Think I've been doing MFP all wrong...oops! Anyone else?

deksgrl · July 2013

The point is, the calories the MFP sets for you DOES NOT INCLUDE EXERCISE. It is estimating your amount of needed calories based just on ordinary daily activities not including exercise. Then when you choose 'I want to lose 2 pounds per week' that will deduct 1,000 calories from that number, which is way too much of a deficit for the OP (unless you have more than 75 pounds to lose).

Talk about misinformation!!

taso42 · July 2013

Still wrong

Briko3 · July 2013

The problem is people overestimate their calorie burn and underestimate the calories in the food they eat. So if you run and think you burn 300 and eat back 300, but you really only burned 250 and ate back 350, that's going to be a problem. Pair that with the fact that most prepackaged foods estimate servings to look lower calorie. (ie, "about 2 servings" is really 2.3 servings)

UsedToBeHusky · July 2013

No idea what your stats are, but it is probably pretty likely that 1200 calories is not enough to meet your body's needs. Deep calorie deficits causes stress for our body and the reaction is a cortisol release which will cause your body to burn calories at a higher efficiency, and therefore, require less energy.

You need to either increase your intake, decrease your demand, or both. Metabolically, you are putting too much of a strain on your body, and it is working against your efforts.

3dogsrunning · July 2013

Speaking of misinformation.

From Scott, MFP staff member

"April 15, 2013 2:32 pm
Hello,

The net calorie system cannot be disabled and we caution our users to not use work arounds. If you are accurately recording food entries and caloric expenditure when exercising then the deficit built into your goal will allow you to lose up to two pounds a week which is what is considered a safe rate of weight loss. Additionally users are more likely to build better habits and not stray from their plan if the program is not overly severe(such as having an additional thousand calorie a day deficit in some instances).

We set your nutritional target in Net Calories which we define as:

Calories Consumed (Food) - Calories Burned (Exercise) = Net Calories

What that means is that if you exercise, you will be able to eat more for that day. For example, if your Net Calorie goal is 2000 calories, one way to meet that goal is to eat 2,500 calories of food, but then burn 500 calories through exercise.

Think of your Net Calories like a daily budget of calories to spend. You spend them by eating, and you earn more calories to eat by exercising.

Through repetition you will get an idea for how many calories you will probably burn at the gym and most likely start planning your day and meals around those extra calories that your workout will garner.

This system promotes slow and steady and is very successful when used.

Regards,
Scott
MyFitnessPal Staff"

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/959693-disable-calorie-adjustments-from-exercise

I have also found that TDEE and MFP are pretty much the same. I don't find MFP off.

billsica · July 2013

Some good info here.

2 lbs a week is near impossible when your losing only 20 lbs. I only have mine set to 0.5lbs per week when I'm actively trying to lose.

LorinaLynn · July 2013

You're doing it wrong, but not in the way you think you are.

You don't have enough weight to lose to aim for two pounds a week. That setting is for those who have 75 or more pounds to lose.

You should aim for one pound a week at absolute most, probably a half pound a week would be better.

anniegail1961 · July 2013

Good Morning: It's all physics-yet it also depends on a few things-
Age-I'm 52 and pre-menopausal.
Genetics-Quick or Slow metabolism.
Determination: Enough on that one!
A calorie is not a Calorie, is not a calorie.
400 calories of fat or sugar-compared to 400 calories of clean nutrition.It stores differently in the body.
I've been a non smoker now for 4 months and I joined MFP to not put on any more weight while getting off the butts. But after 60 days of diligent logging, staying under my calories, and exercising 6 days/wk-I keep losing and gaining the same 10 lbs.
I'm down-then I'm up-it's very frustrating.
I've cleaned up my diet quite abit-but genetics isn't working with me??
So keep doing the do's and be patient-it will eventually start coming off because it's physics!
My goal is to be 40lbs. lighter, tighter and clear lungs by next summer-so I keep at it because for me it's slow progress.
Best Regards!

Rubyayn · July 2013

Exactly this.

rainunrefined · July 2013

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Mlkmaid · July 2013

I rarely eat the calories back that I burn off. I think it's counterintuitive. But the closer you get to your goal weight you have to lower expectations. I've lost 27 and would like to lose at least 5 more but the scale has been pretty stuck for a while no matter what I do. I've just resigned myself to the fact that the last 5-10 pounds may take a very long time to lose unless I starve -- and I simply don't want to do that. I like food too much!

jenniferwoodweeg · July 2013

Ugh, I have been reading and working at this for months and the only way to lose weight is simply eating less cal than you burn. I try not to complicate it w-omg!-what if I lose muscle this way??? Not the way my body works. I donno about others but, it's simple to figure out. I still have muscle and less fat eating at a deficit. The less I weigh, the less cal i will need to lose. That's why it slows down as I get closer to goal, 5 pounds more to go. Exercise more or eat less, ultimately.

Bry_Fitness70 · July 2013

I don’t methodically eat back calories lost through exercise, but this little bit of slack is in the back of my mind when planning my caloric intake the remainder of the day.

Zakiya05 · July 2013

I so agree! All the estimates on MFP are grossly over estimated. Once I got my heart rate monitor, and saw how much I was really burning it was like an "ah ha" momment.

teenhamodic · July 2013

thank you for that thread. the post informing people that this site is BMR based and not TDEE based is a giant nugget of information as i'm sure a majority of the folks on here think it's TDEE based.

with that said, my statement still stands in that TDEE is the Total Daily Energy Expenditure vs. Basal Metabolic Rate that MFP uses and when one calculates TDEE vs. BMR - the numbers are completely way off.

when you calculate your TDEE, it includes your BMR and your activity. but... with MFP, as it's evident with the number of people here agreeing to this, i doubt anyone really finds the calories burned during workouts on MFP as accurate.

but again, we're both comparing apples and oranges in the sense that this site only calculates BMR and not TDEE. so we're both right :bigsmile:

teenhamodic · July 2013

actually i take that back lol you're incorrect when you say that when you calculate TDEE and MFP are pretty much the same.

if you had said you calculated your BMR prior to figuring out your TDEE and MFP are pretty much the same, then yes you would be right.

but because you're comparing apples and oranges as if they are both apples, you can't have your cake and eat it at the same time :laugh:

deksgrl · July 2013

MFP uses a NEAT method calculator. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.

It asks you what your daily life activity level is (not exercise), that gives you more than BMR. The problem is that most people choose the wrong amount of pounds per week to lose, creating to large of a deficit (who doesn't want to lose 2 pounds per week)? And the confusion about eating back exercise calories.

3dogsrunning · July 2013

I just didn't agree with telling people never to listen to anyone who says eat their exercise calories back when that is exactly how the site is designed. I understand TDEE as well, and would agree not to eat back those calories, however, the OP wasn't asking about TDEE, she specifically asked about using MFP.

Some people find MFP numbers off, some find them similar. Many place all their faith in HRMs without understanding the limitations. TDEE is still an estimate. At the end of the day, they are all just estimates. Like I said, logging with MFP and figuring TDEE put me in the same place. I know I'm not the only one.

A pretty good blog on data tables. Things like walking are fairly accurate estimates.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/estimating-calories-activity-databases-198041

UsedToBeHusky · July 2013

Personally, I would love it if MFP did away with the automatic feature of the goal settings. Instead, they should have a TDEE calculator there and advise people how to deduct an appropriate percentage for manually setting goals. Then, the whole exercise calorie thing becomes a non-issue. MFP operates on the premise that people will not exercise consistently, but instead it should be encouraging consistency in both the aspects of diet and exercise.

angieochoa1201 · July 2013

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY MFP CAN OVER ESTIMATE CALORIE BURN!!!!

I used a heart monitor with a personal trainer at the gym and she helped calculate my calorie burn. When I entered in the same activity and time for the elliptical trainer MFP way over estimated. The walk run was right on target but some other activities are way over estimated including cleaning the house, roller blading, eliptical. So I eat 1200 and do my cardio. I believe we need to train ourselves to accept the feel of a calorie deficit and after 30 days it will feel normal.

In most cases our cardio deficit isn't significant enough to have to eat back cal.s

I also breast feed and my milk supply has thrived on 1200 intake cal.s plus about 300 worth of cardio daily.

Think I've been doing MFP all wrong...oops! Anyone else?

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