I tried to do a search on this forum for this question but came up empty handed. I am hoping somebody out there knows the answer. I have restarted Phase I and along with Phase I have been counting my calories, trying to stay between 1200 and 1500 calories per day. Usually I am on the high end of this range. What just occured to me is I have not been taking into account the amount of calories I burn each day from exercise, somedays I burn 400+ calories.

Should I be factoring in those burned calories when calculating my food calories? For example, I eat 1500 cal in one day but burn 400 in exercise (not to mention what I burn during everyday activities), does that mean I am only taking in 1100 calories? I want to avoid going into a "starvation" mode which might slow down my weight loss. Any thoughts?

Nilla

I don't usually factor in my exercise/physical activity when I count calories. If you find that you aren't losing weight or you are feeling very tired then you might want to up your calories a little bit.

Others will be jumping in soon. You could ask the people on the counting calories forum, they do it more seriously then the majority of SBDer's.

Sarah

Thanks Sarahyu!

I just went over to the Counting Calorie Forums and it was one of the top questions. There were conflicting opinions so I will do a little more research but would love any other opinions on this topic.


Nilla

Nilla, it's a good question! Do you ask because you are stalling? Here's the thing...from what I've heard it's nearly impossible to know exactly how many calories you are burning. You can't trust the calculations on the elliptical or treadmill at all, or so I hear. Guesses that are in tables or charts are exactly that, guesses. Only serious scientific equipment would really be able to tell you exactly how many calories you are burning. I'm sure you burn calories all day long on top of your formal exercise, so how do you incorporate those, too? If you *are* stalling, you might want to add in an extra 100 calories (made up of GOOD food, okay?) and see if it helps. If not, try varying your exercise, make sure you get enough water (64 oz a day, at least, not counting crystal light or soda or tea, etc.), change around what and when you eat, and see if it helps, okay?

Good luck, hon!