MFP's calorie and exercise calculator - need input please!

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valiant_1
valiant_1 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
hi everyone -

can someone explain how the calorie counter works when you add exercise in a day? i don't get it.

my goal was set (automatically by the system when I set up my profile) at 1200. but today, for example, i consumed almost 1800 calories, and yet it shows that i'm under my goal.

why?

shouldn't I be trying to stay between a certain calorie intake range, regardless of whether I exercise or not?

help!

Replies

  • Stripple
    Stripple Posts: 62 Member
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    I'd like to know answer to this also, but I think you can eat exersize cals earned
  • katherine143000
    katherine143000 Posts: 4
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    Ok so a typical body runs on 2,200 calories a day (and this number ranges depending on the person). But to lose 1 pound a week you need to cut out 500 calories from your diet. But most people want to lose about 2 pounds a week so MFP cut out 1,000 calories from our diet (500+500). So to lose 2 pounds a week you need to eat about 1,200 calories a day. But if you work out you burn some of those calories. But the thing is your body NEEDS 1,200 calories a day to do basic functions so if you do not eat back the calories you burn while exercising your body loses those calories. The purpose of exercise is not to lose weight. If you ate 1,200 calories a day and did absolutely no exercise you would still lose weight but you would be all skin and bones with no lean muscles which is important and you won’t look good when you are thin you will look sick. So you need to eat your calories back or your body will suffer. So MFP increases your goal so that your body gets the nutrients it needs. Hope this helps to explain! Good luck, guys!
  • DigDougOK
    DigDougOK Posts: 20
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    Yes, it added the 512 calories you burned working out back in to your goal. I personally don't count those back in, I stick with my baseline goal but MFP automatically adds them in.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    If you don't want to eat them, I will :D
  • valiant_1
    valiant_1 Posts: 18
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    thanks katherine - - ok, i got it. it makes sense.

    i think i'm going to do what DigDougOK does, and that is stick to my baseline goal and disregard what MFP recalculates in - - understanding that i may need to up that a little bit, especially if I am going to shoot for 60 minutes of cardio, 6x a week... I'll do some calculating and goal setting this week and come up with whatever seems achievable. 2 lbs a week would be a blessing.

    thanks guys!
  • fatmom51
    fatmom51 Posts: 173 Member
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    Lisa, if you're exercising that much and MFP is adding it back in, it's possible you set your activity level too low. The way I read these things is that you either set your activity level to account for your exercise, but don't record it again, in which case you'll have a higher net goal, or you don't set it and then record and eat back your exercise calories, but either way you'll be netting the same.
    In my case, I'm supposed to net 1,200 because I set my activity goal for sedentary (which I mostly am). When I do get some light exercise (a walk on the track with friends, for example) I can eat about 200-300 extra calories. If I set my activity level for Lightly Active, I don't record that exercise, but MFP tells me to eat roughly 1450 calories -- so it's a wash. And you sound like you're Active or Very Active. (Not sure of the exact categories right now and I'm too tired to look them up at the moment -- just waiting for DD to come home from school-sponsored post prom party so I can go to bed.)
    Does that make sense?
  • DigDougOK
    DigDougOK Posts: 20
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    Lisa, if you're exercising that much and MFP is adding it back in, it's possible you set your activity level too low. The way I read these things is that you either set your activity level to account for your exercise, but don't record it again, in which case you'll have a higher net goal, or you don't set it and then record and eat back your exercise calories, but either way you'll be netting the same.
    In my case, I'm supposed to net 1,200 because I set my activity goal for sedentary (which I mostly am). When I do get some light exercise (a walk on the track with friends, for example) I can eat about 200-300 extra calories. If I set my activity level for Lightly Active, I don't record that exercise, but MFP tells me to eat roughly 1450 calories -- so it's a wash. And you sound like you're Active or Very Active. (Not sure of the exact categories right now and I'm too tired to look them up at the moment -- just waiting for DD to come home from school-sponsored post prom party so I can go to bed.)
    Does that make sense?

    Good point....Lisa, which setting did you use when you set your profile on MFP? You should be in the "very active" level since you get so much cardio. That's why I ignore my exercise, because it's already figured in. Also you can set your calorie intake to manual (or whatever the setting is called) so it doesn't change even when you add your exercise in. I have my exercise goal set too, so I find that way I can still record my exercise to make sure I meet my goal but it doesn't change my daily calorie goal. Poke around the profile and goals settings pages and you will see the different settings, and you can change them at any time.

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