Can someone explain my calorie goals for me when I work out?

SCogs18

Hi Ladies!  I used to be really active on the GIS board, but I've been MIA for a while, but I have an honest question:

I use myfitnesspal and I love it.  My calorie goal for each day is no more than 1340 when I do NOT work out.  I always make sure to eat at least 1200.  I am currently doing Couch to 5k (which I love and you should try!).  When I work out and burn claories....say 250 calories-ish....do I need to eat 250 extra calories or am I good as long as I always eat AT LEAST 1200 calories a day (even when I work out)?

I'm just not sure and I want to make sure I don't under-eat and go into "starvation mode".  I'm still working on the whole eat-to-lose-weight thing, but I'm getting much better about it.

entropicbeauty

Yes, you need to eat those calories back.

If your calorie goal for a day is 1200 but then you exercise and burn 500 calories you need to eat those back because otherwise your net calories for the day is only 700 and THAT puts you in starvation mode!

If your calorie goal is 1340 and you burn 500 calories with exercise, that brings you down to 840 calories. At the VERY least you will want to eat another 360 calories back to get up to 1200 net minimum.

SCogs18

Thank you!

shayna25

i'm so glad you asked that because I've been trying to figure that out for myself!  it's so hard to get myself to eat those calories back though....it feels like i'm eating too much!

jam+1231

i have to respectfully disagree and say you do not need to eat the calories you burn when you workout. unless you are marathon training or something you are not burning so much that you will go into starvation mode.  for a person who weighs 150-200 pounds, a calorie goal to lose weight is 1200, and 200-250 pounds is 1500.  it is recommended to get 1 hour of moderate intensity per day on top of eating less, which is about 300 calories burned per day (that is of course if you only do moderate intensity like brisk walking).  this formula leads to a loss of 1-2 pounds per week, which is a healthy pace. you *can* replace the calories with food but you will really slow down the weight loss, and you dont have to.

mwaid22

I use myfitnesspal.com as well!  And I love it!

When you fill out the profile they usually ask you what level you work out such as low activity, moderate activity, extreme.  What ever you chose for that will determine your caloric intake.  I don't think you'll going in to starvation mode as long as you eat as least that minimum amount.  Sometimes I do eat the calories that I burn (not all of them) just so I can get something in my stomach because I always get hungry after a long run.  So Make sure you eat at least 1200-1300 calories a day and I think that you should be fine, but anything lower than that will be starving.  At the end of your food journal when you hit "complete this food entry" it will tell you how much you will lose in 5 weeks.  There have been times I ate only 1000 calories and it had a denote that said I needed to eat more.  So it will tell you if you're not eating enough.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_can-someone-explain-my-calorie-goals-for-me-when-i-work-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:1d8faf92-2108-4a69-b8e7-080b8239e52bPost:6744c0b5-9db2-4a85-b62e-1610fc35766b">Re: Can someone explain my calorie goals for me when I work out?</a>:
[QUOTE]i have to respectfully disagree and say you do not need to eat the calories you burn when you workout. unless you are marathon training or something you are not burning so much that you will go into starvation mode.  for a person who weighs 150-200 pounds, a calorie goal to lose weight is 1200, and 200-250 pounds is 1500.  it is recommended to get 1 hour of moderate intensity per day on top of eating less, which is about 300 calories burned per day (that is of course if you only do moderate intensity like brisk walking).  this formula leads to a loss of 1-2 pounds per week, which is a healthy pace. you *can* replace the calories with food but you will really slow down the weight loss, and you dont have to.
Posted by jam+1231[/QUOTE]


I weigh less than 150 lbs, and if I eat less than 1500 calories a day and workout more than 3 times a week, it's not enough fuel for me.  So I don't know wher eyou got those numbers from, but they're whack.