This might be a dumb question...
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This might be a dumb question...
| Fri, 06-25-2004 - 1:30pm |
but I'll ask anyway cuz I've been thinking too much today. Lets say you are burning 500 calories a day with exercise and your goal is to consume 1500 calories a day. So should you still eat just the 1500 or should you eat 2000 because you are burning 500? If you eat 1500 is your body more likely to hold onto the fat because you are really only getting 1000 calories?
BTW, these are hypothetical numbers not what I'm doing personally.
Amanda
285/239.5/150

I'll give you an example: I used to justify eating entire boxes of Hamburger Helper, Pizza buffetts, and triple-cheeseburgers because I was "working out". Do you think I lost any weight? If anything, I gained 10 lbs. a month. To lose weight effectively, you must cut back eating AND exercise more.
Have a nice day,
Tony
323/283/220
Here's a good website that you can plug in your activity level/current weight to see how much you should eat.
http://www.dietitian.com/ibw/ibw.html
Hugs, Brenda
Hugs, Brenda
Thanks for posting that reference!
Amy
But now I have another question... It says for me in order to lose 2 lbs a week I should be eating 2,600 calories a day. My Fitday profile says I should eat almost 2,400 calories a day. That just seems like an awful lot to me, I think I've been averaging around 1800-2100 a day thinking that is too much as well, but with the increased exercise I've been doing the past 2 months I'm hungry a lot. Should I really try to eat 2,400-2,600 calories a day?? It just seems wrong to me to be able to eat that much a lose weight, but I've been struggling lately with only losing about 2 lbs a month and have been thinking I need to try something different. Last month I somehow managed to lose 4, but I still feel like I'm working awfully hard for only 2 or 4 lbs.
Amanda
hippolytes
If you don't think exercise can dramatically affect the number of calories required to sustain the body, go to any of the BMR calculators on the web and run the figures. My BMR is approximately 1660 calories; but depending on my activity level, I should consume somewhere around 1900-2800 calories a day to maintain my weight. If I go 500 calories below that figure, then voila! I lose a pound a week. Exercise makes a HUGE difference, but it's most effective when combined with a sensible eating plan.
To 2littlefischers: If you eat 2400 calories and continue to exercise as you have been, you will maintain your weight. If you eat 1900 calories a day and maintain your current activity level, you will lose one pound a week. If you ate 1400 calories a day and maintained your current activity level, you could lose two pounds a week. Or, you could continue to eat 1900 calories a day and increase your activity level. Good luck!