MFP calorie settings too low?

Yogi_Carl
Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My MFP default calculations would have me eating around 1400 calories per day (160lbs, 63 inches, 53 years of age male; target weight 140lbs). I have been struggling with this and beating myself up for eating over late at night and not seeing much progress weight-wise.

I have been seeing my muscle mass go steadily down along with fat, despite eating enough protein and strength training. Clearly something not right there - it seems my body is using protein as an energy source because my calorie intake is too low. Do you think?

I used the Harris Benedict formula today and, including moderate exercise 3-5 times a week, this formula has my TDEE as 2374 and with a 500 calorie deficit to lose weight, has my daily calorie quota as 1874. Big difference.

So I will go with this and keep an eye on muscle mass maintenance and fat loss and see how things are in a couple of weeks.

Not trusting to MFP calculations though - haven't worked for me.

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    so what settings did you put into MFP - 2 lbs/week ? sedentary ?
  • Lysander666
    Lysander666 Posts: 275 Member
    Your muscle mass is going down because you are in a calorific deficit. So you will be losing water as well as glycogen from the muscles.

    When you go to maintenance or surplus you should fill out. I did.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    so what settings did you put into MFP - 2 lbs/week ? sedentary ?

    No. -1lbs/week, sedentary (because I have a sit down job) and then eating back calories from working out as extra.
  • Dr_Gains
    Dr_Gains Posts: 81 Member
    glycogen levels are either depleted or filled through carbohydrates. Maintaining muscle mass while taking in less calories requires you maintaining strength and intensity in the gym. I just went through a 4 month 14 pound cut for summer. Energy levels were horrible and being in a long term calorie deprivation stage made it hard to maintain everything in the gym work etc but will power got me through it. Best things i found that helped were putting most of my calories around my workout. Put majority of carbs post workout. Only strength i lost was 2 reps on bench press. Needless to say im glad its over. caloric deprivation can bring out the devil in me.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    No. -1lbs/week, sedentary (because I have a sit down job) and then eating back calories from working out as extra.

    So if you clocked 474 calories of exercise you would have got to the same point ?

    I'm not seeing a big difference in the calculation methods, to be honest. Just a difference in the exercise calories assumed in "moderate exercise 3-5 times a week" and the actual calories you clocked.
  • LanderRose81
    LanderRose81 Posts: 237 Member
    So I have also been struggling with my MFP calorie settings - it says I should intake 1310 a day. I go over OFTEN because that just isn't enough. I just calculated my intake using the Harris-Benedict formula as well and it has me set at 2338. Interesting. I doubt I eat that much :laugh: but I will be adjusting my settings. I haven't lost weight in months, so maybe this is partly what will help.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    No. -1lbs/week, sedentary (because I have a sit down job) and then eating back calories from working out as extra.

    So if you clocked 474 calories of exercise you would have got to the same point ?

    I'm not seeing a big difference in the calculation methods, to be honest. Just a difference in the exercise calories assumed in "moderate exercise 3-5 times a week" and the actual calories you clocked.

    I see what you mean, as the MFP base formula does not factor in exercise calories, whereas the Harris Benedict formula does.

    OK so back to my first point - I'm still often hungry and seeing a drop of around 0.5lb muscle mass per week along with 0.5lb fat and that is with around 14lbs to go to my target weight. Seems a lot of muscle to be losing, especially as I am strength training (3 sets to failure at around 8-12 reps).
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
    I'm torn about it too. If I eat my TDEE I gain weight. If I went by MFP suggestions I would be on a 1200 calorie diet which is simply not enough food. My normal week is to exercise 6 days out of 7 and about 2-3 hours a day burning around 700-1500 HRM calories per session.

    I am a big believer that anything under 1200 calories a day is just wrong. IMO I don't think girls shouldn't be under 1400 and Men under 1700. This journey is about learning to live a healthy lifestyle and not go on a diet your not going to be able to maintain for the rest of your life. Eating 1200 calories a day is probably not going to work in the long run.
  • massage_gal
    massage_gal Posts: 76 Member
    Try this instead of TDEE: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    TDEE is for maintenance. IIFYM is for losing. It gave me a totally different number, and one I could live with.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Try this instead of TDEE: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    TDEE is for maintenance. IIFYM is for losing. It gave me a totally different number, and one I could live with.

    Thanks for this.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    Try this instead of TDEE: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    TDEE is for maintenance. IIFYM is for losing. It gave me a totally different number, and one I could live with.

    Thanks for this.
    Depletion of muscle glycogen shows up as a lose of lean mass. I'm not sure how much fat you have on your frame or how intense your weight training is, but it's kinda inevitable that some muscle mass will be lost. Try eating at maintenance for a month and increase your weight training progressively for that time period, then go back to about a 20% deficit based on TDEE as see how it goes.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    OK so back to my first point - I'm still often hungry and seeing a drop of around 0.5lb muscle mass per week along with 0.5lb fat and that is with around 14lbs to go to my target weight. Seems a lot of muscle to be losing, especially as I am strength training (3 sets to failure at around 8-12 reps).
    How much protein you eating grams per day ? (closed diary)
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Protein set to 1lb per kilo. The only time I go under my protein levels is when I have done say 60 mins cardio and MFP calorie levels increase accordingly along with protein level. If it's a strength day however, I will match my protein levels.
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
    This website is pretty amazing- I would use TDEE so you eat enough. And if you feel you're not eating enough- eat more. Especially if you're exercising. If doing this correctly-anyone "dieting" should never feel hungry or starved.

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
  • Erikalynne18
    Erikalynne18 Posts: 558 Member
    I just plugged your info into the Scooby calorie counter and found close to the same #'s as you so i'd go with the numbers you found :)

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    And YES mfp can set calories too low for some people. It set me as 1200 in the beginning even though I have a very active job/ lifestyle. But I did some reading and found a much better calorie goal after realizing the 1200 wasn't enough for me. (And still lost weight, without feeling sick so I think I did it right lol).

    Listen to your body :) Good luck with your goals.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I'm torn about it too. If I eat my TDEE I gain weight.

    Then what you think is your TDEE, isn't.
  • Sheila_Ann
    Sheila_Ann Posts: 365 Member
    Try this instead of TDEE: http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
    TDEE is for maintenance. IIFYM is for losing. It gave me a totally different number, and one I could live with.

    Thanks for this.
    Depletion of muscle glycogen shows up as a lose of lean mass. I'm not sure how much fat you have on your frame or how intense your weight training is, but it's kinda inevitable that some muscle mass will be lost. Try eating at maintenance for a month and increase your weight training progressively for that time period, then go back to about a 20% deficit based on TDEE as see how it goes.

    ^ this worked for me! I up my calories to my maintenance for a month and then went back to a deficit. Good luck!
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    Protein set to 1lb per kilo. The only time I go under my protein levels is when I have done say 60 mins cardio and MFP calorie levels increase accordingly along with protein level. If it's a strength day however, I will match my protein levels.
    I'm sure you meant 1g per kilo. Anyway, try increasing that to 1g per lb of lean mass and continue with weight training and with no cardio before that training as see what happens.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Protein set to 1lb per kilo. The only time I go under my protein levels is when I have done say 60 mins cardio and MFP calorie levels increase accordingly along with protein level. If it's a strength day however, I will match my protein levels.
    I'm sure you meant 1g per kilo. Anyway, try increasing that to 1g per lb of lean mass and continue with weight training and with no cardio before that training as see what happens.

    Sorry - yes, 1g per kilo!
    I'll try that - thanks.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    I just plugged your info into the Scooby calorie counter and found close to the same #'s as you so i'd go with the numbers you found :)

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    And YES mfp can set calories too low for some people. It set me as 1200 in the beginning even though I have a very active job/ lifestyle. But I did some ready and found a much better calorie goal after realizing the 1200 wasn't enough for me. (And still lost weight, without feeling sick so I think I did it right lol).

    Listen to your body :) Good luck with your goals.

    Thank you. I found Scooby as well a while back but the calorie settings were quite high I thought at the time and didn't trust it. Rethinking now.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    MFP calorie calculator way underestimates my calories. According to MFP I should eat 1500 cals/day for maintenance. The reality is that 1500 cals/day is too low for me even for cutting. I lose at 1850 cals/day (where Katch McArdle says I should maintain) and I actually maintain at around 1900-2000 cals/day. I probably wouldn't go below 1700 cals/day on a cut as I'm already at a healthy body fat percentage. I'm currently eating to gain strength and not tracking. I'm pretty sure I'm eating over 2000 cals a day.

    Anyway, just to concur that MFP's calculator does not accurately calculate calories for everyone. I'd say the error probably comes from the fact that although I'm short, I have a high lean body mass for my height, and I don't think its formula takes that into account, while the Katch McArdle formula does.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If I eat my TDEE I gain weight.

    then however many calories you are eating is NOT your TDEE!
  • TwelveSticks
    TwelveSticks Posts: 288 Member
    I've actually just posted a Blog entry about the fun-and-games involved with working out your TDEE:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TwelveSticks/view/what-is-my-tdee-544304

    The online calculators can give you up to 20% different numbers, and even then they are only averages. However, if you have been logging all your food and recording your weight on a regular basis, you can work out your actual TDEE easily. That way you know for sure how much you need on a daily basis, given your normal exercise levels and you can then work out how much you should be eating (say, -20% of TDEE) in order to lose...
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    MFP calculates only for the base amount to keep your organs functional, plus for normal daily activities. It does not include exercise.

    Many people put in "sedentary" as their activity level because they have a desk job. But sedentary should be defined as "just laying around all day". Not people who are up and moving about even if they do sit at their job.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member

    OK so back to my first point - I'm still often hungry and seeing a drop of around 0.5lb muscle mass per week along with 0.5lb fat and that is with around 14lbs to go to my target weight. Seems a lot of muscle to be losing, especially as I am strength training (3 sets to failure at around 8-12 reps).

    I'm curious......how are you determining that half of your weight loss is muscle mass? If you're relying on bio-electrical impedance I wouldn't rely on that degree of accuracy as results can be variable based on you state of hydration on any given day.

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