Confused About Calorie Counting Myfitnesspal

Do you know what a calorie is? It's a measurement of energy in a food substance. You have to have enough of them for the energy to excersize. You have to excersize to help your heart and to tone, which is why you need calories if you aer excersizing. Just not eating calories won't give you all the benefits that you need by excersizing.... so even if you reduce your caloric intake of bad foods, you still need to have an active life.

Also, there are things as "empty calories". All foods have calories, some "empty" like sugars and unhealthy foods. Empty calories you want to avoid. They fill you up, but your stomach has nutrition 'detectors". You may have a full stomach, but your stomach is sill hungry b/c it isn't full of nutrient, so it tells your brain to eat more, in hopes that it will get something of substance.

So, instead of just calorie counting (most reputable dieticians/nutritionists advise to avoid this), so they ask you to focus on the QUALITY and portion size of food as well as trying to stay on caloric goal. So, if you are making homemade soup, reduce sodium content, don't use "cream of condensed soups" b/c they are also full of unnecessary preservatives and such. Use fresh or frozen veggies instead of canned for the same reason, and also b/c they are higher in nutritional value.

Okay, so these sites explain it a lot better!:

http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/nutrition_answers/nw_wh...

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/wei...

1200 calories is the minimum amount that a healthy woman needs to physically function each day. Anything below that, and you will send your body into starvation mode, where it will actually hang on to your fat (your body goes into preservation mode becauase it thinks it's starving).

So if 1200 is your minimum, and you are burning calories off with exercise, you need to eat those back to be at the 1200 minimum.
With 1200 calories/day...you ARE at a deficit. I'm guessing that 1200 calories is considerably lower than what you were taking in before you started to diet.
The website is just helping you lose weight safely. You should not be losing faster than 2lbs/week.

I would not go below 1200 calories. Because (like another post said) your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose weight. If you are eating less than 1200 calories in general during the day, you need to amp it up. Also - make sure you are measuring everything. I know sometimes we estimate a teaspoon here, tablespoon there, but all of that stuff adds up!!

I aim for 1200 calories per day and whatever I eat over, I work out. I usually am within 50 calories (+/-) of 1200 on a daily basis. I have lost 8 lbs over the last 8 weeks and only work out about 20-25 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week.

If you don't eat enough calories your body will go into "starvation" mode and will hold on to any fat you might have thinking it will need it to survive. So if you are exercising but not eating enough calories you will find that you will not loose any weight because your body thinks it needs everything it has already. It will also slow your metabolism down to keep those reserves around as long as it can.
So, yes, if you are eating the bare minimum of calories then you need to eat enough to make up for any burned during exercise.

if you aren't starving, then don't eat your exercise calories. I like to eat half my exercise calories. But now that I"m older, I can't loose weight that way. Now I don't eat exercise calories and it makes M. sad.

1200 is the average. Your daily requirement may be more or less depending on baseline activity, current metabolism, and overall nutrition. I don't have a link handy, but I'm sure there aer plenty of websites that will help you determine your minimal caloric requirement based on current height weight and activity level.
A 5'10 active person will require more calories for basic life functions than a sedentary 5'2" person. Add some weight or resistive exercise into your routine. It will increase muscle mass which will raise your metabolism, as well as help to maintain/increase your bone density. If you eat the same number of calories that you burn, you are not likely to see any results. If you are not burning more calories than you eat between exercise, breathing, etc, your body will not metabolize the fat the you currently have. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to create a calorie deficit, especially if you are exercising. Eating the same and adding exercise should do the trick---eating more healthfully and conciously and exercising is even better. I'm fairly certain that I eat well below 1200 calories a good bit of the time, and I still have enough energy to chase my 6 and 8 year old boys around, work at a physically demanding job, and train for road races. However, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. I try to limit sugar and processed foods as much as possible. But don't get M. wrong, I love to sit down with a pint of Ben and Jerry's and watch some Big Bang Theory, or have a beer or three on the weekends. Its all in moderation, and I think an occasional splurge keeps your body on its toes so to speak, and helps it to release some of those extra pounds. Eat healthy, fiber rich food, exercise and drink lots of water. The weight will come off, it just might take a while. And remember, the closer you get to your goal weight the harder it gets to lose. Just stick with it, stay well fed, well hydrated and active!

The idea of eating your work calories is because 1200 is the lowest we should be getting in any one day. As long as you are eating at least 1200 then you do not need to eat our exercise calories, but if you feel hungry don't be afraid to eat them, you will still lose weight. And try never to fall below the 1200 mark. I am on that site too, it is a great tool.

There is also a question forum on the site were you can get a lot of advice about this and any other weight loss topic! You may find more info there then here, but it can never hurt to ask in both places :)