Calorie Counting and Exercise

[bubbly1126]

I''m a little confused.

Is the goal calorie count supposed to be before the amount worked off during exercise is subtracted or before?

Ex. Say my goal is 1400 calories a day. I consume more, say, 1600. And I exercise and work off 400cal. If I subtracted that from the 1600 that leaves me with 1200, which is 200 less than I need. So do I eat 200 more? Or do I consume 1400 and not calculate in the amount worked off at all?

This is probably a really simple concept but I''ve been known for not understanding simple things while being able to comprehend complicated things. haha. I''m weird.

 

[emeraldlover1]

Unfortunatley its never that exact. Use the calories as a rough guideline to make sure that you are on track. You need a certian amount of calories for your brain and body to function. So if you plan on keeping that around 1400 then I wouldn''t worry about how many calories you burn working out. I try to stick to between 1400-1600 calories per day. On my high cardio days I usually burn say 650-1000 calories per session. That doesn''t mean I should eat more, unless of course I''m hungry. Some of those days if I''m working out alot I guess I probably consume about 200-300 more calories but more or less because I''m hungry. Some days I don''t. If you try and monitor your calories based on how many you burned working out - what you consumed I think you''ll be surprised how inexact a science it is. Think about it more as a consistency = results rather than the daily calorie + and - subtraction.

To answer your question...no you shouldn''t add more than maybe 200 calories on the days you work out. Just because I burn 600+ calories a session does not mean that I am going to eat 600 more. I hope that makes sense.

 

[bubbly1126]

Yes! Thank you so much! I was getting so confused trying to even figure it out so I knew that someone here would know the answer.

Another question... I know machines and even science itself are never ever exact. There are always varying factors, but, would you say that the machines at the gym (ex. treadmill, elliptical, etc.) are pretty good on giving a reading for the calories burned?

I've been trying to read up on all things exercise and everything I read tells me I should be burning more calories for how long I'm working out on whatever machine I'm using but the thing is... the numbers I'm getting are way off.

Is it better just to focus on having a good workout vs how many calories you're being told you're burning?

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 12/27/2008 11:04:18 PM
Author: inhisarms17
Yes! Thank you so much! I was getting so confused trying to even figure it out so I knew that someone here would know the answer.

Another question... I know machines and even science itself are never ever exact. There are always varying factors, but, would you say that the machines at the gym (ex. treadmill, elliptical, etc.) are pretty good on giving a reading for the calories burned?

I''ve been trying to read up on all things exercise and everything I read tells me I should be burning more calories for how long I''m working out on whatever machine I''m using but the thing is... the numbers I''m getting are way off.

Is it better just to focus on having a good workout vs how many calories you''re being told you''re burning?

I never trust those machines at the gym. First off who knows how any of those machines are calibrated. They also can''t determine how in shape you are unless you are wearing a heart rate monitor. Over the years of wearing a heart rate monitor and working with an exercize physiologist to determine my bmr I have a pretty good idea of what I burn working out and what I do when I''m not. Even those devices aren''t that exact.

You have to remember that you are buring calories when you aren''t working out. For example purposes lets say on an hourly basis you burn 50 calories resting. If you workout for that hour and your machine says you burned 600 calories then you burned 550 calories more than you would have if you weren''t working out. However, as I mentioned the machines most likely won''t give you an accurate reading but they are good for reassuring you that the work you are putting in is working.

Personally, I would focus on having a great workout, ridding your body of toxins, challenging your heart, and becoming stronger. The minute the calorie burning becomes the focus it becomes more of a chore rather than something you should do for your overall health. Personally, I work out to set goals and break them. It makes me feel accomplished when I meet my goals.

You''ll never be able to calculate the number of calories you burn then subtract if from what you are eating to get the number of pounds you will loose. There are far too many other variables involved. For example, hormones, stress, and sleep all effect the way your body performs ultimatley effecting your metabolism. These are things you can''t predict. That way if you use the calories consumed vs calories expended as a guidline you most likeley will end up loosing.

As someone mentioned in your other thread, the best way for you to see results with exercize is to make sure your diet is up to par. I really do believe that sucess with long term sustained weight loss is 80% diet as others have mentioned. That doesn''t mean that you have to be perfect...I try to give myself 20% wiggle room every day. Hope this helps!

 

[AmberGretchen]

One thing I have read, if this helps, is that machines that have been around for long, such as treadmills and bikes, tend to have more accurate calorie counts than newer machines like ellipticals. But as emeraldlover so accurately states, it really is an estimate no matter what and I wouldn''t try to eat extra calories based on that, unless you are super-hungry with what you are eating, then maybe add in a healthy snack or two.

 

[marcy]

You might create an account at sparkpeople.com (it''s free). They base things on your current weight, age, height, etc and calculate calories burned, etc. Good luck!

 

[Haven]

I do not think the machines are accurate.

As for calorie counting, the best advice I can give you is to NOT focus on numbers and calories and time spent on machines. Instead, take an honest inventory of your eating and exercising habits, and then commit to change things a little bit at a time.

Example: If you eat a bagel and full-fat cream cheese for breakfast every weekday, cut down to three weekdays of bagel and two weekdays of a protein shake/breakfast bar/egg white omelet/anything healthier. Over time, cut it down to only two bagels a week, and then to only one bagel a week.
If you do not work out at all, start walking for 30 minutes a day, two to three days a week. Then go up to four, and then maybe throw in some time on a treadmill.

If you slightly alter your habits and commit to making small changes, you are more likely to stick to your new habits and be successful in the long run than if you try a complete overhaul of your lifestyle all at once.

Just for anecdote''s sake: My mom used to eat that bagel and cream cheese for breakfast every morning. She switched to eating Luna bars instead, and did not change one other thing. Not one. She lost 40 pounds in ten months. All from cutting out bagels!

 

[steph72276]

I second the sparkpeople account...it is great for tracking all those things and it will let you know how many calories your body needs to take in

 

[cocolaw]

ive always used www.fitday.com ...this is probably a lot like the other site! great for tracking calories and changes

 

[babysteps]

Goal calories should be net calories for the day (i.e. after exercise is factored in). But, as some others have said, you can get very hung up on this and not make the most of what you''re trying to do. I would say count calories for a while if you really don''t have a handle on your daily food intake or the average number of calories you consume in a day, since nutrition is important and you need to have a sense of where you might want to make changes. But to count, I have found you need to write down every bite you put in your mouth - it is SO easy to underestimate what''s consumed and a food diary is very helpful. Once you feel you have your diet on firm ground, I agree with those who say just focus on getting in a great workout. Most experts seem to agree you shouldn''t have less than 1200 net calories a day to avoid slowing down your metabolism (and, it''s hard to get adequate nutrition on less cals than that - it''s very restrictive.) Good luck!

 

[just looking]

Using tools to help an individual monitor their goals and approaches to achieve those goals is a great touch to any personal training program.

Unfortunately a great deal of these training enthusiasts no very little of proper diet and training so the numbers are just that, numbers. There are two examples one is called an "anabolic state" and catabolic state. Anabolic means to "build" and catabolic means to "waste".

Allot of weight loss programs are only concerned about numbers...ie weight. The problem is every time a person try to loose weight they also loose muscle mass, when you loose muscle mass it makes it that much harder to loose weight the next time. Not all calories are the same and one has to find the optimum balance between nutrition and working out to make optimum use of the calorie intake.

Good Luck