Confused about calories to be eaten on day 4 HELP

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sandown12
sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Im on day 4 really confused I keep reading about net calories are net calories what mfp set you at plus exercise calories?
Ive tried calorie counting before never do well I think its as Im doing something wrong.
Is it trial and error?

I dont eat my exercise calories although Im only walking for th forst 2 weeks but my mfp have given me 1310 calories a day and my exercise calories are 174 so thats 1484

Im eating as close to 1310 but find it hard as Im 229lbs Im 5ft 2 and 42 female

Im abit lost any help is appreciated as if I mess it up Im stuck

Replies

  • samandlucysmum
    samandlucysmum Posts: 320
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    Try chosing your calories more misely, I have not looked at your diary so I dont know what you do eat, use the food database on the site to look at calorie values of your favourite foods etc, plan your meals for the day, so that you can plan your snacks too, this is what I do anyway, always have a baked potato atthe ready, and I start the day with 2 eggs, this saves me snacking in the morning.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Sounds like you're eating too little for your current weight and what you have to lose. Go back through your MFP settings and select the recommended "Lose 1lb a week." It sounds like it'll be slow, but I promise it'll just fall off for the first few weeks and remain sustainable and hunger-free as you go on!

    Unlike some other plans, MFP already gives you a deficit to lose weight. If you exercise, MFP is designed so you eat those exercise calories back to fuel your body. Not everyone does so, but myself and may others have had success doing so.

    As a happy medium, you might want to eat most of them back but leave a margin for error, as every method of calculating calories (even heart rate monitors) is just an estimate.

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
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    Hi thankyou I will rset it again haha keep changing it,I cant eat eggs or nuts as ive ibs so will try think of other things my food is healthy my diary is open.
    Thanks for your help x
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Great food choices in your diary, keep up the good work! Add me as a friend if you're looking for more support :smile:
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
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    Great food choices in your diary, keep up the good work! Add me as a friend if you're looking for more support :smile:

    Ah thankyou years of yoyo weightloss taught me what to eat but not to keep it off? x
  • ellenmelon88
    ellenmelon88 Posts: 12
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    if your finding it hard to stick to the calories but your hungary start off a little higher E.G 1500 and then each month take off 100 a month back down to your 1300.. that why your hungary levels will be more barable!
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
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    if your finding it hard to stick to the calories but your hungary start off a little higher E.G 1500 and then each month take off 100 a month back down to your 1300.. that why your hungary levels will be more barable!

    Thanks :) I am so tired know Im not eating much so will cook a lunch in a minute instead of sandwiches ......How are you?
  • japruzze
    japruzze Posts: 453 Member
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    Checked out your diary and it looks good! Keep it up! I think you're fine on your calories. As you increase your exercise to burn over 300 calories, I'd start "eating" some of those calories. Otherwise, keep going the way you are! MFP sets guidelines so use it as that and do what works for you!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    MFP adds back calories because it ignores exercise in assigning you your original goal, and you body needs fuel to perform the workouts. If you went to a professional they would tell you not to eat them, but they would have you eat 200-500 calories more than MFP assigns, which accounts for exercise.

    Just follow MFP and eat the cals it tells you to, including exercise calories.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    Hi Im on day 4 really confused I keep reading about net calories are net calories what mfp set you at plus exercise calories?
    Ive tried calorie counting before never do well I think its as Im doing something wrong.
    Is it trial and error?

    I dont eat my exercise calories although Im only walking for th forst 2 weeks but my mfp have given me 1310 calories a day and my exercise calories are 174 so thats 1484

    Im eating as close to 1310 but find it hard as Im 229lbs Im 5ft 2 and 42 female

    Im abit lost any help is appreciated as if I mess it up Im stuck
    Eat back your exercise calories.
    Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week.
    That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up.
    Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories.
    Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be?
    In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more.
    Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.

    Be efficient.
    Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
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    Thankyou guys your all such a huge help :)
  • ctriston
    ctriston Posts: 71 Member
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    Hi I looked at your diary for yesterday and great food choices..
    My advice, would be review your settings, and choose your lifestyle carefully and how much exercise you can commit to a week. Then go with what MFP say, depending on what you want to lose...I don't think 2lb is unrealistic at all, I started at 210 lbs end of Sept last year.

    When I started I ate back SOME of my extra cals... and I lost....2 lbs ( sometimes more, a week). I never ate all, ( except Christmas!) because I was not really confident without a HRM that I had actually earned that many. But, not eating all my cals, did not make me lose any quicker...

    Now I have lost, I don't seem to need so much food, and my choices are better...
    My main things have been black coffee with sweetener has worked well for me, stopped me from munching. Oh and weighing food, not guessing.

    i weigh every morning, to keep in control and treat it like a science experiment..... learning about how my body works, it amazes me how I can go to bed at midnight and be 2lbs lighter at 7am! The body is a clever thing.


    Water is so important for lots of reasons, mainly to stop getting constipated...! But keep up with the water...But if you don't drink much water and then suddenly start, be prepared for the scales to go up a bit, also, as you start to eat more than before, again, give the body time to adjust, initially it will grab it as fat....once it gets into your new routine, you wll start to loose steadily..

    And my most important tip, that works for me, is I always put something in my food diary that I look forward to, I have choc in bed with a cup of tea, I put those cals in my diary, and plan my day around that treat! It means I can more thoughtful during the day. On a friday/Sat, it is a Southern Comfort and diet lemonade ( or 2!) so I earn extra cals/plan my day to ensure I have enough.... On the very rare occassion I have been caught short, due to a lunch out with work colleagues, I have to forego and I am glum... I think the reason is, I feel in control, I am not depriving myself of anything....The goal/treat is the first this to go in the diary for the say and then the rest of the day is about good healthy choices/that will fill for longer..
    By the way, I see you use pitta bread, they make good pizza bases too :-)
    Hope that helps...well done and Good luck!:drinker:
  • sandown12
    sandown12 Posts: 648 Member
    Options
    Hi I looked at your diary for yesterday and great food choices..
    My advice, would be review your settings, and choose your lifestyle carefully and how much exercise you can commit to a week. Then go with what MFP say, depending on what you want to lose...I don't think 2lb is unrealistic at all, I started at 210 lbs end of Sept last year.

    When I started I ate back SOME of my extra cals... and I lost....2 lbs ( sometimes more, a week). I never ate all, ( except Christmas!) because I was not really confident without a HRM that I had actually earned that many. But, not eating all my cals, did not make me lose any quicker...

    Now I have lost, I don't seem to need so much food, and my choices are better...
    My main things have been black coffee with sweetener has worked well for me, stopped me from munching. Oh and weighing food, not guessing.

    i weigh every morning, to keep in control and treat it like a science experiment..... learning about how my body works, it amazes me how I can go to bed at midnight and be 2lbs lighter at 7am! The body is a clever thing.


    Water is so important for lots of reasons, mainly to stop getting constipated...! But keep up with the water...But if you don't drink much water and then suddenly start, be prepared for the scales to go up a bit, also, as you start to eat more than before, again, give the body time to adjust, initially it will grab it as fat....once it gets into your new routine, you wll start to loose steadily..

    And my most important tip, that works for me, is I always put something in my food diary that I look forward to, I have choc in bed with a cup of tea, I put those cals in my diary, and plan my day around that treat! It means I can more thoughtful during the day. On a friday/Sat, it is a Southern Comfort and diet lemonade ( or 2!) so I earn extra cals/plan my day to ensure I have enough.... On the very rare occassion I have been caught short, due to a lunch out with work colleagues, I have to forego and I am glum... I think the reason is, I feel in control, I am not depriving myself of anything....The goal/treat is the first this to go in the diary for the say and then the rest of the day is about good healthy choices/that will fill for longer..
    By the way, I see you use pitta bread, they make good pizza bases too :-)
    Hope that helps...well done and Good luck!:drinker:

    Thankyou for all your help and well done you great losses :) I must admit water is my downfall weak bladder made worse after 3 children even if I up my intake it doesnt get better my mums the same but I am drinking more than I was ,Ive yoyoed so many time lost so much regained it so its grat to have new advice,I am going to restart zumba soon it made me happier too.
    Thanks again xx

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