Eating below net calories.. Or not really?

JulieG1443
JulieG1443 Posts: 43
in Introduce Yourself
I hate when I exercise and then I add it to MFP and my net calories go all the way down and it means I have to eat more food..

Can I not set my net calories to lower than 1200 and then burn calories through exercise to make it up to my BMR so I don't feel so bad about eating more food? I've gained weight eating my exercise cals.

I workout at burn at least 500 calories a day or just under and I feel like such a fat pig eating all of that back as I feel it's undoing all the good I've done and it's also showing on the scale and unfortunately in the mirrors too.

I'm 18 year old female, 130 lbs, 5ft 4 and I set my net calories to 1200 a day to lose 1lb a week. Activity level set to sedentary.

Replies

  • miya727
    miya727 Posts: 12 Member
    Check this post out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map
  • JulieG1443
    JulieG1443 Posts: 43
    Check this post out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

    Thank you SO much this helped a lot lol but do I use the calories in the table and then just not eat back my exercise cals? Is this the method?
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    I'm 5'4" and just hit 127 lbs, and eat at 1500 calories a day (work out 5-6 days a week) - you need to eat more than 1200, especially for as young as you are. How much more weight do you want to lose?
  • MissPiggyWiggy
    MissPiggyWiggy Posts: 45 Member
    Work out your BMR and dont multiple your actively level, so mine if i lay in bed all day is 1360 (im female, 29years old 132lbs, 4ft 9inchs).
    So i make sure i eat the 1360calories a day and if i exercise i only enter that at the end of the day, now MFP will tell you for example if i had burn 200calories running it would tell me to eat them back up. No thats only to maintain your weight, if you wana lose weight dont eat the calories up. The 200calories you burn came from your fat storage and not your food intake total. Just make sure you eat approx your BMR and not to burn more than 200-300cals a day exercise
  • JulieG1443
    JulieG1443 Posts: 43
    I'm 5'4" and just hit 127 lbs, and eat at 1500 calories a day (work out 5-6 days a week) - you need to eat more than 1200, especially for as young as you are. How much more weight do you want to lose?

    Wanting to be 110lbs!
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1620
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1856
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2093
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2329
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2565

    You definitely need to be eating more. Find your match above and eat a it or slightly below
  • JulieG1443
    JulieG1443 Posts: 43
    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1620
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1856
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2093
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2329
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2565

    You definitely need to be eating more. Find your match above and eat a it or slightly below

    Thank you so much lambertj, I should be eating the 2093 but with this I should not eat back my exercise cals once put into MFP? Is this already a deficit?
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    You are correct, if you set this up correctly for yourself (moderately active) you do not eat your exercise calories back, they are already built in. Good luck to you and remember, weight loss is sometime not a direct line down, time of month and hormones mean that some weeks you will be up a bit and some weeks down a bit, keep forging ahead
  • michaelthorsonjr
    michaelthorsonjr Posts: 80
    I don't think you exercise calories are built into those numbers ... that is just taking away x-amount of calories from what is needed to maintain your weight ... exercise calories are separate from those numbers ... at least that's been my experience.
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    I don't think you exercise calories are built into those numbers ... that is just taking away x-amount of calories from what is needed to maintain your weight ... exercise calories are separate from those numbers ... at least that's been my experience.

    They are if you do your BMR times your activity level. If you work out 5 times a week you eat more than if you are Sedentary. A more confusing way to do it is to set yourself up at Sedentary and then add in your exercise calories (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)
  • michaelthorsonjr
    michaelthorsonjr Posts: 80
    That's true that you would need to eat more calories if you are more active at your job during the week but it is not account for an actual work out you do outside of this. I may be on my feet all day at work and thus burn more calories during the day because of this but that number isn't taking into account a 9 mile run at a 7 minute a mile pace...that you have to enter yourself...otherwise you will be eating WAY to little.
  • michaelthorsonjr
    michaelthorsonjr Posts: 80
    I don't think you exercise calories are built into those numbers ... that is just taking away x-amount of calories from what is needed to maintain your weight ... exercise calories are separate from those numbers ... at least that's been my experience.

    They are if you do your BMR times your activity level. If you work out 5 times a week you eat more than if you are Sedentary. A more confusing way to do it is to set yourself up at Sedentary and then add in your exercise calories (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)

    Also the way MyFitnessPal works this out by how active you are at work...for example, that classify active as an individual spending a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman). It works activity into your BMR but not the exercise you engage in.
  • vguynes
    vguynes Posts: 753 Member
    Bump
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    I also took it to mean that exercise is built in because it says "Exercise/Sports" but I suppose you could look at it as a job that keeps you moving during the day.

    I have a very Sedentary job during the day and sit at a desk but do "Exercise/Sports 5 days a week so I consider myself Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) although I could almost classify myself as Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) because I work out hard during my 6 days at the gym (using an HRM and burning about 500-600 calories per session.

    I started MFP at the 1200 calorie mark because that is the way MFP is set up but was not losing because I was eating too little, however, since upping my calories I am losing steadily at the Moderately Active Rate of calorie for my age and size. Users may have to experiment a little to get to the right amount of calories but a good place to start (in my opinion only) is at the bottom end of the list, and then increase calories as needed. I've added 300 calories per day by 100 calories increments over the past month and am finally losing around .8 lbs a week steadily
  • melissabaillie
    melissabaillie Posts: 5
    iv been logging my excersise but i just ignore when it adds to the calories a day....i just look at the colum where it says how many calories i have actually consumed and make sure i dont go over my 1450 calorie goal......
  • michaelthorsonjr
    michaelthorsonjr Posts: 80
    I also took it to mean that exercise is built in because it says "Exercise/Sports" but I suppose you could look at it as a job that keeps you moving during the day.

    I have a very Sedentary job during the day and sit at a desk but do "Exercise/Sports 5 days a week so I consider myself Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) although I could almost classify myself as Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) because I work out hard during my 6 days at the gym (using an HRM and burning about 500-600 calories per session.

    I started MFP at the 1200 calorie mark because that is the way MFP is set up but was not losing because I was eating too little, however, since upping my calories I am losing steadily at the Moderately Active Rate of calorie for my age and size. Users may have to experiment a little to get to the right amount of calories but a good place to start (in my opinion only) is at the bottom end of the list, and then increase calories as needed. I've added 300 calories per day by 100 calories increments over the past month and am finally losing around .8 lbs a week steadily

    I just think that it is more accurate to figure how active you are during day without exercise then figure in your exercise. Very Active can encompass a wide variety of activities that burn different amount of calories. Personally, I work in education although I'm not as active as I'd like to be I do walk around the school when not at my desk....so I put light activity that puts me at 2200 calories to maintain my weight (I did the same thing when I was losing weight, obviously my calories were lower). When I run (4 days of running 9-10 miles and 1 day of running 16 miles) I put in my exercise and I do eat my exercise calories and I lost weight when I was losing weight and I have maintained it since I reached my goal.

    I'm just saying in my opinion its not as easy as saying "I am very active" so this encompasses ALL the calories I'd burn from the myriad of exercises I engage in. That's just my 2 cents though.

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