Does my calorie goal even matter?
michelleepotter
Posts: 800 Member
I know this is something that gets discussed a lot, and I'm sorry that I still don't quite get it. But if my Fitbit is estimating how many calories I burn today, and it's going to adjust my calories up or down based on my activity, does it even matter what my calorie goal is on MFP? MFP tells me that a good goal for me to lose weight is 1410 calories per day. So it's estimating that I will burn about 1660 calories, right? But looking at my Fitbit history, it looks like I usually burn closer to 1700-1800 calories per day. Having my calorie goal so low is kind of demoralizing to me, and I'd like to put it closer to what I think I really burn, but I'm afraid that will somehow change how MFP and FB work together??? Does it really matter what my goal is set to on MFP?
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Is your activity level set to sedentary? It sounds like "lightly active" might be a more accurate reflection of your lifestyle - as long as you also enable negative adjustments for days when you burn less than anticipated.0
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Manually changing your calorie goal in MFP while using a Fitbit can get confusing. The thing is, MFP does not use your calorie goal when it does the math to compute your Fitbit Calorie Adjustment. So, if you manually change your calorie goal higher, then MFP will end up adding even more calories to that goal and you'll eat too much.
sarahmichelef's suggestion to change your activity level is a way to start the day with a higher calorie goal without messing up the math. However, you'll end the day with a lower Fitbit adjustment (because you burn what you burn and if you start with more, you get less adjustment) and, as she said, you need to make sure that negative adjustments are enabled in case you're less active than the setting.0 -
I manually changed my calorie goal in MFP to my goal weight maintenance calories at sedentary.
@NancyN795 do you think this is mucking up the numbers? It gives me 200 more calories than it does at my current weight, to lose.0 -
@Christine_72 : If it's working for you, then I don't see a problem. It's just that I've seen a number of people change it thinking it will affect their Fitbit Calorie Adjustment number (for instance, setting their calorie goal higher and thinking they'll get a lower adjustment) and then being confused when they don't get the result they expected.
If you know that Fitbit overestimates, or underestimates, the calories you burn, manually adjusting your MFP calorie goal would be a valid approach to correcting for that.0 -
@Christine_72 : If it's working for you, then I don't see a problem. It's just that I've seen a number of people change it thinking it will affect their Fitbit Calorie Adjustment number (for instance, setting their calorie goal higher and thinking they'll get a lower adjustment) and then being confused when they don't get the result they expected.
If you know that Fitbit overestimates, or underestimates, the calories you burn, manually adjusting your MFP calorie goal would be a valid approach to correcting for that.
Ah ok thanks, everything seems to be running smoothly thus far.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I manually changed my calorie goal in MFP to my goal weight maintenance calories at sedentary.
@NancyN795 do you think this is mucking up the numbers? It gives me 200 more calories than it does at my current weight, to lose.
Just out of curiosity, when you set your MFP calorie level per maintenance at goal, was that while you were trying to lose weight or was that for maintenance? I ask, because I would like a long term, consistent number for my calorie goal during weight loss.
Right now, I take a look at my weekly average Calories Burned per FitBit phone app, divide by 7, then subtract 500 for my deficit (I'm trying to lose weight), then manually set my MFP goal to that. I ignore any adjustments from FitBit to MFP. I like having the apps linked, because I have an Aria scale that updates to MFP automatically. This method works fine, but some weeks I'm so sedentary and others I'm super active and changing my goal messes with my head sometimes.
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IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I manually changed my calorie goal in MFP to my goal weight maintenance calories at sedentary.
@NancyN795 do you think this is mucking up the numbers? It gives me 200 more calories than it does at my current weight, to lose.
Just out of curiosity, when you set your MFP calorie level per maintenance at goal, was that while you were trying to lose weight or was that for maintenance? I ask, because I would like a long term, consistent number for my calorie goal during weight loss.
Right now, I take a look at my weekly average Calories Burned per FitBit phone app, divide by 7, then subtract 500 for my deficit (I'm trying to lose weight), then manually set my MFP goal to that. I ignore any adjustments from FitBit to MFP. I like having the apps linked, because I have an Aria scale that updates to MFP automatically. This method works fine, but some weeks I'm so sedentary and others I'm super active and changing my goal messes with my head sometimes.
Yep, I'm still trying to lose weight. I'm roughly 5lbs away from my goal weight.
I chose the sedentary option for my goal weight, whereas I'm lightly active/active. So my true maintenance calories at goal weight would be a few hundred calories higher than what mfp gave me.
Am I making sense? I can't seem to English today!
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That makes sense! So when you hit your goal weight, your maintenance calories will need to be higher.Christine_72 wrote: »IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I manually changed my calorie goal in MFP to my goal weight maintenance calories at sedentary.
@NancyN795 do you think this is mucking up the numbers? It gives me 200 more calories than it does at my current weight, to lose.
Just out of curiosity, when you set your MFP calorie level per maintenance at goal, was that while you were trying to lose weight or was that for maintenance? I ask, because I would like a long term, consistent number for my calorie goal during weight loss.
Right now, I take a look at my weekly average Calories Burned per FitBit phone app, divide by 7, then subtract 500 for my deficit (I'm trying to lose weight), then manually set my MFP goal to that. I ignore any adjustments from FitBit to MFP. I like having the apps linked, because I have an Aria scale that updates to MFP automatically. This method works fine, but some weeks I'm so sedentary and others I'm super active and changing my goal messes with my head sometimes.
Yep, I'm still trying to lose weight. I'm roughly 5lbs away from my goal weight.
I chose the sedentary option for my goal weight, whereas I'm lightly active/active. So my true maintenance calories at goal weight would be a few hundred calories higher than what mfp gave me.
Am I making sense? I can't seem to English today!
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Which you said, sorry for restating, I was just thinking out loud.
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IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »
That makes sense! So when you hit your goal weight, your maintenance calories will need to be higher.Christine_72 wrote: »IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I manually changed my calorie goal in MFP to my goal weight maintenance calories at sedentary.
@NancyN795 do you think this is mucking up the numbers? It gives me 200 more calories than it does at my current weight, to lose.
Just out of curiosity, when you set your MFP calorie level per maintenance at goal, was that while you were trying to lose weight or was that for maintenance? I ask, because I would like a long term, consistent number for my calorie goal during weight loss.
Right now, I take a look at my weekly average Calories Burned per FitBit phone app, divide by 7, then subtract 500 for my deficit (I'm trying to lose weight), then manually set my MFP goal to that. I ignore any adjustments from FitBit to MFP. I like having the apps linked, because I have an Aria scale that updates to MFP automatically. This method works fine, but some weeks I'm so sedentary and others I'm super active and changing my goal messes with my head sometimes.
Yep, I'm still trying to lose weight. I'm roughly 5lbs away from my goal weight.
I chose the sedentary option for my goal weight, whereas I'm lightly active/active. So my true maintenance calories at goal weight would be a few hundred calories higher than what mfp gave me.
Am I making sense? I can't seem to English today!
Yes exactly, I didn't set it for active as it would have taken too long. I don't have the patience for this anymore lol I just want to get down to my goal weight and be done with dieting for good!
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That's called Eating For Future You.
Very valid approach, though by itself it's normally a smaller deficit than a reasonable deficit could give you (unless you have a lot to lose) - but you made it bigger by also underestimating what you'd be doing, so bigger deficit. If it was followed correctly.
But I'd suggest you aren't getting the effect you think you are getting. The only saving grace is only 5 lb difference.
But in reality here is what's happening, and let's use a bigger difference to highlight it.
MFP set to goal weight and sedentary - say it thinks daily maintenance is therefore 2000 calories.
Fitbit is set to correct stats (incorrect would totally foul it up) and it says you burn 2500 calories on non-exercise sedentary day at current weight.
Fitbit 2500 - 2000 MFP = 500 cal adjustment.
Eating goal 2000 + 500 = 2500 new eating goal.
Uh oh - truly eating at maintenance.
Say you worked out with 600 calories only showing on Fitbit, manually logged or per device.
Fitbit 3100 - 2000 MFP = 1100 cal adjustment.
Eating goal 2000 + 1100 = 3100 new eating goal.
So actually, by the very nature of how MFP and Fitbit work together - you haven't accomplished any deficit with that system.
Your numbers will be much closer of course with only 5 lb difference, which isn't much. That's why MFP waits until a 10 lb loss to ask to adjust your eating goal, otherwise just not a meaningful difference.
As you are only 5 lbs away - if you have been doing this for awhile and really eating back those adjustments - I'd suggest your body is full burning and you could easily take a 500 cal deficit this close to goal weight for a couple weeks, then back off to 250 as more reasonable.0 -
Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one baffled by the calorie differences. When I was just doing MFP it seemed simple. Now that I have a fitbit and they're all linked up, I feel like I'm aiming at a moving target! lol I appreciated this conversation to help highlight some of the issues.
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Actually, MFP used properly as a tool - would also have been a moving target.
The calorie goal you were given was ONLY with no exercise. If you did none, then it was maybe correct (depending if you selected correct non-exercise activity level).
But if you did exercise and didn't log it, or didn't eat them back, keeping the same deficit but making it even bigger - then it was used wrong.
But that would have been a moving target too then.0
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