MFP calorie recommendations

funkyspunky871

Okay, so, I was just playing around with the settings menu to check if everything was right. Everything was the way it's been for a while - I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I plan on exercising 6 times a week. (I haven't been exercising at all though) So, I clicked submit and it lowered my calories by 20 and my fat grams by one. Why did it do this? I haven't changed anything, and I haven't lost any weight since the last time I checked it.

Anyways...now that I'm doing the 30-day-shred (and plan on doing these walkathome videos afterward), I changed my settings to "I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I plan on exercising 7 times a week." I still got 1470 calories and 49 grams of fat.

I thought that was a little weird so (just messing with it) I put in "I want to lose 2 pounds a week, I plan on exercising 0 times a week." I still got 1470 calories and 49 grams of fat.

I'm confused. Exercising 7 times a week and getting an exercise goal of 2010 along with 1470 calories subtracted from my BMR gives me a 5,790 calorie deficit for the entire week. That's 1.6 pounds, not 2.

Exercising 0 times a week with 1470 calories subtracted from my BMR gives me a 3780 calorie deficit for the week...which is a little over a pound.

But both times I got this message from MFP:

If you follow this plan...
Your projected weigh loss is: 2.0 lbs/week
You should lose 10.0 lbs. by July 23

How can this be?

rjadams

mfp does't include what you plan to exercise in your recommended calories. it adds them as you actually do the exercise. I am guessing it went down at first because your weight is lower now than when you started and you need less calories to maintain.

erickirb

The first responder is correct. imagine if you entered you would work out 6 days a week for an hour a day, then did nothing. If MFP based calories based on your "planned" exercise you would end up gaining weight not loosing.

Just make sure you enter the exercise on the day you perform it and MFP will add calories to those days.

funkyspunky871

Okay, that makes sense.

But, if I don't exercise at all, MFP still says I'll lose 2 pounds a week with only a 3780 deficit for the week. What's with that?

bebbjeb

Because MFP is assuming and recommending that you eat all your exercise calories back, so the net calories that you have is going to be the same.