Not understanding calorie adjustments

morihay

I set my MFP to sedentary thinking my FB charge HR would add earned calories it does but not understanding it really if set on sed it's a lower number so example FB cals 2500 burned mfp set on sed says calories 1700 (when you click the calorie adjustment) so that would give me a 800 extra I guess I just figured it would take my calories i wanted to be at a deficit 1000 off my burned calorie so that's 1500 and my food goal is set at 1200 so I really would only want 300 added not 800 so I was thinking it worked different then it was I didn't realise till I started really looking at that so even tho I don't exercise every day I set it to active with 1200 calorie goal so it's harder to earn extra I guess not really a question just more annoyed I may even set it to the highest one so I know for sure I really can justify eating extra burned calories

NancyN795

I think you should read the FAQ found in the stickies. It should clear up some misunderstandings you seem to have. Here's a handy link: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-adjustments-activity-levels-accuracy/p1

Your question isn't really very clear, but it looks like you've been playing around with manual goals without really understanding what any of the numbers mean.

First, make sure you're not expecting to lose weight too fast. A 1000 calorie a day deficit should only be for someone who has a large amount to lose (more than 75 lbs). Trying to lose weight too fast is self-defeating in the long run. You damage your metabolism and end up having to permanently eat less just to maintain.

Second, learn how the Fitbit Calorie adjustment is calculated. It isn't affected by your manually set eating goal. MFP takes how much it expects you to have burned so far (based on height, weight, age, gender and selected activity level) and how much Fitbit says you've burned and the difference is your calorie adjustment. That is applied to whatever eating goal you have set.

I would recommend that you trust MFP and Fitbit for at least a month. Don't set a manual eating goal but instead set a weight loss goal that is consistent with losing no more than 1/2 pound per week for every 25 pounds you have to lose. Then, chose an activity level that gets your starting calories per day above 1200. Because MFP sets that as the minimum, the math that it does with your Fitbit numbers gets messed up if that happens. Since activity level is fairly arbitrary, as long as you are using a Fitbit to report an actual calorie burn estimate (and have negative adjustments enabled), it's okay to pick whichever level works. Then, log your food faithfully, eat your adjustments, and see what happens. After a month, you can go back and evaluate whether you lost weight at the expected rate (calories burned - calories eaten divided by 3500 = expected weight loss) and adjust at that point.