How to handle “earned” calories?

This topic contains 4 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by smulan76 6 years, 10 months ago.

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smulan76

8:45 am
13 Feb 18
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Hi everyone,

I’m a newbie here and I’m using an app to track my calorie intake. However, this app is also automatically tracking my “exercise” (through Apple Watch) which means that it counts everything I do (not only workouts) and turns it into calories that I can “use”, i.e I have one value for eaten calories but the value for “remaining” calories does not constantly go down but it fluctuates during the day depending on how much I walk/move. My TDDE is 1639 but at the end of the day I might have consumed 2000 and still have calories left. This feels a bit confusing as I am trying to lose a few kilos and I don’t want to overeat. I am following a 5:2 plan in my calorie tracker.

Thanks for your input!
Pia Maria

Amazon

9:14 am
13 Feb 18
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How much exercise contributes to weight loss is an on-going discussion and earned calories is a contraversial subject.
Most experts will say that exercise contributes 5-10% of weight loss and the other 90-95% is down to calorie restriction.
Exercise is good for us in many ways but IMHO it is best not to rely on it as a weight loss tool.

For the purpose of following 5:2 you should use the resources tab at the top of the page.
Enter your goal weight and select sedentary and use the TDEE it calculates.
This will ensure that you do not overeat and also once you reach your goal weight you won’t have to make further adjustments which will be a huge help in keeping the weight off.

It is also worth bearing in mind that it is impossible for apps to accurately tell us how many calories we have burned, they are estimates based on averages so there is a substantial margin of error.
The other thing is that if someone is trying to lose weight it is counter intuitive to eat more because they have exercised. Move more, eat less is the way to go.

Hope this helps 🙂

CalifDreamer

4:19 pm
13 Feb 18
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I have always ignored the “earned calories” thing. Like Amazon mentioned, it’s based on averages and too imprecise. Exercise is good for the body for many reasons, but it’s not a dependable thing for weight loss unless you’re spending hours doing it. That’s just my opinion based on personal experience.

diverdog

6:31 pm
13 Feb 18
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Most of the wearables and calorie counters on gym machines are wildly optimistic on calories burned. While exercise does burn some additional calories it’s best to ignore it unless you are very lean.

smulan76

4:47 am
14 Feb 18
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Thank you all for your inputs, highly appreciated! 🤗