not understanding...

terrirz
terrirz Posts: 53
in Health and Weight Loss
I get confused easily and sometimes have to have things explain to me a few times.. Im not dumb lol..just takes it some time to click.. anyways, I had my net calories at 1970.. to loose 1 1/2 pounds a week. I just started excersizing agian, and I have never eaten all of my calories before excersizing, usually leaving 300 to 400 left. I havent really seen a weight change since first changing other than a few ounces here and there from water weight. As I said, I started at the gym this week, Ive done 2 days of 30 minutes of varied excersices, (cant do more than that right now, my body wont let me..:huh: ). I didnt expect to see any movement on the scale just yet. I just read on here that someone recommened using a site called fat 2 fit, to get your BMR because MFP was off, so I did.. so for my weight now.. 289 (:blushing: ) and I would like my goal to be around 150 pounds it told me that Ishould be eating 2144 calories at the moderate activity level..MFP to loose 1 pound a week says to eat 2170. Is that with eating my excersize calories back, to the total being for the day 2144? Or is that what I should eat w/o eating my excersize calories?. I honestly dont think that I could eat 2144 calories a day. :noway: Help please!! I want to do this as safe and effective as possible...:grumble:

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    the simple answer is "eat 1800 calories"

    try it for a month, with whatever exercise suits you. Don't worry if you're 100 either side.

    After a month you'll know if it's working for sure.
  • terrirz
    terrirz Posts: 53
    easy enough... thanks..:)
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    the simple answer is "eat 1800 calories"

    try it for a month, with whatever exercise suits you. Don't worry if you're 100 either side.

    After a month you'll know if it's working for sure.

    Agreed. It's really easy to get hung up in the details. The most important thing is learning to be aware of what you eat. You can always tweak it as you go.
  • MyTime1985
    MyTime1985 Posts: 456 Member
    Yep, it's really up to you. I was around 1500 calories and I wasn't losing anything. I raised my calories to 1730 and I started losing. Just pay attention to your body and wait more than a week to decide. :flowerforyou:
  • loombeav
    loombeav Posts: 391 Member
    If you calculate using Fat 2 Fit and listed your exercise as part of your daily activity level then no you do not eat back your exercise calories.
    I love fat 2 fit and think it gives very accurate info, but for me I listed my activity as sedentary and track my exercise with a HRM. That way when I slack off (like I have been lately) I don't eat more then I should plus tracking my exercise calories gives me a ton of motivation.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    the simple answer is "eat 1800 calories"

    try it for a month, with whatever exercise suits you. Don't worry if you're 100 either side.

    After a month you'll know if it's working for sure.
    This is great advice. All the other stuff, TDEE, BMR etc are estimates anyway. Pick a level, observe and adjust as needed.
  • Iwannabealoser
    Iwannabealoser Posts: 10
    MFP says I should be around 1500 calories also. How does raising your calories to 1800 help you lose weight? Please explain... lol. I'm new to this calorie counting thing. I've been eating nothing but green salads with no dressing for a month and I'm still gaining weight.

    (Yeah, yeah, I know. Kick out the soda. I'm working on it. But honestly, I use to soda to control the migraines. And the exercise is triggering the migraines. So I'm stuck in some crazy loop. Exercise. Get a migraine. Use caffeine to kill the migraine and get back on my feet or ignore the caffeine and be sick for 4 days. Recover from migraine. Exercise. Get a migraine... UGH.)
  • AngieJoy81
    AngieJoy81 Posts: 99 Member
    When I first started I ate 1200 calories a day and lost a lot. Now that I'm exercising much more, I stopped losing. I took the advice of MFP's and increased my calories. I'm back to losing again! I do think that nothing but salads will eventually "scare" your body, making it hold onto some weight. I pay attention to getting complete nutrition, making sure I eat when I'm hungry and most importantly, I do what I feel like I can live with as a lifestyle. I would not be able to go through my whole life without cheese or chocolate! So I fit them in as long as I'm eating fruits and vegetables also. Maybe your thing is soda... There's nothing wrong with working in one or two a day as long as you're not skipping the banana to do it! So for me, I DO MY BEST to eat back my exercise calories in healthy ways. My body thanked me for it with a 2.3 pound loss this week!

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