Hi, I'm on a 1200 calorie a day plan, but I see that I can eat more calories if I exercise. Why?

nhefetz11
nhefetz11 Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm on a 1200 calorie a day plan, but I see that I can eat more calories if I exercise. Why is that?

Answers

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,834 Member
    Because MFP interns for you to choose your activity level NOT including exercise.

    And then, when you do exercise, you're burning more calories than MFP uses in its calculation for your calorie goal (taking into account your chosen weight loss rate) -> you get extra calories to eat to arrive at the deficit required for your weight loss rate.

    If you don't eat those calories, you are increasing your calorie deficit, which can be unhealthy if you chose an aggressive weight loss rate.
    Since your calorie goal is 1200 (MFP will never give a lower goal than that) chances are that you've chosen an aggressive weight loss rate for your current stays. 1200 is already the bare minimum - if you exercise for 200 calories and only eat 1200 calories, that's the equivalent of not exercising and eating 1000 calories, which is very little (and unless you are very short/old and/or sedentary, very likely too low to be healthy.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    If you were going to drive to the beach and you knew that the beach was 150 miles away, and you had three gallons of gas - would you put more gas in the car or just run it out? You might be okay driving to the grocery store that is eight miles away but to go 150 miles you would need more fuel. Food acts as your body's fuel. Do more, need more.

    Here's the Myfitnesspal official explanation:
    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals
  • Dreamroper
    Dreamroper Posts: 39 Member
    I visited a Nutritionist a year or so ago and she suggested 1200 calories a day. I had my annual physical last week and the PA wasn't too thrilled about such a low amount, but I'm almost 70 and do mild exercise. I do ride my horse and throw 50 lb bags of grain around, but no more Jazzercise (sadly). When I went to Jazzercise a couple of times a week, I added that activity into my daily log, and it upped the number of calories allotted for that day.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Dreamroper wrote: »
    I visited a Nutritionist a year or so ago and she suggested 1200 calories a day. I had my annual physical last week and the PA wasn't too thrilled about such a low amount, but I'm almost 70 and do mild exercise. I do ride my horse and throw 50 lb bags of grain around, but no more Jazzercise (sadly). When I went to Jazzercise a couple of times a week, I added that activity into my daily log, and it upped the number of calories allotted for that day.

    Your life sounds like one that needs way more than 1200 calories. Have you been trying to stick to that for the past year? How much weight have you lost in that time?

    If none, is something like this what's going on?

    jkvoo1b3o1n0.png

    That's from https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/ which is definitely worth a read.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,259 Member
    @Dreamroper

    Is your nutritionist a Registered Dietician? If not, maybe seek one out if you want better suggestions. I am a nutritionist, and you shouldn't just trust what I write.

    It's possible that 1200 per day is a good goal before any intentional exercise, but your daily activity might add to this. Also it's possible your logging may need tidying up. It's very common for our estimates to be off. That's where the food scale and the gram are our friends.
  • josh250to180
    josh250to180 Posts: 36 Member
    edited March 19
    If you eat 1200 calories in a day, but burn 1200 calories on a 2 hour hike, you are essentially eating nothing, calorie-wise, and you will find that a miserable way to live.

    If 1200 calories is a deficit, then you can just stick to that and most likely lose weight without exercise.
    You eat the calories back, or most of them, to strike a balance between hunger and deficit.
    Also, if you work out in the earlier half of the day, your body's baseline calorie burn will be slightly elevated by approximately 5-10%, as the body works building proteins to restore the muscles. Physical work takes physical energy.

    Some people on here do not eat back their exercise calories, and that is okay. Those people typically have a higher calorie requirement, though. They might also supplement to make up the micronutrient imbalance, if there is one.

    Hope this helps.

    *not a health expert. Just an enthusiast.

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