Do most of you change your food settings on here?

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Andrea8985
Andrea8985 Posts: 107
in Food and Nutrition
I've been on here for just over a month now, and I'm beginning to think the suggestions MFP gave me are too low. I've calculated my BMR to be around 1700 and my TDEE to be around 2300. MFP tells me I should only be consuming 1450 calories. There are days where I can eat that little and be fine, but I'm consistently going over. I'm wondering if I should change my calories to 1600 or 1800. I've seen people talk about changing them, but was just wondering if it's a common thing because MFP always sets it too low.

Also, how do you change it?! I tried last night but can only figure out how to change how much I want to lose per week.

Replies

  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
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    absolutely they're too low, good you noticed it before you made yourself suffer too long.

    go to the 'my home' tab
    go to 'goals' sub-tab -> change goals -> custom settings

    a lot of people like a 30% fat 30% protein 40% carb split, for macros. that more or less supports muscle retention and satiety. i watch fibre too, keeps you full - shoot for 20-23 g/day.
  • Thena81
    Thena81 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    yep, i change mine to fit me.i set my cals according to my tdee minus 20%
    i lowered the fat and upped my protein n carbs. i workout 5 days a week, at least 45 mins
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
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    I think my food settings are too low, too. Is it weird that I am terrified of experimenting with it?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    You can change by going to My Home > Goals > Custom.

    Keep in mind that MFP expects you to log exercise and eat those calories back which usually accounts for the difference between their number and TDEE. I have always found that I pretty much end up in the same place with following MFP and TDEE.

    ETA - I do change my macro goals as I find MFP is too low in protein and high in carbs.
  • dontwishforit_workforit
    dontwishforit_workforit Posts: 112 Member
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    I wouldn't of thought to change my settings, except for the fact that 1) My diabetes dietician told me to aim from 1,200 down from 1,500 2) I am allowed a maximum of 180 carbs a day (min. 45 per meal, can use 15 for a snack or two) and 3) She told me to up my protein.

    So I set my calories, changed my carb percentage, then upped my protein from what it set to after that. Not sure if I need 20% fat, but leaving it be for now to see how it works out!

    ETA: It had my carb intake at 235 and that seemed a little high to me too but I honestly do not know a thing about nutrition as far as percentages one should consume go!
  • Andrea8985
    Andrea8985 Posts: 107
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    I think my food settings are too low, too. Is it weird that I am terrified of experimenting with it?

    It's not weird at all. The reason it's taken me this long to ask is because I was too afraid to mess with the settings. However, I've been consistently losing at least .5lb per week even with consistently going over my calories, so I figure it's probably safe to up them a bit. I'm not losing as fast as I'd like this way, but I'd rather have the sanity and lose weight slower. Apparently 2lbs a week is too hard for me to maintain. :tongue:

    Thanks everyone for the input! I really appreciate it! :smile:
  • marvybells
    marvybells Posts: 1,984 Member
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    i set mine to my TDEE on a sedentary day, then i add back any exercise cals. I'm just working on some lower tummy pudge & trying to build some muscle. I refuse to starve myself and personally i feel ravenous if i try to stay below 1800 cals. that is about what my TDEE on a sedentary day is. So I eat all my TDEE & some of the exercise cals back. some days i eat most of it, others i come in several hundred cals lower. occasionally i go over. but i try to make sure that it balances out to a slight deficit for the week
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    I definitely set up custom calories, but more important I set up custom macros, the default protein is waaaaay too low, and the carbs too high. I eat at least 150g of protein a day, and I love it!
  • Andrea8985
    Andrea8985 Posts: 107
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    I definitely set up custom calories, but more important I set up custom macros, the default protein is waaaaay too low, and the carbs too high. I eat at least 150g of protein a day, and I love it!

    150g of protein?! *looks at food diary* I'm at 53g of protein, 18g of fiber, and 243g of carbs. Clearly, you can tell where my foodie heart lies. Haha. I am working on upping my protein and lowering my carbs, though. Just can't seem to up protein without protein shakes. I'm not a big meat eater (or a big nuts, seeds, legumes eater...).
    i set mine to my TDEE on a sedentary day, then i add back any exercise cals.

    Seems like a pretty good idea to me!

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