Walking and Calorie Counting????

Kimberlybett
Kimberlybett Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I am new to this.....2 1/2 weeks....my question is...I am averaging walking 2 to 3 miles per day which adds calories to my intake.....but when it does that does that mean I have eat those extra calories when they are added there???? I am at 1200 per day, should I just eat my 1200 calorie intake and not what my exercising has added to it????? Please help.....by answering.....

Replies

  • joytron
    joytron Posts: 103 Member
    There's a couple of different viewpoints on this issue! Here's a link to a recent thread on the boards:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/467888-success-not-eating-back-exercise-calories?error_user_id=19089156&error_username=joytron&hl=eating+back+exercise+calories
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
    Do a search on exercise calories on here. This question comes up a lot.

    In short, yes, you should. 1200 calories includes a deficit of 500 calories, so you are eating 500 calories fewer than you need to stay the same weight. It's calculated as the no. of calories you need just to be awake x1.2. So, when you exercise you use up energy and need to eat that back to maintain a healthy body.
  • 4FitChris
    4FitChris Posts: 10
    Do a search on exercise calories on here. This question comes up a lot.

    In short, yes, you should. 1200 calories includes a deficit of 500 calories, so you are eating 500 calories fewer than you need to stay the same weight. It's calculated as the no. of calories you need just to be awake x1.2. So, when you exercise you use up energy and need to eat that back to maintain a healthy body.

    /\ This.
  • Kimberlybett
    Kimberlybett Posts: 8
    When I put my info in, with age, weight, etc......it came back at 1200..... So therefore I should be eating more than 1200? Even without exercising? And since I AM exercising I need to eat more???? Sorry.....still trying to figure all this out.....thanks for any help.....
  • PeeTeePee
    PeeTeePee Posts: 235 Member
    When I put my info in, with age, weight, etc......it came back at 1200..... So therefore I should be eating more than 1200? Even without exercising? And since I AM exercising I need to eat more???? Sorry.....still trying to figure all this out.....thanks for any help.....
    The 1200 that MFP is quoting is sufficient for you to lose some weight. If you also exercise you are 'earning' more calories and it's a good idea to 'eat back' those exercise calories.

    For example, I have 1200 calories a day allocated by MFP. I also walk 2 miles to work and two miles home again. The walking 'earns' me another 360 calories, so I eat 1560 calories a day (1200+360).
  • hope516
    hope516 Posts: 1,133 Member
    You have to find what works for you. Depending on how many cals you are burning would depend on whether I would eat them back or not. TECHNICALLY speaking you can eat all of them and lose your chosen amount of weight. However, I PERSONALLY only eat about half back, and every now and then I eat a little more if I find I am hungry. I would just play with the numbers. Try it with eating them all back. If you get the results you are looking for than kudos to you. But if you don't try eating half, and so on. Its trial and error in my opinion.
  • justinnstacy
    justinnstacy Posts: 2 Member
    This question is one that I have struggled with for the last 12 weeks. There is conflicting information regarding whether to eat back exercise calories and each answer sounds valid and plausible. However, I found that the best information came from my doctor. He looked at my calorie needs, my exercise program, and other factors (such as age, amount lost, daily activity level, and goal weight) and individualized my results. His recommendation for me is to eat no less than 1200 calories, but stay below 1400. With my exercise program (a combination of the elliptical and the cardio/plyometrics P90X workouts), I burn between 300-450 calories 3-4 times per week. His suggestion is to eat back calories so my net is not less than 800 calories (net calories being the calories you have eaten minus the calories burned from exercise). My suggestion is that if you are serious about losing the weight and want to know what is best for your body that you schedule an appointment with your doctor. For me, his understanding of the body and his knowledge regarding my specific information allowed me to be confident in my program. Good luck!! :happy:
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/


    Best site EVER.

    That is all.
  • kezzlarr85
    kezzlarr85 Posts: 5 Member
    you dont have to eat them! to sucsessfully lose weight you should burn more calories than you eat thats how i look at it otherwise your just goin to maintain the weight your at ! x
  • smpreston
    smpreston Posts: 262 Member
    I walk the dog 1.5-2.5 miles per day, plus my normal activity. I wore a pedometer for a week and averaged about 9,500 steps per day. Rather than continually add in the couple hundred calories of "exercise" from the walking, I just changed my setting to lightly active. I'm current in a round of P90X2, so I record that as my exercise calories. Personally, I don't feel the need to record a little (to me) 1.5 mile walk as exercise. If anything, it gives me a few extra unaccounted for calories to cover any underestimating I do with my food intake and recording.

    Others that are very sedentary and just beginning the exercise journey get a nice accomplishment boost from entering the calories burned on such a walk. It might be a lot of exercise for them at that point.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
    you dont have to eat them! to sucsessfully lose weight you should burn more calories than you eat thats how i look at it otherwise your just goin to maintain the weight your at ! x
    wrong. when you set up MFP, it already calculates the deficit. so you're ALREADY burning more than you eat whether you exercise or not. you won't "maintain" just because you eat back your exercise calories.
  • keaani34
    keaani34 Posts: 33 Member
    I do not eat back my exercise calories.
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
    This question is one that I have struggled with for the last 12 weeks. There is conflicting information regarding whether to eat back exercise calories and each answer sounds valid and plausible. However, I found that the best information came from my doctor. He looked at my calorie needs, my exercise program, and other factors (such as age, amount lost, daily activity level, and goal weight) and individualized my results. His recommendation for me is to eat no less than 1200 calories, but stay below 1400. With my exercise program (a combination of the elliptical and the cardio/plyometrics P90X workouts), I burn between 300-450 calories 3-4 times per week. His suggestion is to eat back calories so my net is not less than 800 calories (net calories being the calories you have eaten minus the calories burned from exercise). My suggestion is that if you are serious about losing the weight and want to know what is best for your body that you schedule an appointment with your doctor. For me, his understanding of the body and his knowledge regarding my specific information allowed me to be confident in my program. Good luck!! :happy:

    Your doctor told you to eat 800 calories? Seriously??
    My 2 yr old eats that much and he is underweight.

    You should be talking to a nutritionist, not a doctor.
  • justinnstacy
    justinnstacy Posts: 2 Member
    My doctor, also a nutrition specialist, recommeded I eat 1200-1400 calories per day and keep my net calories above 800. Given my particular body structure and other information that I mentioned in the previous post, my body will not go into "starvation mode" until below that point. My point was to get a professional opinion if you're serious about weight loss and the long term journey. 30 pounds lost in 12 weeks tells me that my doctor's advice is what I'm going to follow!

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