Please help with understanding calories calculated

Posts: 33,498
6/11/12 3:25 P

There is no useful reason to subtract exercise calories burned from food. That is backwards. It really does that?

You should subtract food from exercise calories burned (plus your daily BMR as well). Adding up all your burn sources and deducting food, you want a 500 calorie per day deficit to lose an average of a pound a week.

Subtracting exercise burn only from food eaten actually tells you nothing whatsoever. I could outline three people with the same result from that calculation - one would gain weight, one would lose and one would maintain.

You need to consider BMR, not just exercise.

Posts: 54,075
6/11/12 6:55 A

As long as your calories burned goal reflects how much exercise you're doing, you should be fine to eat in the calorie range that SP suggests. If you "eat back" all of the calories you burn, that would help you maintain your weight instead of losing.

Hope that helps,

Coach Jen

Posts: 410
6/11/12 2:17 A

I have a heart rate monitor that calculates calories burned and calories in along with taking in account age weight Etc it calculates ur calorie target with this info then deducts calories eaten and calories burned from exercise
What I'm not getting is if u have to eat up to ur calorie target once ur calorie burn is subtracted from the calories u eat
Just not sure of this
The hrm is mio Triumph
If anyone can help that would be great thank u so much