Totally confused :S

Ickaboo
Ickaboo Posts: 20
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, just a little lost here and needing a bit of direction

So far my calorie intake for the day is 1790....now is that what I need to eat to maintain my weight or to actually lose weight? To me this seems a little high, I figured something around 1400 would make a little more sense....but then again I'm not really sure how this things works
Also, I'm not sure if I should be working out to burn all of the calories I've taken in that day or not. As you can see I"m pretty clueless when it comes to all this dieting stuff, and just want to make sure I'm doing this the right way.
Like yesterday for example, I took in 1290 calories, then went to the gym and burnt 1130. Is this ok? Should I be burning more calories or less?
Anyways I'm hoping someone out there can help me and give me a little bit of advice lol.

Thanks!

Replies

  • PreciousTreasure8117
    PreciousTreasure8117 Posts: 66 Member
    When you first started mfp and you typed in all your information such as: how many times per week you would work out and your weight and height... the system calculated how many calories you need to eat each day in order to lose a pound per week (or whatever selection you made). For an example... my intake is 1800 calories each day and that is for working out for at least an hour each week. You do not have to eat your full calorie intake but at least eat 1200 calories each day so your body will not go into starvation mode. Now, when it comes to burning all the calories you ate, I would say no. I eat about 1400 each day and burn about 400 whenever I workout... Just don't eat back the calories you burned. Hopefully, this helped just a bit but I am not an expert at all. I hope some other individuals help you out! Keep up the good work!
  • Ickaboo
    Ickaboo Posts: 20
    Lol thank you, this now makes a lot more sense
  • anyonebutmehaha
    anyonebutmehaha Posts: 174
    Like yesterday for example, I took in 1290 calories, then went to the gym and burnt 1130. Is this ok? Should I be burning more calories or less?

    sorry but no, that is not okay.
    you only left your body 160 calories yesterday to do all those things it needs to do to keep you alive. the usual number suggested is at least a minimum of 1200 calories 'left over' for a healthy body. 160 calories to run your life on is deep into the unhealthy range.
    you're going to need to eat way more if you normally exercise so much.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    As the person before me said, burning 1130 calories and only eating 1290 total is completely unhealthy. (I also wonder how long you were at the gym to do that.)

    Personally, I have MFP set to lose one pound a week, which puts my daily goal at around 1360 (based on my current weight and other factors). If you're not sure if your caloric goal is to lose weight, or maintain weight, check your settings, by going to the MY HOME tab and clicking on goals.

    As for burning calories, I work out pretty much every day for 1:15+, and I eat back most of the calories--keeping in mind that machines at the gym often overestimate the number of calories burned by 20-30%. I only sort of trust MFP's estimates, which is why I typically only eat back most of the calories. Some people say you shouldn't eat back your calories, but I do it for a couple of reasons 1) If I don't, my workout the next day sucks, my body just won't do what it normally would and psychologically it is difficult, 2) if I don't I'll wake up in the middle of the night starving, and I don't need to have my sleep disturbed, and 3) because I'm trying to gain muscle and lose weight (it is possible, but both will be slower), I don't want too much of a deficit. This is what works for my body, depending on your body, the intensity and frequency of workouts, and how much extra weight you have, what works will probably vary. *But no matter what, your body NEEDS fuel, and calories are fuel.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    A simple guide that someone gave me when I first joined... If your calories are green... keep eating. If they're red... stop.

    In saying that, you need to prioritise getting a HRM (heart rate monitor) as soon as possible so that you don't need to rely on MFP or your machine's prediction of your calorie burns - this way you know that the calorie burn for all of your workouts is more accurate, and you can eat all those calories back without worrying.
  • BobbyClerici
    BobbyClerici Posts: 813 Member
    Your MFP daily goals take weight loss into consideration based on your settings. It recommends 1 lb per week.
    And yes, exercise!

    Do both resistance and cardio.
    And any calories your burn, eat back, because again, MFP already sets your daily calorie goal based on your desired weight loss, and these numbers are definitive - not what somebody "feels".

    Good luck!
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