Newbie with questions

thisisitnic

Hi!!
Please feel free to point me in the right direction if this is the wrong place but I want to make sure I get my calories right from the get go. I’m 5ft 8 in and I weigh 12 stone 10lbs. I walk approx 2 miles a day and do a 20 min HIIT DVD (Joe Wicks) 3/4 times a week. My aim is to get down to 10 stone 13lbs. There are so many calculators out there based on TDEE etc and I know MFP works it out for you. Am I overthinking it and should I go with what I’m being given or do most of you readjust it to account for your specific exercise? I just know that you should never go below your BMR yet MFP is setting me at 1200 which is way below mine. Maybe I’ve been a nause and done something wrong?

Thanks and Happy New Year xx

jsminer827

Welcome and Happy New Year! I've been around the place almost 6 months and I know it can be a bit of trial and error at the outset, so I think you're in the right place...

I've found that when I first started and I had lots of weight to lose, I set mfp to 2 pounds a week and sedentary because up to that point, I was. Since I was joining a gym, I wanted every extra calorie I burned to be lost weight on top of the diet loss planned at 2 pounds. As the weight has come off, my focus has shifted a bit... I struggled a lot at about month 4 with feeling hungry so I shifted gears and switched things up to 1 pound per week and bumped my activity to the next level up, still didn't record exercise. Now I'm down to my last 15-20 pounds and fine tuning is key - I'm still at 1 pound per week but I've started adding in exercise so that I can eat at least half of those calories back because I'm more focused on maintaining lean muscle (before, I was burning fat and lean muscle and didn't so much care as long as the scale went down).

So... long story short, I think it's two things: 1.) Personal preference and 2.) It's going to change over time, lots of settings to tinker with - you just have to find what makes sense to you and helps you achieve your goal.

In your shoes, with around 25 pounds you want to lose, I would probably set the goal to 1 pound per week and a moderate level of activity to start. If you feel hungry or you're losing more than a pound a week, start adding back exercise and eat some of those calories until you feel like you're headed in a sustainable direction.

Just my two cents! Hope it helps...

thisisitnic

jsminer827 wrote: »

Welcome and Happy New Year! I've been around the place almost 6 months and I know it can be a bit of trial and error at the outset, so I think you're in the right place...

I've found that when I first started and I had lots of weight to lose, I set mfp to 2 pounds a week and sedentary because up to that point, I was. Since I was joining a gym, I wanted every extra calorie I burned to be lost weight on top of the diet loss planned at 2 pounds. As the weight has come off, my focus has shifted a bit... I struggled a lot at about month 4 with feeling hungry so I shifted gears and switched things up to 1 pound per week and bumped my activity to the next level up, still didn't record exercise. Now I'm down to my last 15-20 pounds and fine tuning is key - I'm still at 1 pound per week but I've started adding in exercise so that I can eat at least half of those calories back because I'm more focused on maintaining lean muscle (before, I was burning fat and lean muscle and didn't so much care as long as the scale went down).

So... long story short, I think it's two things: 1.) Personal preference and 2.) It's going to change over time, lots of settings to tinker with - you just have to find what makes sense to you and helps you achieve your goal.

In your shoes, with around 25 pounds you want to lose, I would probably set the goal to 1 pound per week and a moderate level of activity to start. If you feel hungry or you're losing more than a pound a week, start adding back exercise and eat some of those calories until you feel like you're headed in a sustainable direction.

Just my two cents! Hope it helps...

Thank you so much. That really has helped me immensely. I get so confused with the activity and whether I should input my exercise. I’ve linked my FitBit too but initially I will ignore the burn and not add back unless like you said it’s not sustainable. I’ll make sure my activity is set at moderate like you’ve suggested and see how that goes xx

ckdprevent

I don't link my exercise to my food plan. I want to stay below my designated calories. But I'm obese and have a long way to go. I log my exercise. I have a fit bit also. But I have my preference in MFP not to offset my calories to eat by the exercise I do. I want the extra calories burned.

thisisitnic

ckdprevent wrote: »

I don't link my exercise to my food plan. I want to stay below my designated calories. But I'm obese and have a long way to go. I log my exercise. I have a fit bit also. But I have my preference in MFP not to offset my calories to eat by the exercise I do. I want the extra calories burned.

Thank you x

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

ckdprevent wrote: »

I don't link my exercise to my food plan. I want to stay below my designated calories. But I'm obese and have a long way to go. I log my exercise. I have a fit bit also. But I have my preference in MFP not to offset my calories to eat by the exercise I do. I want the extra calories burned.

That is not how MFP is designed to work and you are increasing your chances of quitting.

OP, have you read the new starter threads?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

thisisitnic

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

ckdprevent wrote: »

I don't link my exercise to my food plan. I want to stay below my designated calories. But I'm obese and have a long way to go. I log my exercise. I have a fit bit also. But I have my preference in MFP not to offset my calories to eat by the exercise I do. I want the extra calories burned.

That is not how MFP is designed to work and you are increasing your chances of quitting.

OP, have you read the new starter threads?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

What does OP mean sorry? x

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Yourself, the original poster.

thisisitnic

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

Yourself, the original poster.

Ah ok thank you. I’ll definitely take time to read other posts thank you x

jsminer827

thisisitnic wrote: »

Thank you so much. That really has helped me immensely. I get so confused with the activity and whether I should input my exercise. I’ve linked my FitBit too but initially I will ignore the burn and not add back unless like you said it’s not sustainable. I’ll make sure my activity is set at moderate like you’ve suggested and see how that goes xx

The FitBit always confused me - I wore one for awhile but I felt like that activity was already factored into the basic activity level setting so I stopped doing that. I know there is also something with negative calories which I think is where mfp identifies that you are not being active to the base setting you chose and deducts from your total calories which would make planning a struggle for me. I don't know a lot about it, but it's one of those setting check boxes for negative calorie adjustments. Seems complicated to me! And, in my book, complicated = fail.
Again, it's all personal preference - you've got to start somewhere and you're here (which is awesome... these boards have a tremendous amount of info!) Good luck to you!

thisisitnic

jsminer827 wrote: »

thisisitnic wrote: »

Thank you so much. That really has helped me immensely. I get so confused with the activity and whether I should input my exercise. I’ve linked my FitBit too but initially I will ignore the burn and not add back unless like you said it’s not sustainable. I’ll make sure my activity is set at moderate like you’ve suggested and see how that goes xx

The FitBit always confused me - I wore one for awhile but I felt like that activity was already factored into the basic activity level setting so I stopped doing that. I know there is also something with negative calories which I think is where mfp identifies that you are not being active to the base setting you chose and deducts from your total calories which would make planning a struggle for me. I don't know a lot about it, but it's one of those setting check boxes for negative calorie adjustments. Seems complicated to me! And, in my book, complicated = fail.
Again, it's all personal preference - you've got to start somewhere and you're here (which is awesome... these boards have a tremendous amount of info!) Good luck to you!

Thank you xx

janejellyroll

jsminer827 wrote: »

thisisitnic wrote: »

Thank you so much. That really has helped me immensely. I get so confused with the activity and whether I should input my exercise. I’ve linked my FitBit too but initially I will ignore the burn and not add back unless like you said it’s not sustainable. I’ll make sure my activity is set at moderate like you’ve suggested and see how that goes xx

The FitBit always confused me - I wore one for awhile but I felt like that activity was already factored into the basic activity level setting so I stopped doing that. I know there is also something with negative calories which I think is where mfp identifies that you are not being active to the base setting you chose and deducts from your total calories which would make planning a struggle for me. I don't know a lot about it, but it's one of those setting check boxes for negative calorie adjustments. Seems complicated to me! And, in my book, complicated = fail.
Again, it's all personal preference - you've got to start somewhere and you're here (which is awesome... these boards have a tremendous amount of info!) Good luck to you!

Your estimated everyday activity is factored into your calorie goal when you choose your activity setting on MFP. When you sync your Fitbit, you're specifically measuring activity that takes you *above* what MFP would have estimated for your activity level. So if you pick lightly active and you move around as much as MFP would expect a lightly active person to move, no calorie adjustments. If you pick lightly active and you move around that much *plus* an additional 150 calories more MFP hadn't estimated for the activity level, you get an adjustment of 150 calories added to your daily goal. If you move *less* than MFP would have estimated, then your calories are adjusted downward.

It can be complicated to understand at first and people shouldn't use it if it makes it harder for them, but for many of us it makes it easier.

thisisitnic

janejellyroll wrote: »

jsminer827 wrote: »

thisisitnic wrote: »

Thank you so much. That really has helped me immensely. I get so confused with the activity and whether I should input my exercise. I’ve linked my FitBit too but initially I will ignore the burn and not add back unless like you said it’s not sustainable. I’ll make sure my activity is set at moderate like you’ve suggested and see how that goes xx

The FitBit always confused me - I wore one for awhile but I felt like that activity was already factored into the basic activity level setting so I stopped doing that. I know there is also something with negative calories which I think is where mfp identifies that you are not being active to the base setting you chose and deducts from your total calories which would make planning a struggle for me. I don't know a lot about it, but it's one of those setting check boxes for negative calorie adjustments. Seems complicated to me! And, in my book, complicated = fail.
Again, it's all personal preference - you've got to start somewhere and you're here (which is awesome... these boards have a tremendous amount of info!) Good luck to you!

Your estimated everyday activity is factored into your calorie goal when you choose your activity setting on MFP. When you sync your Fitbit, you're specifically measuring activity that takes you *above* what MFP would have estimated for your activity level. So if you pick lightly active and you move around as much as MFP would expect a lightly active person to move, no calorie adjustments. If you pick lightly active and you move around that much *plus* an additional 150 calories more MFP hadn't estimated for the activity level, you get an adjustment of 150 calories added to your daily goal. If you move *less* than MFP would have estimated, then your calories are adjusted downward.

It can be complicated to understand at first and people shouldn't use it if it makes it harder for them, but for many of us it makes it easier.

That makes so much sense. You’ve made it so easy to understand. Thank you so much x