You want me to eat HOW much!?

Erikexalted
Erikexalted Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I just recently stared using Myfitnesspal. A little useless information: I decided to take off some weight due to the fact that my antidepressants have made me put on about 50lbs. The medication in question makes me fiend for carbs. I once woke up in the middle of the night and ate half a loaf of bread. No butter or anything, just eating it over the counter with the lights off like an animal.

Anyway the goal calories is what is confusing me. I've taken in a little over 2000 calories today, but it says my remaining calories is about 1175 more! I have started to put on quite a bit of time on my spiffy new treadmill. I walk for an hour at 3mph(with sprints up to 5mph here and there), then cut it down to 2mph for 2-3 hours.

But 1175 more calories on top of 2000? Do I have to start devouring livestock to keep up?

Replies

  • sgoldman328
    sgoldman328 Posts: 379 Member
    It's all about netting calories, not just eating calories. When I first logged on MFP, I went to see a nutritionist in order to determine how much I should be eating. While there are some on this website who will disagree, I go along with her advice, and it has helped me quite a bit.

    She said, in order to lose weight, you need to NET between your BMR -- basal metabolic rate (which is how many calories your body burns if you were to just sit and breathe all day) and your TDEE -- Total Daily Energy Expenditure -- which is how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

    To figure out BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    To figure out TDEE: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

    Hope this helps!
  • ccnjc4e
    ccnjc4e Posts: 142 Member
    MFP automatically adds back calories you burned. However, 1175 seems like a lot. How many calories did you burn?
  • Erikexalted
    Erikexalted Posts: 5
    MFP automatically adds back calories you burned. However, 1175 seems like a lot. How many calories did you burn?

    According to MFP my treadmill/tv time clocks in at 1156 calories burned.
  • ccadroz93
    ccadroz93 Posts: 136 Member
    You are doing your treadmill for up to 3 hours a day??? Well, if that is the case, then, yes, you are burning alot of calories. The calorie deficit MFP comes up with is dependent on your activity level. If you are exercising that much maybe try changing your activity level to high. Weight is lost when the calories burned is higher than the calories consumed. Make sure the extra calories you sonsume are good calories and not empty ones. Drink plenty of water, too!
  • jamiem1102
    jamiem1102 Posts: 1,196 Member
    First off, you're hilarious.

    Secondly, there are a billion threads on here that discuss eating back your calories. Supposedly (and I say supposedly, because I'm not a dietician so I don't know for sure) your body needs a certain number of calories to just RUN your body. The ole' metaphor is: in order for a car to run, it needs gas or it breaks down. So, to apply it, if you're eating 2,000 calories a day, but you're burning off 1,100 of them, then you're really only taking in 900 calories. Therefore... you need to eat those calories back. Does that make sense?

    Anyways, I personally, have a hard time doing that because I'm OCD about my calories. I usually try to keep how much I actually consume in a day under 1,700. But that's just me.

    I hope this helped. Good luck! And if you need some support, feel free to add me. :)
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
    You are doing your treadmill for up to 3 hours a day??? Well, if that is the case, then, yes, you are burning alot of calories. The calorie deficit MFP comes up with is dependent on your activity level. If you are exercising that much maybe try changing your activity level to high. Weight is lost when the calories burned is higher than the calories consumed. Make sure the extra calories you sonsume are good calories and not empty ones. Drink plenty of water, too!

    Yep. Make sure you're actually working off 1100 calories though. (Heart-rate monitor is more accurate than Treadmill/MFP numbers)
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    MFP can be way off on calories burned so you may not need to eat quite that much extra. Get a good HRM with a chest strap to get a more accurate calorie burn.

    However, if you really are working out 3-4 hours every day, you do need extra fuel. 2000-1175= 825. That's all your body thinks it has consumed since you're working so hard. You need to net at least 1200 so if you don't want to eat the full amount, just eat the extra 400 calories to bring your net up.

    But really, you need to get a HRM for an accurate burn.
  • Erikexalted
    Erikexalted Posts: 5
    You are doing your treadmill for up to 3 hours a day???

    Yes, at least when I have to go to bed early for work. On days off I've been doing 4-5 hours. I bought a surfshelf for my treadmill. And between Hulu and Netflix I have lots to keep me occupied while walking/jogging. By the time I'm done watching all 8 seasons of one of my shows I hope to have dropped a good amount of weight.
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    I totally didn't realize this was a guy sorry that advise was for a girl... Cut carbs by having easy protein but add weights to your routine muscle burns fat cardio in that amount is burning muscle not just fat which can work against you !
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    I just read your post about cals burned on the treadmil... its wayyyyy to much you will start burning muscle at that rate not fat. cut it down to 45 mins or so a day high intensity or interval and then add in some strength training. Burning your muscles will not help with weight loss... muscles burn fat so adding strength will keep you burning for much longer then that amount of cardio.
  • Erikexalted
    Erikexalted Posts: 5
    I've never been all that great with strength training. I'm not sure the proper technique or if I'm pushing myself hard enough. Plus with the treadmill I can fool myself into thinking I'm not exercising by using my laptop at the same time.
  • cutezombiedoll
    cutezombiedoll Posts: 22
    It's all about netting calories, not just eating calories. When I first logged on MFP, I went to see a nutritionist in order to determine how much I should be eating. While there are some on this website who will disagree, I go along with her advice, and it has helped me quite a bit.

    She said, in order to lose weight, you need to NET between your BMR -- basal metabolic rate (which is how many calories your body burns if you were to just sit and breathe all day) and your TDEE -- Total Daily Energy Expenditure -- which is how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

    To figure out BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    To figure out TDEE: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

    Hope this helps!

    When I used that calculator, it said my BMR is 1513, but when I check MFP it says my BMR is 1,424, and the calories per day it gave me to loose a pound a week is closer to 1,400. Which should I go with?
  • sgoldman328
    sgoldman328 Posts: 379 Member
    It's all about netting calories, not just eating calories. When I first logged on MFP, I went to see a nutritionist in order to determine how much I should be eating. While there are some on this website who will disagree, I go along with her advice, and it has helped me quite a bit.

    She said, in order to lose weight, you need to NET between your BMR -- basal metabolic rate (which is how many calories your body burns if you were to just sit and breathe all day) and your TDEE -- Total Daily Energy Expenditure -- which is how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

    To figure out BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    To figure out TDEE: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

    Hope this helps!

    When I used that calculator, it said my BMR is 1513, but when I check MFP it says my BMR is 1,424, and the calories per day it gave me to loose a pound a week is closer to 1,400. Which should I go with?

    Take the average of the two, and add 50 calories. That's what I did and it's really been working for me
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    If you are a member of a gym usually they give a free session with a personal trainer! do it... also start a little research online about mens weight lifting check out some you tube videos or fitness channel links ... Its a critical part of fat loss, and believe it or not WAYYYYY easier then cardio once you get into the swing of things. Make it fun try for one more set or rep every time you work out. You don't need to be an Arnold, but the fact is muscle burns fat all day long while cardio basically stops right after you hop off the machine. If you need a way to make it fun I have had a lot of success with medicine ball workouts. My favorite are wood shops. Get a buddy have them stand in front of you. Take a 10-12 pound medicine ball over your head bounce it on the ground as hard as you possible can, have them catch it and toss it back repeat. This one is super fun and will also get your heart rate up in a really short amount of time like you just ran a mile! 5 sets of 20 of these will leave you more drenched in sweat then 3 hours on the treadmill guarantee it, plus you wont be burning away your muscles ! GOOD LUCK
  • minnesota_deere
    minnesota_deere Posts: 232 Member
    MFP automatically adds back calories you burned. However, 1175 seems like a lot. How many calories did you burn?

    According to MFP my treadmill/tv time clocks in at 1156 calories burned.

    get a heart rate monitor
  • Canadien
    Canadien Posts: 122 Member
    I once woke up in the middle of the night and ate half a loaf of bread. No butter or anything, just eating it over the counter with the lights off like an animal.

    I do this almost every day though lol. I eat more than a whole pita with lots of toast, along with other carbs. I LOVE carbs - LOVE THEM. I wouldn't give bread up even if eating bread would kill me lol.
  • ChristineS_51
    ChristineS_51 Posts: 872 Member
    To figure out BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    To figure out TDEE: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
    Hope this helps!
    Great tools, thank you for sharing - I can see why I AM losing weight now :smile:
  • Erikexalted
    Erikexalted Posts: 5
    If you are a member of a gym usually they give a free session with a personal trainer! do it... also start a little research online about mens weight lifting check out some you tube videos or fitness channel links ... Its a critical part of fat loss, and believe it or not WAYYYYY easier then cardio once you get into the swing of things. Make it fun try for one more set or rep every time you work out. You don't need to be an Arnold, but the fact is muscle burns fat all day long while cardio basically stops right after you hop off the machine. If you need a way to make it fun I have had a lot of success with medicine ball workouts. My favorite are wood shops. Get a buddy have them stand in front of you. Take a 10-12 pound medicine ball over your head bounce it on the ground as hard as you possible can, have them catch it and toss it back repeat. This one is super fun and will also get your heart rate up in a really short amount of time like you just ran a mile! 5 sets of 20 of these will leave you more drenched in sweat then 3 hours on the treadmill guarantee it, plus you wont be burning away your muscles ! GOOD LUCK

    I'm not sure if I have muscles to burn!

    I'll give it a shot. But every time I've tried it in the past I never stuck with it. As for trying for one more set or rep to be fun, I've never found that to be the case. It ends up with me making a face like I'm giving birth to a porcupine with my arms frozen in a halfway position between the rep with an invisible force holding it there. After about the ten longest seconds known to man I manage to put the weight up. Then I collapse into a quivering fetal position. It is at that point I realize that if I was some sort of secret agent that was captured by some nefarious agents of a rogue nation, and they were using this for torture, I would have given them the location of the package LOOOONG ago. But I realize I'm doing it to myself.

    So I will try something. But not very many days a week and not very high impact.

    On a side note, I figured out that I can play my xbox 360 while walking about 3mph on my treadmill.

    Also: What is the importance of a heart rate monitor with a chest strap as compared to one without it?
  • aniwani
    aniwani Posts: 110
    Ahh you gotta get a gym buddy! and go into your workouts as optimistic as you can... Don't allow yourself to say I can't or last time I couldn't so this time will be the same...go all out you are more then capable of achieving great weight loss in a complete and healthy way you just have to stay positive and get some support ! It's difficult at first but when you stop listing the reasons you can't do it and start thinking anything is possible, you'll get there! Weight loss is not the hard part, its the mental stuff. Get in that gym get those weights going and don't tell yourself you cant because you can and you'll be glad you did!

    now get going !
    =)

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