Getting so confused with this whole calorie thing!

ange11283
ange11283 Posts: 3
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
i appologise in advance for how long this is going to be lol..in 2008, after i had my daughter, I was 167 the same as i am today and i had enough. so i started eating as best as i knew how. lots of fruits veggies chicken and turkey with special k bars for snacks. i took my calories down to 900 and i lost 25 lbs in 2 1/2 months..well it has come to my attention since then that 900 calories a day is not healthy...well after having my son 2 years ago im at the same place i was in 2008...now im trying to make a permanent change to our diet (we eat HORRIBLY) So iv cut out most sugars and tried to introduce more fruits veggies and yogurts to our home. Iv been doing this for 2 weeks along with strength training every other day and cardio at the gym every other day. I havnt lost 1 pound and i am getting so frustrated! I staying aroud 1200-1400 calories a day..but im not taking into account my workouts..back in 2008 i didnt take them into account either..i dont understand why you are sposta take them into account?? why would you want to eat back the calories that you just burned during a workout?? I want the weight to go away not stay around...I guess i just need someone to tell me what im doing wrong...Im getting so frustrated i had pizza last night at a party cuz i felt like im not losing anything anyway so what does it matter? now i feel super guilty about it!

Replies

  • greeneyedredneckangel
    greeneyedredneckangel Posts: 79 Member
    you have to remember after kids your body changes with age your body changes you need to take in account your exce. cals. so your body does not go into starvation mode. try eating half your calories back that you burn exercising thats what i do just a thought
  • ImaSongbird
    ImaSongbird Posts: 126 Member
    Give yourself a break from calorie counting - it's upsetting you. Instead, just track EVERY BITE you eat (or drink) for the next two weeks. Eat when you're hungry and stop eating when you are no longer hungry, ie, before you are 'full'.

    At the end of that period, review your diary and see where you need to make adjustments. How many calories did you eat? See where you can subtract 100 or 200 or 300/day and see what happens. Let common sense dictate what and how much you need to cut and try to make *most* of your calories come from nutrient-dense, non-processed foods.
  • tammy1005
    tammy1005 Posts: 62
    Hi, you should try this site to get your accurate BMR and it will help you figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose weight. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ MFP had me at 1200 calories and I haven't lost a lb. Following this site I have changed my calorie intake to 1500. I also eat my workout calories! I hope this helps and hang in there, you can do it! Feel free to add me!
  • jpinge
    jpinge Posts: 71 Member
    You have to eat your exercise calories back:) At least half or more. Your body needs fuel to function properly....MFP calculates what you need for a deficit already but if you exercise you need to eat most of those calories back. It works...believe me:)
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    i appologise in advance for how long this is going to be lol..in 2008, after i had my daughter, I was 167 the same as i am today and i had enough. so i started eating as best as i knew how. lots of fruits veggies chicken and turkey with special k bars for snacks. i took my calories down to 900 and i lost 25 lbs in 2 1/2 months..well it has come to my attention since then that 900 calories a day is not healthy...well after having my son 2 years ago im at the same place i was in 2008...now im trying to make a permanent change to our diet (we eat HORRIBLY) So iv cut out most sugars and tried to introduce more fruits veggies and yogurts to our home. Iv been doing this for 2 weeks along with strength training every other day and cardio at the gym every other day. I havnt lost 1 pound and i am getting so frustrated! I staying aroud 1200-1400 calories a day..but im not taking into account my workouts..back in 2008 i didnt take them into account either..i dont understand why you are sposta take them into account?? why would you want to eat back the calories that you just burned during a workout?? I want the weight to go away not stay around...I guess i just need someone to tell me what im doing wrong...Im getting so frustrated i had pizza last night at a party cuz i felt like im not losing anything anyway so what does it matter? now i feel super guilty about it!

    Weight loss = Calorie restriction

    Fitness = Exercise

    They aren't the same thing. That's what you're doing wrong. Calorie burn from exercise has no bearing on weight loss. Exercising is to improve your fitness level, build muscle, strengthen heart, lungs, etc. To lose weight you consume less calories than you burn. Find your maintenance calories, subtract 500 calories to lose a pound a week. If you exercise, eat back the calories you burned from exercise to maintain the 500 calorie deficit. This way you maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss.
  • runningfromzombies
    runningfromzombies Posts: 386 Member
    MFP already has your calorie intake set at a deficit so that you will lose weight (1 pound per week if that's what you're aiming for), even before you factor in exercise. If you burn calories exercising, you increase this deficit. Say you eat 1200 calories but burn 300 exercising...that leaves you with a net calorie intake of 900. Enough days of that and your body will go into starvation mode and hold onto all its resources because it thinks it needs to conserve energy for the future, when there may not be food to fuel it. You need to eat more to lose.
  • pukekolive
    pukekolive Posts: 237 Member
    Log your food intake for a few weeks if you are not already doing so, then post again while making your diary public. It's hard for anyone to comment without knowing exactly what you are eating and how much.

    Remember that if you are strength training your muscles will need to repair so will fill with fluid to do this and so some of your weight loss may be masked by this. This water weight gain is a good thing though - it is part of strength training and will settle down.

    Also, remember to eat low fat yoghurt and watch how much sugar is in it (some has more than 10g per 100g!)

    Some fruits have a lot of sugar also - you may want to track your fat ans sugar daily intake via your MFP Food Diary - I do.

    Also read the MFP Unofficial FAQ there is a lot of good nutritional/calorie info in there
  • turkeytrotter
    turkeytrotter Posts: 35 Member
    A couple of things.

    1. When you do start to exercise after not doing it you are going to build muscle. Your body might hold onto the weight for a period of time, several weeks or even months. But you should notice that you are less flabby and are feeling better. To prevent getting discouraged start to take your measurements weekly. Measure your arm between the shoulder and elbow, the leg midway between the groin and the knee, your bust, waist, abdomen and hips. Keep these numbers. Use them as your gage until the weight starts coming off.

    2. Regarding MFP adding those exericse calories onto your daily log, I don't know why they do that either. My guess is so you see them reflected and you could eat that if you needed to. I try to always stay below my goal calories, but not too far below.
  • LoreleiWalks
    LoreleiWalks Posts: 143 Member
    First of all, congrats to you for working towards some healthy goals! To explain why we eat back our exercise calories, let's use a fictional person, Jane Doe. According to MFP, Jane should eat 2000 calories to maintain her current weight. In order for Jane to lose 1 pound a week, MFP reduces her calorie intake by 500 calories a day, giving her 1500 calories per day to work with. So Jane's daily calorie goal already includes a calorie deficit of 500 calories. By reducing her calories by 500 7 days a week, we have a total of 3500 calories she did not consume, and 3500 calories equals 1 pound of weight loss. If Jane exercises and burns 500 calories, she would be taking in a total of 1000 calories per day (1500-500). This is creating a deficit of 1000 calories instead of the 500 calorie reduction she is aiming for. So if Jane eats 500 calories worth of food on a day that she burns 500 calories, she still is eating 1500 calories, which is sufficient for losing a pound a week. Some people eat their calories back, some people do not. Just make sure that if you are consuming no less than 1200 net calories per day. You need a minimum of 1200 for your body to function properly. I personally eat all or most of my exercise calories, but you will get varying opinions on this site.

    As for eating pizza because you feel like giving up - there is nothing wrong with eating pizza and including it in a healthy diet. Moderation is really the key. If you deprive yourself of things you like - such as pizza, chocolate, whatever, it will be very difficult for you to stay on track. You want to make this a lifestyle change - not something you go "on" or "off." Track that pizza and enjoy it!

    Hope that helps make a little more sense of things. Feel free to add me as a friend if you're looking for support! :)
  • sailin38
    sailin38 Posts: 3 Member
    Well said Tigersword. I had struggled with that concept for a bit, but went ahead and increase my caloric intake by about 200. I went from hovering around 1200 to a minimum of 1400 a day. It does work. I also take one day a week off and eat what I want. Usually it is just a small desert but I at I know that day is non-counting day and I don't crave any foods during the week.

    Increasing the calories (but keeping slightly below or at MFP's maximum) really does work.
  • ange11283
    ange11283 Posts: 3
    i appologise in advance for how long this is going to be lol..in 2008, after i had my daughter, I was 167 the same as i am today and i had enough. so i started eating as best as i knew how. lots of fruits veggies chicken and turkey with special k bars for snacks. i took my calories down to 900 and i lost 25 lbs in 2 1/2 months..well it has come to my attention since then that 900 calories a day is not healthy...well after having my son 2 years ago im at the same place i was in 2008...now im trying to make a permanent change to our diet (we eat HORRIBLY) So iv cut out most sugars and tried to introduce more fruits veggies and yogurts to our home. Iv been doing this for 2 weeks along with strength training every other day and cardio at the gym every other day. I havnt lost 1 pound and i am getting so frustrated! I staying aroud 1200-1400 calories a day..but im not taking into account my workouts..back in 2008 i didnt take them into account either..i dont understand why you are sposta take them into account?? why would you want to eat back the calories that you just burned during a workout?? I want the weight to go away not stay around...I guess i just need someone to tell me what im doing wrong...Im getting so frustrated i had pizza last night at a party cuz i felt like im not losing anything anyway so what does it matter? now i feel super guilty about it!

    Weight loss = Calorie restriction

    Fitness = Exercise

    They aren't the same thing. That's what you're doing wrong. Calorie burn from exercise has no bearing on weight loss. Exercising is to improve your fitness level, build muscle, strengthen heart, lungs, etc. To lose weight you consume less calories than you burn. Find your maintenance calories, subtract 500 calories to lose a pound a week. If you exercise, eat back the calories you burned from exercise to maintain the 500 calorie deficit. This way you maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss.


    So are the maintenance calories the BMR? if so it says my bmr is is 1472 so that would put me around 1000 calories....and congrats on all of your weight loss!!! thats amazing!!!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    BMR is the amount of calories needed to survive in a coma. Maintenance calories are BMR x activity level. Based on the BMR you gave:

    Sedentary: BMR x 1.2 = 1766 calories

    Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375 = 2024 calories

    Moderately Active: BMR x 1.55 = 2282 calories

    Vigorously Active: BMR x 1.725 = 2539 calories

    Extremely Active: BMR x 1.9 = 2797 calories

    So, based on your daily activity level, which depends mostly on your job, you would be at any of those calorie levels. Take that number, subtract 500, and that's your calorie goal. If you burn extra calories by exercising, you add those to your goal.

    Example, sedentary = 1766 maintenance. To lose a pound a week, you eat 1266 a day. If you burn 200 calories exercising that day, you eat 1466, which maintains that 500 calorie deficit. 1766+200=1966 maintenance calorie needs for that day. 1966-500=1466. That's why you eat exercise calories back, because your maintenance need increases when you exercise, and you need to account for that to ensure proper nutrition.

    The easy part of all of this, is MFP automatically does this for you, as long as you set the goals accurately.
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