Pretty sure I don't understand calorie adjustment
juliebowman4
Posts: 784 Member
Hi folks.
I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this right.....
My goal is to lose the 30lbs I put on when I quit smoking last year.
I'm 44yr old woman, 5ft 5", start weight was 154lbs.
I set my calorie goal at 1200/day and I don't sway from that, no matter what I do in exercise. I try to get in a 5k walk (just over 3 miles) daily, quite brisk (8min per kilometer).
I've gotten quite good at packing decent nutrition into 1200 calories......but I see that folks adjust their intake and eat their exercise calories.
Should I be doing this? Why, what is the reasoning?
I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this right.....
My goal is to lose the 30lbs I put on when I quit smoking last year.
I'm 44yr old woman, 5ft 5", start weight was 154lbs.
I set my calorie goal at 1200/day and I don't sway from that, no matter what I do in exercise. I try to get in a 5k walk (just over 3 miles) daily, quite brisk (8min per kilometer).
I've gotten quite good at packing decent nutrition into 1200 calories......but I see that folks adjust their intake and eat their exercise calories.
Should I be doing this? Why, what is the reasoning?
0
Replies
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when your body works harder it needs more calories and specially the nutrition's
the 1200 which you set is for sedentary life style So without any exercise or major daily activities. Most people here dont eat all their exercise calories back but a part of it.0 -
A lot of us who only get 1200 would rather eat more.
MFP sets up a deficit based on no exercise. So if you eat back your exercise calories, that deficit doesn't change. If you don't eat them, it just makes the deficit bigger. 0 -
Mfp is set up using NEAT which means that you are set at a deficit already before ever working out. So for example let's say you burn 1500 just being alive and doing your daily routine minus exercise (things like breathing,pumping blood, and other vital functions also burn calories). Mfp gives you a deficit from that number like 1200. So if you never worked out you'd be at a 300 calorie per day deficit which means you'd be losing weight. If you worked out you are just increasing that deficit even more which will cause you to lose more. Sounds great right? Well the problem there is that you need to be netting enough calories so that your body can perform basic functions, mfp estimates that caloric number to be 1200 minimum for women. If you do not net at least 1200 you may experience more muscle loss than normal or other signs of malnutrition as your body attempts to get fuel to function. Most recommend you eat half of those exercise calories back to make up for any possible miscalculations in burns and any underestimations of calories eaten.
Eta: some women who are older or very short can get by on 1200 just fine with no issues, even without eating their exercise calories back, but that is not the case for most women.0 -
You put in your stats and MFP spits out a number of calories you should eat based on your expected total daily energy expenditure. This is based on (statistical norms of) on your data including height, weight, age, gender and activity level - sedentary to highly active.
It then takes off 500 or 1000 calories per day off of that base number, depending on whether you selected a 1lb or 2lb per week rate of weight loss. As an aside, MFP will not set your intake lower than 1200 cals, regardless of the numbers you put in.
Because most people set their calorie intake based on their normal activity levels, excluding exercise, they 'earn' the extra calories when they burn more than their daily norm.
For your situation, if you would rather have a consistent caloric intake then you can certainly do that, especially if your exercise is consistent from week to week. Just make sure you're eating enough to fuel your exercise, and not losing weight too fast.
Track your weight and measurements and if you start to see the scale moving more than 2 lbs per week, then slowly up your intake (excluding your first week of restricted calories when the loss can higher due to dropping water weight). Losing weight too fast will mean you're losing muscle as well as fat, not something you want!
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MFP, by default, without overriding is set up so that you lose a given amount of weight weekly - e.g. , say, 1 pound a week. (Or 1.5 or 2 or whatever you set it up for).
It takes your Base Metabolic Rate, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure and your current stats and calculates the calories/deficit you need to achieve your targeted loss.
If you exercise, you burn more and will lose MORE than the targeted 1 pound a week. Eating back your exercise calories puts you back where you should be to stay on target.
Easy Peasy, right?
That being said, it's all an estimate - eating is *always* underestimated and exercise burn over stated. Safer to not eat them all back. 30 to 60% is what Sarge here uses when he's tracking such things and that works out just about right.0 -
juliebowman4 wrote: »Hi folks.
I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this right.....
My goal is to lose the 30lbs I put on when I quit smoking last year.
I'm 44yr old woman, 5ft 5", start weight was 154lbs.
I set my calorie goal at 1200/day and I don't sway from that, no matter what I do in exercise. I try to get in a 5k walk (just over 3 miles) daily, quite brisk (8min per kilometer).
I've gotten quite good at packing decent nutrition into 1200 calories......but I see that folks adjust their intake and eat their exercise calories.
Should I be doing this? Why, what is the reasoning?
Hi
How long have you been doing MFP? after about 6-8 weeks you can look back and see what your average rate of loss has been and then you will see whether you are losing more or less than your goal weight loss per week. If you are losing more than 1.5lbs a week you should really adjust and eat more
With only 30lbs to lose you shouldn't really be aiming at more than 1lb a week .. 1.5 if you must..
The reason people eat back exercise (50 - 75% of the MFP database) is that it's about the long-term: being able to maintain, not blowing through too much LBM as you lose weight, fuelling your activity and enjoying your life. It is not about deprivation dieting, it is about learning a new lifestyle so that you never have to 'lose' weight again
MFP goal calories are based on NEAT (they do not include exercise) ... they are designed so that if you do no purposeful exercise you should lose at the rate you've targeted. If you exercise you eat them back to stay at that point
Does that make sense0 -
Personally, I don't eat back exercise calories. I work them into my daily calorie goal that I try to hit every day.
What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
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after looking at your diary it's apparent you don't use a food scale so chances are you are eating more than 1200 a day anyway.
For example you logged feta..."handful"
wild rice 1cup
banana 1 medium
1 tortilla
lillydale turkey 2.67 slices
but as far as exercise calories go...let me put it this way...would you drive your car to a destination that required 3/4 of a tank of gas and then only put in half a tank to get it back...no because you would eventually run out of gas and that is the way out bodies work...if you don't fuel your workouts you will eventually run out of gas.0 -
after looking at your diary it's apparent you don't use a food scale so chances are you are eating more than 1200 a day anyway.
For example you logged feta..."handful"
wild rice 1cup
banana 1 medium
1 tortilla
lillydale turkey 2.67 slices
but as far as exercise calories go...let me put it this way...would you drive your car to a destination that required 3/4 of a tank of gas and then only put in half a tank to get it back...no because you would eventually run out of gas and that is the way out bodies work...if you don't fuel your workouts you will eventually run out of gas.
I do use a food scale at home, but I'm at the cottage this weekend.....forgot to bring it. When I don't have access to a scale, I tend to log on the side of 'over' rather than under.
The 'handful' of feta was probably 2tbsp at most but I didn't see an option for feta by the tablespoon
When I log things like "1 tortilla" I use the nutrition guide located on the label and match up the calories if I can't find the brand (most Canadian brands can be found, but not all)
Same with the Lillydale turkey. The serving size as per the label is 3.....but I left some on my plate....or sometimes the Canadian serving size/nutritional info is different.
I think I'm pretty accurate.....although I'm sure there's room for improvement. I just ordered a scale to keep at the cottage
The gas in the tank makes sense......I guess I hadn't thought of it because I seem to have a good amount of energy (so far) but as someone mentioned above.....I may not be aware of muscle wasting.
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juliebowman4 wrote: »after looking at your diary it's apparent you don't use a food scale so chances are you are eating more than 1200 a day anyway.
For example you logged feta..."handful"
wild rice 1cup
banana 1 medium
1 tortilla
lillydale turkey 2.67 slices
but as far as exercise calories go...let me put it this way...would you drive your car to a destination that required 3/4 of a tank of gas and then only put in half a tank to get it back...no because you would eventually run out of gas and that is the way out bodies work...if you don't fuel your workouts you will eventually run out of gas.
I do use a food scale at home, but I'm at the cottage this weekend.....forgot to bring it. When I don't have access to a scale, I tend to log on the side of 'over' rather than under.
The 'handful' of feta was probably 2tbsp at most but I didn't see an option for feta by the tablespoon
When I log things like "1 tortilla" I use the nutrition guide located on the label and match up the calories if I can't find the brand (most Canadian brands can be found, but not all)
Same with the Lillydale turkey. The serving size as per the label is 3.....but I left some on my plate....or sometimes the Canadian serving size/nutritional info is different.
I think I'm pretty accurate.....although I'm sure there's room for improvement. I just ordered a scale to keep at the cottage
The gas in the tank makes sense......I guess I hadn't thought of it because I seem to have a good amount of energy (so far) but as someone mentioned above.....I may not be aware of muscle wasting.
Yes I find that not all the food I eat is in the database (I live in Canada too) so I create it in the database with my initials after it.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=Logging+accurately
and as a note even when the package says 3 slices=x grams it isn't always true...I even weigh my bread, lunch meat, crackers, nann bread etc.0 -
juliebowman4 wrote: »Hi folks.
I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this right.....
My goal is to lose the 30lbs I put on when I quit smoking last year.
I'm 44yr old woman, 5ft 5", start weight was 154lbs.
I set my calorie goal at 1200/day and I don't sway from that, no matter what I do in exercise. I try to get in a 5k walk (just over 3 miles) daily, quite brisk (8min per kilometer).
I've gotten quite good at packing decent nutrition into 1200 calories......but I see that folks adjust their intake and eat their exercise calories.
Should I be doing this? Why, what is the reasoning?
Hi
How long have you been doing MFP? after about 6-8 weeks you can look back and see what your average rate of loss has been and then you will see whether you are losing more or less than your goal weight loss per week. If you are losing more than 1.5lbs a week you should really adjust and eat more
With only 30lbs to lose you shouldn't really be aiming at more than 1lb a week .. 1.5 if you must..
The reason people eat back exercise (50 - 75% of the MFP database) is that it's about the long-term: being able to maintain, not blowing through too much LBM as you lose weight, fuelling your activity and enjoying your life. It is not about deprivation dieting, it is about learning a new lifestyle so that you never have to 'lose' weight again
MFP goal calories are based on NEAT (they do not include exercise) ... they are designed so that if you do no purposeful exercise you should lose at the rate you've targeted. If you exercise you eat them back to stay at that point
Does that make sense
Yes! That makes perfect sense.
I've only been doing this....hmm....going into my 3rd week I guess.
I can see how it's important to make sustainable changes.....lol.....but truth be told I can't imagine weighing my food forever......I'm hoping to simply become accustomed to portion sizes that will allow me to maintain my weight loss (once I get there!)
0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »MFP, by default, without overriding is set up so that you lose a given amount of weight weekly - e.g. , say, 1 pound a week. (Or 1.5 or 2 or whatever you set it up for).
It takes your Base Metabolic Rate, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure and your current stats and calculates the calories/deficit you need to achieve your targeted loss.
If you exercise, you burn more and will lose MORE than the targeted 1 pound a week. Eating back your exercise calories puts you back where you should be to stay on target.
Easy Peasy, right?
That being said, it's all an estimate - eating is *always* underestimated and exercise burn over stated. Safer to not eat them all back. 30 to 60% is what Sarge here uses when he's tracking such things and that works out just about right.
Easy-peasy......indeed.
If I can quit smoking, I can do anything!
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juliebowman4 wrote: »after looking at your diary it's apparent you don't use a food scale so chances are you are eating more than 1200 a day anyway.
For example you logged feta..."handful"
wild rice 1cup
banana 1 medium
1 tortilla
lillydale turkey 2.67 slices
but as far as exercise calories go...let me put it this way...would you drive your car to a destination that required 3/4 of a tank of gas and then only put in half a tank to get it back...no because you would eventually run out of gas and that is the way out bodies work...if you don't fuel your workouts you will eventually run out of gas.
I do use a food scale at home, but I'm at the cottage this weekend.....forgot to bring it. When I don't have access to a scale, I tend to log on the side of 'over' rather than under.
The 'handful' of feta was probably 2tbsp at most but I didn't see an option for feta by the tablespoon
When I log things like "1 tortilla" I use the nutrition guide located on the label and match up the calories if I can't find the brand (most Canadian brands can be found, but not all)
Same with the Lillydale turkey. The serving size as per the label is 3.....but I left some on my plate....or sometimes the Canadian serving size/nutritional info is different.
I think I'm pretty accurate.....although I'm sure there's room for improvement. I just ordered a scale to keep at the cottage
The gas in the tank makes sense......I guess I hadn't thought of it because I seem to have a good amount of energy (so far) but as someone mentioned above.....I may not be aware of muscle wasting.
Yes I find that not all the food I eat is in the database (I live in Canada too) so I create it in the database with my initials after it.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=Logging+accurately
and as a note even when the package says 3 slices=x grams it isn't always true...I even weigh my bread, lunch meat, crackers, nann bread etc.
Yes yes.....I've been a tad lazy about logging when it means I need to create it myself and add it to the database.
I typically use my food scale for chicken breast and fish because what I think is a 6oz fillet is usually closer to 7-8oz.
I suppose (and I could be way wrong here) that it depends on ones level of seriousness. I mean...I'm serious about losing the 30lbs....but I'm not serious enough to weigh crackers or bring my scale to a restaurant. If my 1200cal/day goal ends up being 1400, but I don't account for exercise.....wouldn't it just sorta balance out?
Lol, maybe naïve on my part....but it just makes sense that if I eat less (and make it nutrient packed, no garbage) and move more (walking, swimming, working up to jogging) the weight will come off.
Maybe I'm over simplifying it......0 -
If it works for you, no need to change. If, at some point, it stops working, you might consider making a change.
I don't weigh anything, rarely measure by volume (only when I've made an enormous batch of something using the recipe module and want to know how many servings to split it into) and lose just fine logging by eyeball. But I have a fairly long history (1+ years a couple years ago and 9 months this time) of losing successfully that way, and my issues maintaining have nothing to do with logging.0 -
juliebowman4 wrote: »juliebowman4 wrote: »Hi folks.
I'm pretty sure I'm not doing this right.....
My goal is to lose the 30lbs I put on when I quit smoking last year.
I'm 44yr old woman, 5ft 5", start weight was 154lbs.
I set my calorie goal at 1200/day and I don't sway from that, no matter what I do in exercise. I try to get in a 5k walk (just over 3 miles) daily, quite brisk (8min per kilometer).
I've gotten quite good at packing decent nutrition into 1200 calories......but I see that folks adjust their intake and eat their exercise calories.
Should I be doing this? Why, what is the reasoning?
Hi
How long have you been doing MFP? after about 6-8 weeks you can look back and see what your average rate of loss has been and then you will see whether you are losing more or less than your goal weight loss per week. If you are losing more than 1.5lbs a week you should really adjust and eat more
With only 30lbs to lose you shouldn't really be aiming at more than 1lb a week .. 1.5 if you must..
The reason people eat back exercise (50 - 75% of the MFP database) is that it's about the long-term: being able to maintain, not blowing through too much LBM as you lose weight, fuelling your activity and enjoying your life. It is not about deprivation dieting, it is about learning a new lifestyle so that you never have to 'lose' weight again
MFP goal calories are based on NEAT (they do not include exercise) ... they are designed so that if you do no purposeful exercise you should lose at the rate you've targeted. If you exercise you eat them back to stay at that point
Does that make sense
Yes! That makes perfect sense.
I've only been doing this....hmm....going into my 3rd week I guess.
I can see how it's important to make sustainable changes.....lol.....but truth be told I can't imagine weighing my food forever......I'm hoping to simply become accustomed to portion sizes that will allow me to maintain my weight loss (once I get there!)
I tried this a couple of years ago while on maintenance and went back to some old habits, i.e. snacking too much, too many sweets, etc. When I stopped logging everything my accountability went out the window...that is why I am here today. I gained back half the weight I had lost before. While you can absolutely appropriately eyeball portion sizes for maintenance instead of weighing and measuring everything, I encourage you to keep logging what you eat.0 -
Low Intensity Sustained cardio sucks. Try High Intensity Interval Training 3 times a week. I just recently started doing it and I've lost 7 lbs this week alone in addition to watching my diet correctly. Just an idea. 0
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