Different calculators, different results

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QueenofHearts023
QueenofHearts023 Posts: 421 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Suddenly I'm a little stressed over my calories. Could you guys check to see what results you get for maintenance please?

I'm 22, female, 5'2, 136lb, 32% bf, sedentary (I use this so I can manually add exercise and my walking)

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    mbw5r4hhiibj.png

    although Katch McArdle drops to 1530 if I use your %BF rather than one derived from your BMI (which was lower).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    different calculators give you different results because different calculators use different methods...i.e. MFP utilizes the NEAT method for which you activity level does NOT include exercise, just your day to day which is why you log exercise and earn extra calories after the fact. Most other calculators use the TDEE method for which exercise IS included in your activity level and thus an estimate of those requisite calories are included in your targets.

    Beyond that, different calculators are going to utilize slightly different algorithms. What you really need to understand is that none of these calculators are gospel...you do not have a maintenance level of calories of exactly XXXX. These calculators provide for a reasonably good starting point, but ultimately your real world results should dictate your calories. Just pick one and go with it and make adjustments as applicable to your results.
  • QueenofHearts023
    QueenofHearts023 Posts: 421 Member
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    I need to stop obsessing over numbers... **puts down calculator and walks away**
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Don't worry too much. First, your body fat number is probably not accurate, unless you spent $50 to have it done professionally, and even then... most methods are not accurate.

    Second, just pick one number. If you don't lose, eat less. If you lose too much, eat more.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    If you have a hard time choosing one, average them really quickly and go with that number. That's what I did back at the beginning :) I used to average my daily weight, too, because I'm just nerdy like that, lol. In maintenance I'm not as curious about "exact" numbers.

    Or just go with the default, of course. Presumably it was chosen for a reason.

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