Night Elf Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I have never eaten exercise calories burned. I figured if I burned them off, why would I want to put them right back into my body? But someone was telling me it would be better for my body to eat more calories, especially when I've been active. I've been tracking on My Fitness Pal for the last couple of days after being off of it for a while. I'm eating more than I used to do when I was heavily restricting my eating to a very low calorie diet. However, MFP wants me to eat 1700 calories a day and that seems like a lot to me to maintain my weight. And then it wants me to eat calories I've earned through exercising. How accurate is MFP when determining an appropriate daily calorie goal? Also, I'm very active while at work. Do I count that as exercise? The only activity I can find that's similar is walking and their walking choices are speeds. I walk a certain speed on my treadmill. I don't walk a certain speed at work. I'm just on my feet for 4 hours. How do I put that into MFP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 I never count calories burned at work, even when I was a gymnastics coach. Am I remembering correctly that you're trying to gain a bit of weight? Can you maybe just do MFP for a few days to see about how many calories you're eating and then add more? Like maybe start with adding a snack of almonds and string cheese or something in the afternoon and see if that helps you gain a few pounds. Or add some avocado into a lunch sandwich, things like that? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 If you're of average or taller height, and exercise/keep fairly active, then 1700 to maintain doesn't sound excessive to me. I'm short and need to lose, but I can maintain at 1700 if it's pretty low carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Did intuitive eating not work out for you? I was hoping that would work for you. I wouldn’t add calories just because I worked a few hours. That’s just life- moms clean house and run after kids and do stuff all the time. If I was doing heavy physical labor that would be different, but you’re not doing that. I’m not saying you don’t need more calories than you’re currently getting- I have no idea how many you’re getting. I’m just saying that fiddling with it based on your day’s activity seems too focused. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Night Elf said: Also, I'm very active while at work. Do I count that as exercise? No. You are not sedentary, but that's it. "Very active" are people who shovel ditches, do construction work, clean houses. You said you sometimes don't even get 10k steps from a work day. I would not count this as exercise. I walk 10k steps during my work day and count it as normal life. Edited August 13, 2018 by regentrude 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Annie G said: Did intuitive eating not work out for you? I was hoping that would work for you. I wouldn’t add calories just because I worked a few hours. That’s just life- moms clean house and run after kids and do stuff all the time. If I was doing heavy physical labor that would be different, but you’re not doing that. I’m not saying you don’t need more calories than you’re currently getting- I have no idea how many you’re getting. I’m just saying that fiddling with it based on your day’s activity seems too focused. I was trying to eat intuitively but it was just too much change at one time. So instead, I'm slowly gaining to get to a weight range that both my DH and I agreed upon and then I will maintain that. I've gained a few lbs. so far and have about 3-5 more to go. I believe I'm gaining so slowly because I'm moving more than I used to do. It's like I'm exercising but not eating those earned calories. The past few days, I've tried to track just what I'm eating without manipulating my diet to stay under a certain calorie total like I used to. I'm averaging about 1500 calories a day. That's why 1700 seems so high just to maintain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 There is no way to know how accurate it is for you until you eat that way for 3-4 weeks and then see how your weight changes. Some people find their metabolism raises that much, others find they gain- I'm guessing about half a pound a week until you reach a new equilibrium. Even if you got highly accurate underwater body composition done you still can't account for how your gut bacteria utilizes different nutrients, or how your body will start burning less calories as you get more efficient at your new exercise routine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 I think adding another 200 calories would probably be beneficial for your physical health, especially as you're trying to gain weight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.