[bunnypear]

hi all! i'm new to calorie counting and recently just downloaded the myfitnesspal app as per my friend's recommendation. i filled in my stats and was informed that my daily calorie intake should be 1200 calories. i'm actually having problems hitting that number with my current diet. i'm a little confused - when they say 1200 calories, is that the net calories (after subtracting the calories burned from exercise) or is it just the number of calories from my food?

to illustrate my question, here's an example:

food
breakfast: oat milk with weet-bix - 168 calories
lunch: chicken broth with fish balls, tofu and beancurd skin - 228 calories
dinner: wholemeal aglio olio spaghetti - 249 calories
snacks: grapes (52), cashew nuts (170), choc protein shake (240) - 462 calories

total from food: 1107 calories

calories burned:
fast aerobics infused with latin dance moves - 347 calories burned
elliptical trainer - 414 calories burned

* i did strength training as well, but for some reason, myfitnesspal doesn't calculate calories burned for strength training, so i have no idea what they are.

total: 761 calories burned

net: 1107 - 761 = 346 calories

is what i'm doing so far okay? myfitnesspal has been reprimanding me for not meeting my calorie goal, so i'm hoping to get this cleared up.

i would really appreciate it if you lovely ladies could advise me on this. thanks!!

[TripSwitch]

My experience is MFP really overestimates calories burned from exercise... So I don't use it for that... But as far as tracking calories for food I've found it to be pretty spot on...

I use a few different HRM's when I train that I feel give me a better in the "ballpark" number of calories burned... But for me my more important concerns aren't exactly how many calories that I might be burning, but what is my HR doing relative to my training/mph pace and am I staying within my target HR zones for a particular workout...

The question I have is... Are you losing weight with your calories at 1200? Do you have enough energy to maintain those workouts at 1200?

[scoutycat]

from your description of your meals, I don't think you're getting enough nutrition from those choices. I can only see 1-2 servings of fruits or vegetables, when an adult female should be having 7-8/day. Many of the vitamins, micronutrients etc that we need to feel healthy come from veggies and fruits, and I think you're short changing yourself if you typically aren't getting at least 5 a day.

[bunnypear]

sorry for the late reply, i got caught up with life and didn't get a chance to check back until now.

tripswitch - i don't have access to a heart rate monitor because the elliptical machine at home and at the gym doesn't have one and i'm not sure where to buy a portable one. i haven't had problems with my work-out energy-wise; most of the time, it's muscle aches or abrasions that hold me back. i've only really embarked on my weight-loss regime for less than a month, but i did manage to lose 2 pounds this week.

scoutycat - you're definitely right, i'm not getting enough fruits and veggies. i don't particularly like their taste (especially vegetables) and i don't typically have access to fruits when i'm out on the go. i'll work harder at incorporating them into my diet though.

* i think my initial problem was that i was unable to hit the 1200 calories for food each day. my rookie mistake was to eat a lot less than usual because that's what i've been associating with losing weight, but i guess after i work harder at including more nutrition in my diet, i should be able to get closer to that target. i'm definitely hitting the fruit & veggie section of the supermarket after the gym tomorrow!

thank you both very much for taking the time to respond to my post! (: