MFP estimates for TDEE too high for small people

rosebette

I'm going into maintenance because I've plateau'd for about a year and am doing a recomp. I'm over 50, only 5'1.5" and around 120, but not losing anymore so eating at maintenance and doing more strength training to change my body shape. I'm using a Fitbit Charge HR which is showing between 1600 and 1800 or so by the end of the day if I get a decent workout. However, if I set my MFP goal at maintain current weight, it sets me at a base of 1500+ and then adds my exercise calories to that, which is way too many calories, more than the Fitibt says I'm using. I could end up with over 2000, while my fitbit might be giving me only 1600-1800 (and on slower days, as little as 1300). I've decided to set MFP at my BMR, which is 1088, and sync the fibit with that, and it's coming much closer to the number the fitbit gives me at the end of the day. Anyone else have the experience that MFP is overestimating your TDEE and burn rate?

gmallan

You've hit the nail on the head with your title. The numbers MFP gives are an only an estimate giving average figures based on assumptions made with the data you enter. Some people will maintain above and others will maintain below the numbers given. Do what works for you.

The other consideration is accuracy of food tracking but I'm not going to go there

segacs

You're confusing NEAT with TDEE.

The NEAT estimates are pretty good. No calculator is going to be perfect, but they're not bad.

Where you're going wrong, most likely, is on those exercise calorie burns. MFP greatly overestimates those for the vast majority of people. If you are doing strength training, you're probably not burning very many calories doing it. If you're syncing your Fitbit and also logging exercise on top of that, then you're double-counting your burns, too. Just use Fitbit and only manually log exercise that the Fitbit can't log, and it's better to do it on the Fitbit site than on here. That way your numbers should be closer.

As with any estimate, you have to calibrate for real-world results after a while.

Fellow small person in maintenance here, by the way. I'm 5'1" and my TDEE is around 1700 on average, give or take. So I hear ya. (There's a petites in maintenance group that I run in the groups section, if you'd like to stop by: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/109137-petites-in-maintenance

WinoGelato

I'm confused by your post. If you have MFP and FitBit synced then the exercise adjustments you get should bring your total cals up to the amount that FitBit says you burned in a day.

For example, I'm 5'2 and maintaining at 123 lbs set at active activity level. MFP thinks my non exercise maintenance cal level is about 1900. FitBit says my average calories burned are 2200. I should get about a 300 cal exercise adjustment daily, if I burn more it's higher if I burn less its lower.

Do you have them synced?

rosebette

I do have my FitBit and MFP sync'd. However, the only time I get around 2200 on a Fitbit is if I practically knock myself out exercising -- for instance, if I do an hour of kickboxing and then walk a couple of miles and clean my whole house. I'm also 16 years older than you, WinoGelato, which also makes a difference, since metabolism slows as we age. Maybe I should have added "post-menopausal" to the adjective in my post!

WinoGelato

rosebette wrote: »

I do have my FitBit and MFP sync'd. However, the only time I get around 2200 on a Fitbit is if I practically knock myself out exercising -- for instance, if I do an hour of kickboxing and then walk a couple of miles and clean my whole house. I'm also 16 years older than you, WinoGelato, which also makes a difference, since metabolism slows as we age. Maybe I should have added "post-menopausal" to the adjective in my post!

I wasn't saying that your numbers should match mine, I'm trying to understand your original post which I thought you said they didn't match each other. If they are synced them whatever your baseline numbers are on FitBit, when you add the exercise adjustment it should take you up to the number of cals FitBit says you burned.

I'm just not understanding your question I guess. You said they are both synced but are they both set with the same goal (ie maintain, no deficit)?

LivingtheLeanDream

Trust your Fitbit numbers, its a pretty accurate device I've found...although it should all sync sweetly with MFP and come up with almost the same number....

RoxieDawn

Wrist HR's are highly inaccurate.. I am just saying.

But as far as the device sync, it is all taken care of when the data transfers and they should be close if not spot on.. I used one for a while but now I am using a garmin vivosmart.

PinkPixiexox

I find the whole syncing Fitbit with MFP way more confusing than it needs to be (personal opinion - it's probably really straightforward!). I personally keep the two separate. I use Fitbit to work out my calorie burn each day and I use MFP to log my food. Fitbit has been pretty accurate for me

RaspberryTickleChicken

gmallan wrote: »

You've hit the nail on the head with your title. The numbers MFP gives are an only an estimate giving average figures based on assumptions made with the data you enter. Some people will maintain above and others will maintain below the numbers given. Do what works for you.

The other consideration is accuracy of food tracking but I'm not going to go there

+1

I'm 4'10" and have never used MFP #s because I'm as far away from being average in anything. LOL

Try to use an external calculator for a more accurate starting point like this one. This will give you recommended macros in addition to height, age, & activity appropriate TDEE. It's not locked in stone & you may still need to tweak it but it's a good enough baseline to get you started.

Best of luck to you!

dopeysmelly

RaspberryTickleChicken wrote: »

gmallan wrote: »

You've hit the nail on the head with your title. The numbers MFP gives are an only an estimate giving average figures based on assumptions made with the data you enter. Some people will maintain above and others will maintain below the numbers given. Do what works for you.

The other consideration is accuracy of food tracking but I'm not going to go there

+1

I'm 4'10" and have never used MFP #s because I'm as far away from being average in anything. LOL

Try to use an external calculator for a more accurate starting point like this one. This will give you recommended macros in addition to height, age, & activity appropriate TDEE. It's not locked in stone & you may still need to tweak it but it's a good enough baseline to get you started.

Best of luck to you!

+1. I've found it more helpful to just write down (in a spreadsheet, because I'm like that) how much I eat, how much my Garmin thingy says I burn and watch my weight. Over time you get to learn how much you should be eating to maintain given your usual activity level. If I recall correctly, MFP was actually pretty close for me, but everyone's different, so I've always assumed it's just a good place to start more than anything else.

Serah87

rosebette wrote: »

I do have my FitBit and MFP sync'd. However, the only time I get around 2200 on a Fitbit is if I practically knock myself out exercising -- for instance, if I do an hour of kickboxing and then walk a couple of miles and clean my whole house. I'm also 16 years older than you, WinoGelato, which also makes a difference, since metabolism slows as we age. Maybe I should have added "post-menopausal" to the adjective in my post!

I'm 5'2, 46 yrs old and weigh 114 pounds. I maintain between 2100-2300 calories sometimes even higher.

psicocat

I'm 5ft 2, 44 years old. Walking 5 miles a day I burn according to Fitbit approx 1600. I had to tweek mfp and Fitbit to match and now have mfp set to sedentary to get within a 5 calorie window to match Fitbit. Everyone is different. If I eat more than 1400 calories I start to gain weight and have to drop to 1100 to start losing again.

Having list 8st 6lb over 2 years it's taken till recently to know my own body numbers. We are all different.

I recommended mfp set sedentary if you sync with mfp, this works for me and Fitbit does the rest.

tracoleman99

I tend to eat lower than MFP daily allowance during the week because I'm busy and just can't eat that much. I'm not using my UP24 anymore (Jawbone vs. Fitbit) because I was having issues with it, so my exercise calories are only added if I use MapMyRide or MapMyRun for a workout. That said, I do eat a lot more than my daily recommended calories on days when I'm putting out a lot of cardio and sometimes a day or two in between. I'm consisistantly maintaining my weight, even when I'm over the calories. I've learned to listen to my body. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not, I don't. I always meet my minimum and I try to make smart choices. While I'm not a super clean eater, I do eat pretty clean Monday - Thursday and often on Sundays too. Friday nights might have a beer or a glass of wine and a slice of pizza (not so clean) and Saturdays I'm usually pretty active and hungry and I'll eat whatever I want (within moderation). I like maintenance because it gives me a lot more freedom. I'm learning to live and be normal. Eating clean 7 days / week isn't realistic and lends itself to relapse. Use MFP as a guide, don't stick to it like an iron fist. If your weight goes up, cut back. Drink more water (my weight always goes up if I'm not getting in enough water!).