Calorie intake ***Please Help***

alawson02
alawson02 Posts: 10
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
I am just starting on MFP & have been reading some of the post about calories and need some help. I thought that if you had calories left at the end of the day after logging your food and exercise that was a good thing. But after reading the comments on the "starvation mode post" Im not sure. So if MFP say my calorie goal is 1300 a day & I burn 300 calories with exercise. Should I actually take in 1600 calories? PLEASE help I am so confused.

Replies

  • jenlarz
    jenlarz Posts: 813 Member
    You sure can! Love earning those xtra calories! Most on here say make sure you "net" 1200 a day at minimum. Your body needs fuel to run well and stay healthy
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    So if MFP say my calorie goal is 1300 a day & I burn 300 calories with exercise. Should I actually take in 1600 calories? PLEASE help I am so confused.

    The answer is yes, if you didn't figure exercise into your daily activity level when you set up the account. 1300 is the number of calories you need to lose at the rate you chose with the activity level you chose. Any additional exercise will "earn" you extra calories that you can eat and still lose at that same rate.

    You do not have to hit it exactly every day, but it should average out over several days. Also, if you are unsure of the calories consumed and/or calories burned you might want to eat slightly less as a cushion.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Yes.

    If you feel confident that you're logging all of your food accurately (using a digital food scale and weighing EVERYTHING), and you're using a quality heart rate monitor to measure your calories burned from exercise, then YES, eat back your extra earned calories (i.e. 1600 in your example).

    If you aren't confident in your logging of food and exercise, then eat back only a portion of the extra earned calories.
  • alawson02
    alawson02 Posts: 10
    Thanks everyone :smile:
  • chezfan1
    chezfan1 Posts: 3
    hi...please can you help. i'm new to this and was wondering if you can "save" calories? for the weekend for example. Other weight lose plans lets you save points/sins......will this be ok? Ta x
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    hi...please can you help. i'm new to this and was wondering if you can "save" calories? for the weekend for example. Other weight lose plans lets you save points/sins......will this be ok? Ta x

    Yes. You don't want to be consistently over or under you calorie goal, but you can be under some days and over some days. I've even seen posts from some members that say they count their calories by the week (e.g. if MFP says 1300 per day, they just make sure they get 9100 per week and don't worry about it daily).
  • subigirl
    subigirl Posts: 53 Member
    Posted this information in another thread, but will re-post here. This is information I got from my personal trainer when I was in the biggest slump of my journey. It worked immediately, and continued to work!

    You should eat about your BMR in calories EVERY DAY! No more, no less. This is the number of calories you would burn if you never got out of bed. The "average out" thing actually is not recommended for steady loss. My trainer has had many clients who tried the "average" thing, and complained they weren't losing, and when he made them hit as close to their goal as possible every day, they lost consistently. If you exercise, you should not eat more. This is what gets a lot of people...they think, "I worked out, so I can treat myself with...." Just say no! :D

    Also, keep in mind WHAT you eat. At least 35% of your calories should come from protein, and no more than about 40% of your calories should come from carbs. Not enough protein will also cause a slump in your weight loss.

    These were the "no-nos" my trainer found immediately when I presented my food logs to him. I made the adjustments above, and lost 10 lbs in the first month, and have lost pretty steady ever since. At this point, I'm having to start adding a few calories, as I really don't want to lose any more weight, but rather tone up my problem areas.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
    This is what gets a lot of people...they think, "I worked out, so I can treat myself with...." Just say no! :D

    This is really for people that do not diet but simply use working out for weight loss... Not so much for people who diet. You don't want your net calories to be too low, some people might be on a 1200 calorie diet and workout for an hour and burn 800 calories.. 400calorie net is not healthy so to alleviate that it is suggested to eat those calories back.
  • chezfan1
    chezfan1 Posts: 3
    Thanks Guys....that helps alot xx
  • rsmithy89
    rsmithy89 Posts: 174 Member
    Starvation mode is a myth. Do not eat back exercise calories.

    MFP takes into account your activity level when working out your caloric intake per day. This is why it asks for your activity level (i.e. how often you work out). It has already factored this in.

    Secondly, the caloric burn from cardio machines is very subjective and is subject to significant levels of inaccuracy. I have read that they can be up to 40% inaccurate. Its best to just eat at your required deficit and not eat back exercise calories.
  • LilacDreamer
    LilacDreamer Posts: 1,364 Member
    Starvation mode is a myth. Do not eat back exercise calories.

    MFP takes into account your activity level when working out your caloric intake per day. This is why it asks for your activity level (i.e. how often you work out). It has already factored this in.

    Secondly, the caloric burn from cardio machines is very subjective and is subject to significant levels of inaccuracy. I have read that they can be up to 40% inaccurate. Its best to just eat at your required deficit and not eat back exercise calories.

    *but it doesn't ask your activity level re: exercise, it only asks it for profession (ie: someone who sits at a desk vs a nurse)...that is why they give you the extra calories after you exercise*
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Starvation mode is a myth. Do not eat back exercise calories.

    MFP takes into account your activity level when working out your caloric intake per day. This is why it asks for your activity level (i.e. how often you work out). It has already factored this in.

    Secondly, the caloric burn from cardio machines is very subjective and is subject to significant levels of inaccuracy. I have read that they can be up to 40% inaccurate. Its best to just eat at your required deficit and not eat back exercise calories.
    I disagree.
  • chillijam1
    chillijam1 Posts: 62 Member
    be careful ppl will tell you to eat back calories but it doesnt work for everyone ,ive found i put weight on if i do that ,so just try both ways to see which suits your body :smile:
  • chillijam1
    chillijam1 Posts: 62 Member
    yes it tells asks you underneath how much exercise you do a week underneath the active at work section
  • mickipedia
    mickipedia Posts: 889 Member
    go on to the tools section and look at your BMR, you shouldn't eat any less then that and in terms of eating back calories, it works for some people, whereas others it doesn't.


    Oh and here's a tip: If you've only just started you may struggle to stay under your goal initially - as a lot of people do - so start off by eating back the calories you earn.. if it works then carry on, or if you aren't losing much then stop eating them back :)
  • MooneyBear
    MooneyBear Posts: 6
    I think it is best to start the plan by eating your exercise calories, or at least some of them. If you do, and then plateau in 2 months you at least have something to cut back on! x
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Starvation mode is a myth. Do not eat back exercise calories.

    MFP takes into account your activity level when working out your caloric intake per day. This is why it asks for your activity level (i.e. how often you work out). It has already factored this in.

    Secondly, the caloric burn from cardio machines is very subjective and is subject to significant levels of inaccuracy. I have read that they can be up to 40% inaccurate. Its best to just eat at your required deficit and not eat back exercise calories.

    No it doesn't, it only takes into account your day job - i.e whether you are sat at your desk all day, or walking around all day like a waitress.

    Exercise activity is logged on top of that.
  • MissDana1105
    MissDana1105 Posts: 40 Member
    This is obviously a tricky questions. I say play with it, if you can eat your 1600 calories a day and still lose weight at a healthy pace then go for it! But if you aren't losing either cut back or up your work out. It's whatever works for you, you have to play around a little bit to learn what works.

    Something to think about is if don't eat your exercise calories now you mostly likely won't be able to once you hit maintenance.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories