confused person with over-asked question coming your way...

Hello!!

First of all i apologize for the stupidity my question contains...I've never dieted in my life (or gone on a healthy way of eating) so its a bit confusing. After having a baby i need to lose weight.. I am on 1200 calories per day and recently started the 30 day shred. Prior to exercise i was netting 1200 calories almost everyday but i lost not a single gram of weight?

I just want to know that in my settings I had stated that i would do 20 minutes of cardio 3 times a week but in reality i never did any. Now that i do 20 minutes of cardio everyday i burn 160 calories and i eat half of my exercise calories in addition to the 1200 ones.

Is the reason i never lost any weight because MFP already accounted for my cardio and by eating my exercise calories i was infact overeating and thus gaining weight? Should i change level of exercise in my settings to 0 workouts 0 minutes and then when i do the actual exercise just log it in? I have tried doing that but MFP hasnt changed the number of calories i should consume in a day and says on average i will lose 0.8 pounds a week... Do i make any sense? thanks in advance :)

Replies

  • havalinaaa
    havalinaaa Posts: 333 Member
    MFP doesn't take exercise calories into account until you actually log them. What you told it about your exercise is to help motivate you, not to affect the calorie goal. The only way to change that is to change your activity level, but it is my understanding that MFP won't recommend less than 1200 calories for health reasons - it's typically considered the bare minimum for healthy eating.
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
    You definitely weren't overeating at 1200 calories per day. You may in fact have been undereating. If you open your diary to the public, folks can take a look. You'll get more helpful suggestions that way...
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    If you've been eating your goal calories every day for a long period and haven't lost any weight, you either:

    1) Are overestimating your metabolism and/or activity level.

    2) Are underestimating how much you're eating.

    The entries for how much exercise you want to perform each week has no bearing on anything. It's just for goal tracking. When you actually log the cardio, that's when it will modify your diary.
  • sumayaiphone
    sumayaiphone Posts: 15 Member
    thanks for clearing my confusion everyone! i will try to workout harder...i cant be underestimating my eating but yes im definitely eating lots of fried stuff or takeaways...even though i dont exceed my 1200...i guess its true that u have to eat healthier to lose weight its just not always about the calories!
  • sumayaiphone
    sumayaiphone Posts: 15 Member
    Just also wanted to know...even if i choose the 'lose 2 pounds a week' option....when i click calculate goals it still says you will lose an average of 0.8 pounds a week?? Does that mean I have to up my exercise since going below 1200 is not an option?? thanks once again. U all are so smart...hope to be all savvy about this weightloss thing soon too :D