Do You Follow MFP’s Calorie Limit?

frenchy807

Hi All!

This seems like an “obvious” question, but I am wondering if any of you strictly follow MFP’s calorie limit or do you set your own? For example, my calorie limit says I should eat 1600 calories, but I tend to eat around 2,000 because 1600 just seems so low. Just curious if anyone else does this or if they strictly stay at what MFP suggests?? Thanks!!

janejellyroll

I follow MFP's calorie recommendation, but it's important to understand how it is generated. If MFP gave me a calorie goal that seemed too low, I'd make sure I had entered realistic goals and that I had set my activity level realistically.

quiksylver296

No. I eat TDEE - 10%. I hate trying to hit the moving target of NEAT + exercise.

k8eekins

frenchy807 wrote: »

Hi All! This seems like an “obvious” question, but I am wondering if any of you strictly follow MFP’s calorie limit or do you set your own? For example, my calorie limit says I should eat 1600 calories, but I tend to eat around 2,000 because 1600 just seems so low. Just curious if anyone else does this or if they strictly stay at what MFP suggests?? Thanks!!

Myfitnesspal's daily goal calories for me is what I choose to never exceed, which is set at 2,400. I'm comfortable with cycling my caloric allotments depending on how my day's faring, between (</=) 1,366 to 1,821 to my absolute limit - (</=) 2,400.

ETA: 5ft 10, presently 150 lbs.

CSARdiver

My workouts are too varied, so I just go for the estimate MFP calculates. I do input a fudge factor for intensity and how I'm feeling and what I'm preparing for.

nutmegoreo

I'm short and middle-aged. MFP gives me 1200, which is just not enough. I've tried it in the past, and it created a circle of restrict-binge-failure-guilt and shame-restrict-repeat ad nauseum. If I increase my activity, I can still loose 2lb/week on 1700, which is much more sustainable for me. Plus, improved strength and cardio is good.

kimny72

frenchy807 wrote: »

Hi All!

This seems like an “obvious” question, but I am wondering if any of you strictly follow MFP’s calorie limit or do you set your own? For example, my calorie limit says I should eat 1600 calories, but I tend to eat around 2,000 because 1600 just seems so low. Just curious if anyone else does this or if they strictly stay at what MFP suggests?? Thanks!!

Do you exercise? The MFP goal does not include exercise, so it's expecting that you will log your exercise and eat back those calories as well.

I followed MFP + Exercise cals and it worked well for me. But all any calculator can do is give you an expected estimate based on the numbers you feed into it. You will not know how accurate it is until you hit that goal for a few weeks at least. :drinker:

sijomial

Sort of.
Used MFP's guided setup to suggest a calorie goal to lose 1lb / week but used that to create a weekly calorie target.

After a period of weeks my weight loss indicated I needed to take 1000 cals a week off that weekly total to attain my desired rate of loss so did that manually and it worked fine. Most likely my slightly relaxed style of logging was the issue rather than the goal being wrong.

By the way hope you realise that your given calorie goal is for a non exercise day only and on exercise days you should eat more. So your original goal was 1600 + exercise calories.

lemurcat2

I used MFP's estimate (and added back in exercise calories) when losing most of my weight. I now use a TDEE number.

It is important to consider results and then adjust after a month or so if they are not as expected, as no estimate method is going to work for everyone.

Lounmoun

I think if you are just starting out MFP recommended calorie goal is a good place to start. Check it with your results after a month or so and adjust if needed.

When I started with MFP about 4 years ago I followed the calorie recommendation and lost 1 lb a week until I had lost about 25 lbs. Based on my results the recommendation was good enough for me to achieve my desired result.
Then my thyroid got messed up and I gained some weight back and struggled to lose. Even medicated it seems that now I do better eating at a different amount than MFP suggests. MFP suggests 1470 to lose 1 lb a week and I set my goal to 1300 which seems to get me the result I want.
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Some people set their activity level wrong or choose too extreme a goal for the amount they have to lose though which can make the calorie recommendation wrong for that person. I would not set yourself to lose 2 lbs a week unless you are 75+ lbs overweight. If you get 8,000-10,000 steps a day you are not sedentary.

cwolfman13

When I logged, I used MFPs target plus my exercise calories. When my exercise became more consistent, I just switched to TDEE which was roughly the same as MFP + exercise give or take.

I was initially losing weight faster than I wanted to I adjusted my activity level from sedentary to light active. Even though I have a desk job, I wasn't really sedentary...at the time I had a toddler and a new born and was on my feet most of the evening tending to them, playing, cooking, cleaning, fixing this or that, etc.

Odd_Equestrian

I do and I don't. Right now it tells me I should eat 1300 calories, but I always burn at least 200 so that i can have 1500 calories

kimny72

Odd_Equestrian wrote: »

I do and I don't. Right now it tells me I should eat 1300 calories, but I always burn at least 200 so that i can have 1500 calories

That's actually how it's supposed to work. MFP calorie goal doesn't include exercise, it expects you to log your exercise and eat back those calories as well. So you are following MFP if you eat your MFP goal + exercise

jjpptt2

I don't follow much of anything anymore... except the see-food diet, I guess. But I digress...

Given that all these numbers are just estimates and approximations, and that I came to MFP looking for help and guidance... I followed MFP's suggests as closely as I could for several months. I then looked at my numbers over time, along with my progress (or lack there of), and was able to figure out what my actual calorie goal should be based on how I log/track/estimate.

So, to answer your question... yes and no.


ETA --
The combination of MFP and my garmin watch has been very reliable for me. I know a lot of people squawk about inaccuracies and such, but it's been a very reliable tool for me.

Tacklewasher

I muck with it.

In general, I have my plan for exercise for the week and eat 2000 cals. But on days where I go over my plan, I eat more. But MFP would have me eating 1650 some days and 2300 other days. So, more TDEE but with adjustments for being off plan (usually from a run that I felt like going further with).

paperpudding

frenchy807 wrote: »

Hi All!

This seems like an “obvious” question, but I am wondering if any of you strictly follow MFP’s calorie limit or do you set your own? For example, my calorie limit says I should eat 1600 calories, but I tend to eat around 2,000 because 1600 just seems so low. Just curious if anyone else does this or if they strictly stay at what MFP suggests?? Thanks!!

Yes and No.

Yes i follow the number MFP tells me to eat - ie I aim for the number it tells me which I have found successful for me.

However do i follow it strictly? - No, I am quite a lazy logger and i dont adhere to it strictly, I estimate and use law of averages a lot.
Nevertheless the MFP number is my approximate aim, not any other number derived any other way

pinuplove

Like a lot of others here, my answer is... Eh, ish.

Just starting out, I'd recommend you do. After you have some time and results under your belt, it's easier to judge how you might need to adjust.

mbaker566

typically, i do. i have my garmin connected and it gives me the adjusted goal.
i try to be within 15% of my calorie goal.

maureenkhilde

I recently increased mine as it seemed too low. I set now for 1.5lb loss per week instead of the 2 lbs. Where I do not follow well at all is around the exercise piece. I think the MFP is way over estimating this. So I eat back about 25% of the calories. I literally just changed for calories yesterday so need to see how this works. And I bank a few Monday through Friday for the weekend.

kami3006

I find it a bit low for me so I add 100 calories and then eat all of my exercise calories (actual burns based on data, not estimates).

StargazerB

MFP says I should maintain my weight on 1600 calories a day... I maintained for over a year on about 1900 plus one day a week that I didn't log and I know I ate way more than 2000. So, no I do not.

Cahgetsfit

No. It told me to eat 1200. I can't do that I am starving psycho mess on 1200. I eat at 1700 ish to lose weight and maintain quite happily around 1900-2000.

jjpptt2

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

No. It told me to eat 1200. I can't do that I am starving psycho mess on 1200. I eat at 1700 ish to lose weight and maintain quite happily around 1900-2000.

To be fair though, have you told it you wanted to lose at a less aggressive rate, it would have given you a much different number. So to some extent, you are not following it because you set it up to aggressively. Or is this another neat vs tdee situation?

Cahgetsfit

jjpptt2 wrote: »

To be fair though, have you told it you wanted to lose at a less aggressive rate, it would have given you a much different number. So to some extent, you are not following it because you set it up to aggressively. Or is this another neat vs tdee situation?

That was quite some time ago when I first started to diet. I think I set it to the aggressive option. I did stick to it for 2 months and was doing exercise classes at the gym, but then i derailed badly because was soooooooo starving and the 4 kilos I lost came back on with interest.

So I got a coach. Who told me to never eat less than 1500. And also would increase my calories every time I got starving. By the end I was on 2100 cals and pretty content with life.

kimny72

For those of you saying the MFP calorie goal was too low, do you mean the MFP calorie goal + exercise calories was too low?

Larkspur94

I'm recommended 1200, which is pretty much my bmr. I struggle to get to 1000 each day. Just under it and I get scolded by the site. I pretty much have to either have a meal full of cream and cheese, or have 2 servings. An 8oz rump steak covers 800 but I can't afford nor want that each day. Veggies and a chicken portion just don't have that many cals.
Even when I was eating unhealthy and 17lb heavier, I didn't eat all that much. Didn't track the calories but pretty sure 2 bowls of chocolate cereal and a few biscuits led to the recommended amount here. No wonder I never gained or lost.

As said, I'm aiming for that 1000 each day and losing a pound a week. However, before I started tracking the cals to be that here, I was losing 2 pound a week. Believe my daily total was around 700. Wonder if I should go back to that or stick to the 1000.

mds1207

Because I eat the extra calories "earned" from exercise, I usually have 100 - 200 calories of my daily limit (1720 without exercise) "left on the table" (pun intended...LOL). Being newer at this, I do have a question that I'd appreciate some help with...I've lost 20 lbs so far using MFP (avg. 1.4 lb p/wk); so do I have to do anything to have the system recalculate my calories to continue my goal of 1 lb per week? Thanks in advance for your help. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

AnnPT77

I started with the MFP calorie estimate, eating back all my (carefully estimated) exercise calories, and lost weight too fast (faster than my target rate in my profile, which was not an insane target for my weight at that point), and started feeling bad (weak, fatigued). So I ate more, and lost just fine anyway.

Based on experience, my maintenance calories are several hundred (20-30%) higher than MFP estimates; I don't know why. (Maybe I just don't behave like a proper 63-year-old li'l ol' lady? ). But I eat based on my experience with my own data, not the MFP estimate.

sheloves89

I just came back to MFP at the end of September. I'm 5'6", female, and live a sedentary lifestyle. I started at 179 lbs and I'm down to 163 lbs as of this morning. I have it set to lose 2 lbs/week, so MFP has me at 1200/day. That's quite low, but I try to stick to it as much as possible, and it's definitely been working for me! The last couple of weeks I've been eating over, closer to 1300-1400/day, but as long as I'm still seeing progress, I'm happy with it. It's a good equilibrium for me, because I'm happy with a bit of leeway over the limit. Historically as soon as I went over I'd say "well to hell with it!" and eat whatever I wanted... which obviously isn't the best strategy. Now I'm happy letting myself go a little bit over. Flexibility is good.

RAinWA

Larkspur94 wrote: »

I'm recommended 1200, which is pretty much my bmr. I struggle to get to 1000 each day. Just under it and I get scolded by the site. I pretty much have to either have a meal full of cream and cheese, or have 2 servings. An 8oz rump steak covers 800 but I can't afford nor want that each day. Veggies and a chicken portion just don't have that many cals.
Even when I was eating unhealthy and 17lb heavier, I didn't eat all that much. Didn't track the calories but pretty sure 2 bowls of chocolate cereal and a few biscuits led to the recommended amount here. No wonder I never gained or lost.

As said, I'm aiming for that 1000 each day and losing a pound a week. However, before I started tracking the cals to be that here, I was losing 2 pound a week. Believe my daily total was around 700. Wonder if I should go back to that or stick to the 1000.

No, you should not go to 700 and, in fact, you shouldn't be eating only 1000. 1200 net is the lowest you should aim for unless you are under really strict medical supervision. If you actually need to lose weight, you can eat more than 1000 calories a day.

You don't eat under your BMR, you eat under your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). You are under eating and that is unhealthy.

patrickaa5

I'm not sure how many calories MFP suggests. Early on I manually changed the calories to 1,600. How do I update that back to see what MFP suggests? I can't seem to get it to go back to the MFP suggestion.