Seriously DONT get it

Curleycue0314
Curleycue0314 Posts: 245 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay so I am beyond frustrated this week and very confused by the whole thing!!!!! I am new to MFP, but not to a calorie counter. So like all other calorie counters that i have used i logged my exercise and what i ate. I didn't go over my dailey goals, but i don't think i should be eating soooooo much. I feel like i'm eating all day long! I actually gained a pound this week not lost 1.5 like my set up is! Serously, if i'm working out 60 minutes 3 times a week why am i supposed to eat 2300 cal a day! my BMR is 1700! Please someone explain this to me! BEYOND FRUSTRATED!!! AND sincerly wondering if MFP has it set up correctly for me. I get the concept, but have yet to see the results from the whole thing! READY TO GIVE UP!
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Replies

  • amdahwd
    amdahwd Posts: 237 Member
    I personally do not eat my exercise calories. I eat the 1200 calories that they set for me and that is it. I know we are getting told differently, but it just doesnt work for me. I have also found out that on the weeks I do only strength training and do not do cardio, then I do not lose weight. I have to have my cardio to get the scale moving.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    Have you set your activity level to include your exercise?

    If you have used your exercise to set yourself as moderately active, and then tracked it, you're counting it twice. That might be why you're getting a high number of calories.
  • Curleycue0314
    Curleycue0314 Posts: 245 Member
    I'm doing mostly Cardio right now - 2 spin classes a week and a scultpting class with 15 min of cardio afterward. There are some weeks I work out 5 days, again mostly Cardio with some strength training after
  • RandomMiranda
    RandomMiranda Posts: 298
    Is that 2300 before or after exercise? If it is before it does seem high. Also, what are your activity levels and goals set to? I'm 5'8", 160, lightly active and with a 1lb/week weight loss goal it sets my daily calories to 1530, which is just over my BMR. When I first started I was at 1200 calories/day, then upped to 1400 (all before exercise, eating back most of my exercise calories). Your numbers do seem a little high, so you might double check your settings.
    That said, there are many reasons your weight could be up 1.5 pounds. I weigh in daily and can have that kind of increase or more overnight, so it could be water or related to your menses somehow.
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    How are you calculating your exercise burns? There's a good chance you're over estimating without the aid of a good HRM, some math, and a VO2 "score". I would also recommend a food scale. I've found that most people tend to under estimate food and over estimate exercise.

    -M
  • katie190177
    katie190177 Posts: 38 Member
    I find that MFP does give a few too many calories if you're looking to lose weight. I'm looking to lose 2 pounds a week so I've been trying to eat no more then 1300-1400 calories a day, even if i do exercise. Try doing that for a week and see where you end up, it's been working great for me, hopefully you'll notice a difference!
  • debk3p2
    debk3p2 Posts: 82 Member
    I know everyone says eat your exercise points but I would definitely gain if I ate them all. For one thing, when I wear a heart monitor to exercise it shows that MFP is way too generous (with me anyways) as far as calories burned. I usually burn significantly less than MFP says I'm burning. I'm older and not in great shape so I probably don't exercise as hard as some folks here though.

    I usually try to add some of my exercise points back (maybe 300 max) but not all of them.

    I also find it confusing that MFP asks what your activity level is and bases your calories on that - then adds exercise calories back. It seems like double dipping to me. Maybe they are talking about general activity rather than exercise per se. Still - I put my activity level to sedentary and then when I add my exercise it seems to come out about right - about 1500 calories a day. I'm old and short so that's about right for me.


    Good luck!!

    Debbie
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Okay so I am beyond frustrated this week and very confused by the whole thing!!!!! I am new to MFP, but not to a calorie counter. So like all other calorie counters that i have used i logged my exercise and what i ate. I didn't go over my dailey goals, but i don't think i should be eating soooooo much. I feel like i'm eating all day long! I actually gained a pound this week not lost 1.5 like my set up is! Serously, if i'm working out 60 minutes 3 times a week why am i supposed to eat 2300 cal a day! my BMR is 1700! Please someone explain this to me! BEYOND FRUSTRATED!!! AND sincerly wondering if MFP has it set up correctly for me. I get the concept, but have yet to see the results from the whole thing! READY TO GIVE UP!

    Reset!

    Go back through the setup wizard, set your lifestyle to sedentary, and log your exercise as your exercise so you have to burn it to earn it.

    MFP can be inaccurate about calorie burn, often overstating it. 60 minutes of full-on burn for me (216 pounds, 40+ years old) is about 800 calories. The site is giving you 600 calories for a spinning class and 15 minutes of cardio - which may or may not be accurate for your weight and age. There are many "how many calories do I burn at a given heart rate" calculators out there that you can enter your weight, age, height, and heartrate and it will give you a reasonable guess. Work out on a cardio machine that measures heart rate, learn what you burn, and go from there. Or get a heart rate monitor.

    I'm 6' 3", 216LB, over 40, lifestyle at "sedentary", and the site has me at 1,450 net calories a day with a 2-pound-a-week weight loss. I found MFP was overestimating some of my exercise and about right on others. Once I got the calories of my "burn" correct, I found that I was losing weight at the pace I set.
  • stephie4111
    stephie4111 Posts: 118
    i do not log in my exercise i just use the 1290 given to me.
  • delonda1
    delonda1 Posts: 525 Member
    So many people say eat back exercise calories but it depends from person to person... i ORIGINALLY was eating only 1200 until i hit a plateau and then i up'd to now 1628....and neither time do i eat back exercise calories and I work out 6days a week for a minimum of 45min and I am losing just fine again
  • asafcat
    asafcat Posts: 16 Member
    There could be a number of reasons. Please don't give up! I do think your calorie intake is pretty high, can't be totally certain of this since I am not certified in fitness. I started on MFP at 163 pounds and was set to "lightly active" lifestyle and my calorie allowance was 1480. (losing 1 pound a week) I do notice since I weigh myself almost every day that during my period and ovulation I could gain 2 pounds and it's hard to lose during those 2 times of the month. However it's "water retention" and the 2 pound gain does come off as soon as that time of the month is over. It's just not a good feeling knowing that at certain times of the month I can't really "lose" any substantial weight. But again, it's better than the alternative. If I didn't track my calories there would be no hope for me to lose.

    Good luck and don't give up!!
  • Curleycue0314
    Curleycue0314 Posts: 245 Member
    Is that 2300 before or after exercise? If it is before it does seem high. Also, what are your activity levels and goals set to? I'm 5'8", 160, lightly active and with a 1lb/week weight loss goal it sets my daily calories to 1530, which is just over my BMR. When I first started I was at 1200 calories/day, then upped to 1400 (all before exercise, eating back most of my exercise calories). Your numbers do seem a little high, so you might double check your settings.
    That said, there are many reasons your weight could be up 1.5 pounds. I weigh in daily and can have that kind of increase or more overnight, so it could be water or related to your menses somehow.

    That is TOTAL, my Goal is 1440 NET
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    That is TOTAL, my Goal is 1440 NET

    So if your goal is 1440 you're getting an 850 calorie burn from exercise? That's not beyond the bounds of possibility for 60 minutes but it does seem high.
  • Curleycue0314
    Curleycue0314 Posts: 245 Member
    That is TOTAL, my Goal is 1440 NET

    So if your goal is 1440 you're getting an 850 calorie burn from exercise? That's not beyond the bounds of possibility for 60 minutes but it does seem high.

    My 850 today would be from an hour long Spin class and 10 min of Elliptical training- so 70 min.
  • xilef76
    xilef76 Posts: 5
    It's different because I'm a guy, but my target calories is 1840 a day and my goal is set to lose 2 lbs a week. I work out 7 days a week, about 60 minutes a day.

    All I can say is eating right and working out regulary will in the long term always pay off, so hang in there! I've lost over 100 lbs. As for a couple pounds, the scale can be deceptive at times. Go ahead and weigh yourself every day but your progress on the scale won't always be accurate. That has a lot to do with water weight which comes and goes. Remember, you can step on the scale and lose or gain five pounds, but that is NOT all fat.

    During my weight loss, one day the scale would say I lost three or four pounds, the next day it would say I gained three or four pounds but I was always losing fat. So don't pay so much attention to the scale, in the end it will pay off.

    I think working out three times a week is not enough if you want to lose weight. I say work out five times a week.

    Are you staying under your sodium limit? Are you on target with your carbs to fat to protein? This is important in losing weight not just counting calories.

    I, myself stick to my 1840 calories a day and ignore the added calories after my workouts. Sometimes I do 2x the workout (120 minutes) and I eat a little bit more, but my average net calories a day is just under 1000. Sorry, I have to say I haven't weighed myself lately but I lost about one to two inches on my waist in the last two months.

    I think your settings is to high, maybe you can start over on entering your info and goals? Hang in there!!!!!
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,170 Member
    try and eat at your BRM + eat 2/3 of your exercise calories back :)
    this has so far worked best for me
    also do you have a hrm for exercise?
    i find that people over estimate when they go by what the internet/machines just tell them
    for example when i run on the treadmill it'll tell me i burnt 150 calories when in realisty its only like 50
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
    Way too much conflicting and incorrect information here.

    1. Set your activity level here. Most people are lightly active. Sedentary is often a little low for most people.

    2. Set your goal to lose 1 lb per week. This creates a deficit for you. You eat this number of calories on rest days. It is a goal, not a limit.

    3. When you exercise, eat all or most of you exercise calories. If that adds up to eating 2300 calories per day, then that is what you eat.

    Make sure you are accurately tracking your food here (a food scale is helpful). Make sure you are accurately measuring your calorie burns (like with a heart rate monitor).

    It is simple. Don't let yourself or anyone else make it that hard. And don't go starving yourself at 1200 calories per day. You are exercising now, and becoming a more fit and healthy person. You need the food.
  • iwantahealthierme13
    iwantahealthierme13 Posts: 337 Member
    maybe 2300 is your maintenance. 2100 is mine but I'm eating between 1400 and 1620 (1700-1800 on days I have an hour long work out) Eat your BMR, if it doesn't work for you, you don't have to eat back all your exercise cals. I don't. I just eat when I'm hungry and try to make good choices.
  • lavieboheme1229
    lavieboheme1229 Posts: 448 Member
    I have been doing this for 2 week. I have an office job, so I said i was sedentary. The only exercise I have been doing is walking my dog in the morning, and cleaning. It has given me 1,450 calories a day, and I stick to that. And you HAVE to eat back your exercise calories, or it isn't healthy weight loss. I am 6' and currently weight 204. I have lost 8 pds in the 2 weeks I have done this.

    The real answer is to ask your doctor.
  • lavieboheme1229
    lavieboheme1229 Posts: 448 Member
    Way too much conflicting and incorrect information here.

    1. Set your activity level here. Most people are lightly active. Sedentary is often a little low for most people.

    2. Set your goal to lose 1 lb per week. This creates a deficit for you. You eat this number of calories on rest days. It is a goal, not a limit.

    3. When you exercise, eat all or most of you exercise calories. If that adds up to eating 2300 calories per day, then that is what you eat.

    Make sure you are accurately tracking your food here (a food scale is helpful). Make sure you are accurately measuring your calorie burns (like with a heart rate monitor).

    It is simple. Don't let yourself or anyone else make it that hard. And don't go starving yourself at 1200 calories per day. You are exercising now, and becoming a more fit and healthy person. You need the food.

    ^ Exactly!

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