guide and I eat all my calories. Others find they need more or less -- nobody can know for sure what your situation will be. The best thing to do is choose a method, pay attention to your results, and then adjust if you find yourself losing too quickly or too slowly.
Ah ok that’s more understandable I really wasn’t sure but what I’ve been doing is not eating any of them back so I’ll try to just start eating half and see how things go. Thank you.
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Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.3
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I think it depends on what kind of exercising you're doing. My main source of exercise is walking during the week and hiking on the weekends. I stick to my daily deficit and generally don't eat back any exercise calories I've earned. I don't feel hungry that often and my energy levels seem to be good, so this works for me.
If you are doing something that is higher intensity or strenuous, your body is going to require more fuel to keep chugging along. Like, most of my hiking consists of long, relatively flat State trails that were converted from railroad beds. If I were out hiking somewhere that has more serious elevation gain, my calorie burn would just about double and if I didn't eat back some/all of those calories, my body would suffer because it wouldn't have the energy it needs to sustain and recover.
And believe me, after a long day of hiking (I usually aim to do about 15 miles), getting to eat an "extra" meal totally guilt free because of the calorie burn is awesome.0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »
Was just for the question because I didn’t wanna close the app and find mine after I’d already started making the topic lol.Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.
I’ve gone from eating a pack of cookies, a bag of crisps/chips and some monsters once a day to eating meals a few times a day so it’s been hard on me because I’ve felt bloated and very full all the time so it’s just a learning curve and a body adjustment.
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TavistockToad wrote: »
Was just for the question because I didn’t wanna close the app and find mine after I’d already started making the topic lol.Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.
I’ve gone from eating a pack of cookies, a bag of crisps/chips and some monsters once a day to eating meals a few times a day so it’s been hard on me because I’ve felt bloated and very full all the time so it’s just a learning curve and a body adjustment.
Under eating is no better for you than over eating0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »
Was just for the question because I didn’t wanna close the app and find mine after I’d already started making the topic lol.Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.
I’ve gone from eating a pack of cookies, a bag of crisps/chips and some monsters once a day to eating meals a few times a day so it’s been hard on me because I’ve felt bloated and very full all the time so it’s just a learning curve and a body adjustment.
Under eating is no better for you than over eating
Oh yeah that’s definitely for sure I’m getting there slowly and I’m doing all I can do to make sure everything is going well. My plans for now is to have a bigger breakfast, lunch and around about the same kind of dinner so I’m not left with so many calories at the end of the night.
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Given your previous diet, what you've switched to is an amazing turnaround. Maybe look at having some granola-type cereal for breakfast. Not cheap, but Fuel 10k with chocolate and no added sugar is quite tasty and reasonably healthy, especially if you add your fruit and custard pot on top. I get mine in Tesco (along with a couple of other granolas which are low in sugar) but Sainsburys and Morrisons probably sell it too. A 45g serving is about 200 calories but I then top with 100ml of soya milk, a large handful of blueberries (about 42g) and a banana so my breakfast is around 260 calories. Maybe add in more salad vegetables to have with your dinner - an avocado will increase your calories and it tastes good with chicken pieces on a jacket potato. A handful of nuts, particularly almonds, and bananas will boost your calories whilst also being good for you. I use nuts as my go-to food, if I find myself needing to eat more calories by the end of my day, because it's easy to weigh out how much I need to get the required calories number.1
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Strudders67 wrote: »Given your previous diet, what you've switched to is an amazing turnaround. Maybe look at having some granola-type cereal for breakfast. Not cheap, but Fuel 10k with chocolate and no added sugar is quite tasty and reasonably healthy, especially if you add your fruit and custard pot on top. I get mine in Tesco (along with a couple of other granolas which are low in sugar) but Sainsburys and Morrisons probably sell it too. A 45g serving is about 200 calories but I then top with 100ml of soya milk, a large handful of blueberries (about 42g) and a banana so my breakfast is around 260 calories. Maybe add in more salad vegetables to have with your dinner - an avocado will increase your calories and it tastes good with chicken pieces on a jacket potato. A handful of nuts, particularly almonds, and bananas will boost your calories whilst also being good for you. I use nuts as my go-to food, if I find myself needing to eat more calories by the end of my day, because it's easy to weigh out how much I need to get the required calories number.
@Strudders67
Thank you for the great advice I’ve just had my last meal of the day and I’ve boosted my calorie count with some healthy options ( well I think ).
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janejellyroll wrote: »jasondjulian wrote: »MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Ideally you want to eat a portion of them back.
Yes, however (there's always a "however", isn't there?), that also depends on how much one has to lose... if you're trying to drop 80lbs... you can get away with not eating them back for quite a while- I know, I did. In that situation where you eat X, burn Y, and X-Y=Less than daily energy target, yeah, eat some back, roughly half if you want to or can..
But if you're not hungry and you feel fine, I wouldn't sweat it or lose sleep over having not forced myself to have a 700 calorie meal. I really don't need a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese at 8 at night just so that I net my 1900 calories.
You don't have to force yourself to eat a 700 calorie meal at night to eat back your activity adjustments. Over time, people can get a sense for how many calories they have to "play with" on a typical day. This allows us to add calories to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Very few people eating back activity calories are adding them all after dinner in one final meal.
Yeah, I get that... but generally speaking, and I think this is true in the OP's case, you eat and exercise, and then at the end of the day when you're going to save and log the diary.. you're like "oh... it deducts my exercise cals from my food intake and says I still have 1000 calories "remaining""... especially true for someone who hasn't been using the app for a while. Then the question comes up, as it has, do I eat those back or not? If the OP is not thinking ahead about this in order to add calories to breakfast, lunch, and dinner (assuming the person even eats three meals, some only eat two), then it becomes a last-minute thing at the end of the day, doesn't it?
And if at the end of the day the MFP math says you have eaten 1500 calories, exercised for another 400, and your daily goal is 2000, you're going to be told you are 900 calories short.. and if you are then determined that you should have eaten those back at some point, you're looking for a rather substantial meal at the end of the day. Your comment that very few people are eating back activity calories at the end of the day, after dinner, is as much speculation as me stating that people aren't doing that.
That's what I was getting at. Sorry if I did not explain myself well.
Now, where you are absolutely correct and I agree, is that if you know all of this head of time, you can plan your meal portions and calories such that you are indeed eating additionally to make up for some or all of your exercise calories. I don't think about eating back activity cals.. I don't sync my fitbit to MFP anymore, mostly because I think it is grossly inaccurate for calories burned, but I eat my meals.. I log my meals after weighing and measuring etc.. I don't always log activity/exercise.. but if I'm hungry in the evening or so, I'll have a nutritious or sensible snack; and in the back of my head, even if I've logged my entire 2150 calories allotted for the day, I know I burned enough calories with activity that the snack, even once logged, is still keeping me within my targets.
But that's me. Others are certainly going to address this differently in a way that works for them. Finding that way takes time, adjusting, just like how our calorie goals in the app are estimates, and 3500 calories per week may or may not equal a pound lost.. if it doesn't, you learn and adjust. As with everything.0 -
It looks like MFP is giving you a daily goal of 2380, no? With the amount of weight that you have to lose, I would recommend eating that amount at a minimum and not worrying about the exercise calories right now. As you begin to lose weight, and get to say around 50lbs to goal, you'll want to adjust and this is when you would want to start eating your exercise calories. Weight loss is not a race, but with 80+ lbs to lose, you definitely have some grace at the beginning. You're doing a great job so far, compared to what you use to eat, your diary looks great.0
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TavistockToad wrote: »
Was just for the question because I didn’t wanna close the app and find mine after I’d already started making the topic lol.Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.
I’ve gone from eating a pack of cookies, a bag of crisps/chips and some monsters once a day to eating meals a few times a day so it’s been hard on me because I’ve felt bloated and very full all the time so it’s just a learning curve and a body adjustment.
It’s great you’ve made a commitment to a healthier lifestyle! Understand though that going from one extreme (primarily calorie dense low nutrient foods) to the other (nutrient dense low cal high volume foods) can be difficult to manage and stick with. Balance is important. You can fit in things like cookies or chips in moderation, along with the new, healthier meals you’re focusing on. That will help you get your calories up, and potentially make sure that your plan is enjoyable and sustainable in the long term. Flexible dieting is what many successful folks here practice - the people that go balls to the walls and make extreme dietary changes often find it hard to stick with and end up flaming out after a short period of time.... you’re going to be at this for a while so you want to make sure you enjoy all the foods you are eating and don’t cut out everything you love.
Oh and reinforcing that MFP goal is a NET goal with your deficit included so you’re meant to eat to the goal and that’s including the exercise adjustments. The advice to start with about 50% of your exercise cals is a good one if you’re concerned about accuracy but my FitBit has always been spot on for me. Oh and for optimal accuracy, a food scale for logging would be a great help especially down the road where you have lost weight and need to be tighter on your logging to continue seeing results.
Good luck!5 -
WinoGelato wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »
Was just for the question because I didn’t wanna close the app and find mine after I’d already started making the topic lol.Assuming your logging is correct (I see items of concern - 1 potato? Exactly 200 grams of cottage cheese?) you're 1000 calories under your daily goal before even considering activity calories. Why? MFP calculates the deficit into your calorie goal. You don't create it by under-eating.
I’ve gone from eating a pack of cookies, a bag of crisps/chips and some monsters once a day to eating meals a few times a day so it’s been hard on me because I’ve felt bloated and very full all the time so it’s just a learning curve and a body adjustment.
It’s great you’ve made a commitment to a healthier lifestyle! Understand though that going from one extreme (primarily calorie dense low nutrient foods) to the other (nutrient dense low cal high volume foods) can be difficult to manage and stick with. Balance is important. You can fit in things like cookies or chips in moderation, along with the new, healthier meals you’re focusing on. That will help you get your calories up, and potentially make sure that your plan is enjoyable and sustainable in the long term. Flexible dieting is what many successful folks here practice - the people that go balls to the walls and make extreme dietary changes often find it hard to stick with and end up flaming out after a short period of time.... you’re going to be at this for a while so you want to make sure you enjoy all the foods you are eating and don’t cut out everything you love.
Oh and reinforcing that MFP goal is a NET goal with your deficit included so you’re meant to eat to the goal and that’s including the exercise adjustments. The advice to start with about 50% of your exercise cals is a good one if you’re concerned about accuracy but my FitBit has always been spot on for me. Oh and for optimal accuracy, a food scale for logging would be a great help especially down the road where you have lost weight and need to be tighter on your logging to continue seeing results.
Good luck!
QFT
Keep learning and trying OP, I think patiently wading through the trial & error like you're doing is super important. You are going to understand this process so much better because of it. You've got this!3
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