myfitnesspal calorie intake

cdream05

Hi all!

I am a lurker on this board so I know 1200 calories is the bare minimum to consume.  I just signed up for a myfitness pal and it says 1,270 calories/day is what I should be consuming to lose 1lb a week.... I thought that this sounds low? 
I work in an office so I do sit, but also standing and walking.
I am 155lbs and a little taller then 5'3.
As for working out I put 3x a week.
Is that the right amount of calories?

Thank you

SirJuliusVonHaast

If I were you, I would either add a few extra days of working out or resign myself to losing it at 0.5lb/week, so that I could eat more. I have a hard time sticking to 1300 calories. 

Usually how I do those online calculator things is that I tell it I don't work out at all. Then I add in the specific calories of however much I burned. So if it tells me I can eat 1200 calories based on my information (not working out) and then I go jogging for 40 minutes and burn 400 calories, I can eat 1600 that day. If I don't work out on a given day I still eat about 1400 calories, so presumably I"m just losing weight at a slower pace on those days. 

bakersduzin

Make sure you "eat back" your exercise calories on the days you work out, since MyFitnessPal already factors in a 500 calorie a day deficit. It took me a few days to get used to it, but I've been losing steadily since.

cdream05

ok thank you!
So the calories I burn working out I should eat those?

bakersduzin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_myfitnesspal-calorie-intake?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:238Discussion:14382c94-4425-4a2b-9277-0cd03e789450Post:89befbbb-c715-4ab7-994a-b1c03089a5e5">Re: myfitnesspal calorie intake</a>:
[QUOTE]ok thank you! So the calories I burn working out I should eat those?
Posted by cdream05[/QUOTE]

Yep! The daily calorie number that MyFitnessPal gives you already includes a deficit, depending on how much weight you are trying to lose each week (I think the default is 1 lb, which would come out to a 500 cal/day deficit). So when you exercise, you are burning more calories on top of that. You want to make sure that your daily calories doesn't go too low, or else your body might think it's starving - which is why you should eat the calories you burn after exercising.

cdream05

Ok thank you!

[Deleted User]

I love this app, it helps to keep me honest.  I tried to keep a food journal on paper for a while but I got tired of it, but I use my iPod/computer every day so I'm more likely to keep track of what I am eating!  The easiest way I've found to stay within your calorie goal is to PLAN!  Know what you're going to eat before you eat it.  I work in an office too, so I spend about 6-7 hours a day sitting at a desk.  Before I leave the house for the day I know how many calories I'm going to consume for breakfast and lunch (because I brown bag it)  and I have dinner planned for that evening.  If my FI and I are going to have a heavier dinner, I need to have a lower calorie lunch and if my breakfast or lunch is calorie heavy, dinner needs to be light!  So far I've lost 10 lbs, I've been serious about it for the past month.  I'm hoping to lose 30 more before 03/03/12!

alyss21mom

Thanks for the info.  I just signed up yesterday at myfitnesspal.  I was shocked after I filled out the food/exercise journal.  It told me I was in the Starvation Mode which might be why I have been at a plateau for over a week.  Today I ate more.  I hope this works.