Help with calorie allowance!

clarissa4542
clarissa4542 Posts: 8 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone, I have started using my fitnesspal along With my Fitbit. I need to loose around 2/3 stone. I have started walking around 8 miles per day. My Daily calorie target is 1,200.

My question to you all who have been successfully loosing weight is... do you stick to your target calories, or eat your extra calories you have earned. My extra ones are around 900! I dont want to eat them for the sake of it.

What would you advise, what works for you.

Thank you 🙏

Replies

  • carlsberglewis1
    carlsberglewis1 Posts: 45 Member
    eating back anything close to that number and you'll cut your weight loss down dramatically..
    If you need to lose 3 stone as you say, as harsh as it sounds, you won't starve by not eating it back (please don't take that as harsh, I prefer honesty)

    Instead of setting your target macros at 1200 calories, just up them slightly.
    Instead of 1200 that would be to 'lose weight'
    Eat at 1400 which would most likely be maintainence..
    Give it a few weeks and monitor your weight and it will be easy to adjust, if you aren't losing, eat less, if you are losing gradually stay as is, if you are losing a lot yet dying of hunger, then obviouspy eat abit more.
    Just play it as you go
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    1400 would be maintenance? OP - google TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). 1400 sounds low to me.

    OP - 1200 is a default minimum based on your weekly weight loss goal. 1200 is before exercise. So yes, you should be eating a portion of exercise calories OR at least increase your activity level to active. If you've got an aggressive goal, the number may still be 1200.

    The reason you start off by eating a portion is because calories in is an estimate. If your logging isn't great, you could be eating more calories than anticipated. Calories out is also an estimate. FitBits are generally pretty good with step based activity. I'm assuming it's synced to My Fitness Pal: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-amp-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1

    I read your post as two-thirds of a stone. If that's the case 1/2 pound a week weight loss is a reasonable goal.
  • clarissa4542
    clarissa4542 Posts: 8 Member
    Sorry I mean 2 to 3 stone ;)
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,091 Member
    Walking 8 miles a day? As in walking for two to three hours? Yes, you should be eating back at least some of those exercise calories.
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    I do not walk anywhere near 8 miles a day, averaging 3 myself. I do not "eat back" these calories as to me that is rather defeating the object given I am already eating enough to cover my nutritional needs.

    Do not however log the sprays of oil I use to cook my mushrooms in, glasses of no-added sugar squash or glugs of soy sauce. All small beer but of course they can add up but the few hundred calories I earn walking more than covers what I have.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited June 2020
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Walking 8 miles a day? As in walking for two to three hours? Yes, you should be eating back at least some of those exercise calories.

    Seconding this. There is no advantage to eating the bare minimum of calories while getting that much activity.

    As @teabea posted, either increase your activity level or start out eating a portion of your exercise cals, maybe start with half.

    With 25-30 lbs to lose, you should be aiming for around 1 lb per week. Make sure you dial in consistent and accurate logging as well. Getting several weeks of accurate data laid down in the beginning can be a godsend if you need to do any troubleshooting in the future. Good luck!

    I lost 20 lbs eating most of my exercise calories from walking and strength training and have been maintaining that way for years. Is your Fitbit new? I find trackers can take a few weeks to "get used" to you and get more accurate calories.
  • clarissa4542
    clarissa4542 Posts: 8 Member
    Good morning everybody, thank you all so much for your comments. I have a sit down office job so I try and get my exercising before work. I get up early to 4 miles then I do another 2 miles at lunchtime and then 2 to 3 in the evening. Averaging about 16 to 20,000 steps per day.

    Before this about three weeks ago I was probably doing 3,000 steps a day! So big changes for me. I have also cut down my calories. But I have been eating approximately 1500 calories a day because I have been using quite a few of my extra ones earned. However weight loss very very slow. Hence why I wondering if even though MFP says I have all the calories left, it’s maybe not a good thing to actually have them all?

    I am strict in my recording x

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  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    I would also eat back at least a portion of those calories.

    What do you mean by "weight loss is very very slow". Just want to verify your expectations are realistic, that is a common problem that holds people back.
  • clarissa4542
    clarissa4542 Posts: 8 Member
    In 3 weeks I have lost 2lbs :/ I was hoping fir 6 lbs at least!
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
    Also, with a steep increase in activity a relatively short time ago your body and muscles are still adjusting which could be masking some of the early weight loss. I eat back nearly all of my exercise calories and have lost at the expected rate (started out at 1lb per week, now .5lb per week). It’s slow, sometimes almost imperceptible, but I am still heading in the right direction!

    Be mindful that there can be issues with too large of a calorie deficit, and often times they hit quite suddenly. If you don’t refuel properly your muscles will pay the price, and that includes your heart. It’s easy to want to lost the weight ASAP, but it took time to gain it, it will take time to lose it.
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 600 Member
    There is a chance your Fitbit overestimates calories burned, just like mine does. It majorly stalled my weightloss the first time around. Don't take that 900 calories per day for just steps for granted.
    So now I set my activity here in MFP to 'sedentary' as that assumes the lowest daily number of steps, and everything else coming in from my Fitbit is over and beyond that. I only eat back 1/3 to 1/2 of the extra calories the Fitbit gives me.
    You might want to start with that and monitor your rate of loss over several weeks to see if it works for you.
    Also please note, tight logging is a must. You want to log your food to a gram to develop a precise picture of calories in/ calories out.
  • carlsberglewis1
    carlsberglewis1 Posts: 45 Member
    Like i said earlier, without being harsh you have alot of weight to lose, dont eat back what you've burned.
    You clearly have enough fat stores to keep you going.
    If you're disappointed with your weightless so far, dont eat them back, simple
  • michaelwrightkindle
    michaelwrightkindle Posts: 10 Member
    Not much to add to what has already been said, but I did require a double-take when looking at the log images you shared. I eat applesauce on occasion, and even organic, unsweetened sauces made from apples, water, and possibly a little vitamin C tend to be about seventy calories per half-cup. Would you please double-check the label and see if it matches what the app is apparently saying (50 calories per cup)? And if it does, tell me where I can buy it by the bucket!!!

    For me, the easiest thing to actually measure is weight. A scale measures weight, but a Fitbit doesn't measure calories burned. If you are being consistent with your eating and exercise routines and the scale isn't responding, you probably know what you need to do. Might not hurt to check with a doctor, though.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    clarissa4542 wrote: »
    In 3 weeks I have lost 2lbs :/ I was hoping fir 6 lbs at least!

    2 lbs a week is really only appropriate for people who are obese. And considering you have dramatically increased your activity level, you may still be retaining extra water for muscle repair, which also shows up on the scale.

    IMHO you first just need slightly more realistic expectations. Weight loss is not linear. You can do everything perfectly, and some weeks you'll lose 1.5 lbs, some weeks you'll maintain, and some weeks you'll even gain a lb or two. If your 30 lb loss will get you into the healthy weight range for your height, you should expect it to take 6 months to a year. Heck, it took me a year to lose the last 10 lbs.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    A Most Helpful Post:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
  • clarissa4542
    clarissa4542 Posts: 8 Member
    The apple sauce was just picked from something I could find closet match on mfp. I only had a teaspoon full which on the jar said 38 calories. So just found the closest match 😉
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    clarissa4542 wrote: »
    In 3 weeks I have lost 2lbs :/ I was hoping fir 6 lbs at least!

    2 pounds a week is only realistic when you have lots of weight to lose, like 75+ pounds.

    You're doing well. Keep up the good work.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
    I eat back at least half of the calories I earn through exercise. Doing that, I lost 0.5 to 1.5 pounds a week (don't be discouraged if you stall for a week or two - that's to be expected). Like you, I increased exercising, too. Your body needs fuel to function. Since I know that I can be as accurate as possible and still underestimate calories on my logging, I figured that I'd eat 50% of what I earned. Worked for me!

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