MFP gave me 1400 cals to lose weight??????
Sparkle097
Posts: 83 Member
I’m a girl, 18, 5.2ft, weight 60kg and my goal is 55kg. My net cals are 1420 a day to lose weight. My bmr is 1330 cals. I workout 4 days a week. My workouts range from moderate to intense. I’m not sure how much I burn through exercise. So for example if I burn 100 cals through exercise, does that mean I need to eat that back or at least half of it??? I don’t want to eat them back cause it’s tough mentally as I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight and I dnt want to
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
10
Replies
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Eat them back. MFP is set up that way.
BTW, I lose on 2000 calories per day. You'll be fine.18 -
1400 is not too few calories to lose weight on. It’s a pretty low number actually. So you should aim for 1400 calories net - meaning you should eat back your exercise calories.
Do this for a month, then evaluate if it’s working (which it absolutely will unless you have a medical condition). And because you are already a healthy weight, you should expect your progress to be slow, about 0.5 a lb a week13 -
Sounds about right for your height and weight. I'm also 5'2 and 136-138 (and old enough to be your mother) and I lose on roughly the same.
You do need to eat exercise calories on top of that. The exact amount (be it half or all it something in between) will depend on how accurate your calculated burns and logging are.8 -
The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?19 -
The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.2 -
Thank u everyone!!!! X1
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sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
This site will estimate them when you enter your exercise.4 -
my BMR is 1173, and I will lose on 1420. Just weigh food accurately, be consistent and patient, trust the process
3 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
This site will estimate them when you enter your exercise.
But don’t they overestimate???0 -
sytchequeen wrote: »my BMR is 1173, and I will lose on 1420. Just weigh food accurately, be consistent and patient, trust the process
What re ur goals?0 -
sathmif465 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
This site will estimate them when you enter your exercise.
But don’t they overestimate???
Relax. You sound really wound up about this whole thing.
Start by eating back 50%. If you are losing weight as predicted, keep eating 50%. If you are losing too fast, eat more of them. If you aren't losing as predicted, eat less of them.
Everybody is different, and this website is just a generic formula. You have to do a bit of personal experimentation to get it just right.
19 -
sathmif465 wrote: »sytchequeen wrote: »my BMR is 1173, and I will lose on 1420. Just weigh food accurately, be consistent and patient, trust the process
What re ur goals?
I've reached mine, now I maintain on between 1650 and 1800 depending on how active I am. If I dropped down to the 1400s range I would definitely be losing again.0 -
I'm 5.1 and much heavier than you are and I'm on 1400 calories. I eat a bit less than half the workout calories back. It's difficult to know exactly how many calories you burn. I've used a couple of different apps or MFP exercise numbers and they can vary dramatically. It's slow but the weight is definitely going down. The good thing about 1400 is you can still eat out without too much difficulty. Good luck like everyone says be as accurate as possible on your food intake and log everything.2
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sathmif465 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
This site will estimate them when you enter your exercise.
But don’t they overestimate???
Some people think so. Some people find them to be accurate. Try eating back at least 50-75 percent of what it estimates.
FWIW, I'm slightly taller -- all of 2.5 inches -- than you, and weigh slightly less, and I lose about 1.5 pounds a week eating between 1300 and 1400 a day.3 -
sathmif465 wrote: »
But don’t they overestimate???
Some methods do more than others. The best way to figure out if they're overestimated and to what degree is to pick a method (MFP database, watch, heart-rate monitor etc), pick a % to eat back, be consistent with it and then measure your progress.
But, I do tend to overthink these things as well, so I use this this website to give me a rough idea of whether or not a number is wildly overestimated, mostly for non-cardio. It uses MET (Metabolic Equivalent) values which are based off your BMR. Simply put, if something has an MET value of 3 then you should use about 3 times as much energy completing that activity as you would at rest. (This is actually how MFP calculates your energy burn as well, it just doesn't spell it out for you.)
You know your BMR so 1330/24 to get 55.5kcal/hour at rest. Pick an entry (some are estimated, some are supported by research so should be more accurate) say "bicycling, <10 mph, leisure, to work or for pleasure" with an MET value of 4 and if you cycled for an hour you'd burn about 55.5*4 =222kcal. Now if you're on a stationary bike, taking it easy and the bike tells you you burned 500kcal you know its rubbish. This is again just an estimate but I mostly like it because I can see where the numbers come from and they're not just pulled out of the air.7 -
sathmif465 wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
This site will estimate them when you enter your exercise.
But don’t they overestimate???
They do for most of the exercises but it is easy to work around. Two ways to do this: change how you log your exercise or adjust the percentage of them you eat back.
To change how you log: My main exercise is swimming laps and a water aerobics class. I swim breast stroke at 1 mph. I use the entry for "Swimming, leisurely, general" which gives me 75% of the calories a breast stroke entry would. My water aerobics class has only one entry so I enter 40 minutes even though I am in class for 60 minutes. You can do something similar with walking or running. Enter either a slower speed or a duration shorter than what you actually did.
Others have mentioned eating back 50% to start and adjusting accordingly which also works really well.
I find I do better by adjusting how many calories I log and eating almost all of them. It is just the way my mind works. If I see 2000 calories, I will eat 2000 calories. You will figure out what works best for you. Just don't be afraid of eating. Trust the process, it does work. I lost over 100 lb eating my daily calories plus about 75-90% of exercise calories (entered like I described above).1 -
Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski19 -
Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
Women aren't supposed to get less than 1,200 calories a day. If you aren't pulling our leg, I suggest resetting your goals as there is apparently a bug impacting your calorie goal.13 -
Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
MFP won't let you go below 1200, so I question how you got 1000 calories on MFP.10 -
sathmif465 wrote: »I’m a girl, 18, 5.2ft, weight 60kg and my goal is 55kg. My net cals are 1420 a day to lose weight. My bmr is 1330 cals. I workout 4 days a week. My workouts range from moderate to intense. I’m not sure how much I burn through exercise. So for example if I burn 100 cals through exercise, does that mean I need to eat that back or at least half of it??? I don’t want to eat them back cause it’s tough mentally as I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight and I dnt want to
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
Yeah I lose on 1300-1400. Maintenance calories for me are about 1750.
I wasn't eating back exercise calories but I was going too low on exercise days so I've started to.
If you eat 1400 in calories but only burn 100 on exercise you can choose whether or not you want to eat them back.
0 -
I've lost 41 pounds so far in 6 months (1.57 pounds per week) on 1500 calories per day (which is 2 pounds per week target) and I rarely eat back any exercise calories. I've been monitoring my overall weight loss per week and it's never exceeded my target and I am religious about weighing and logging food. There's no way I can measure calories burned however and no matter how precise you try to be on logging, even food manufacturers get their calories wrong.
Therefore, I'd recommend eating back exercise calories ONLY when you see your weight loss at or exceeding your target or when you're 100% certain that you have a precise measure of all calories consumed and burned. Results are more important than risking giving up because you're not seeing the weight loss you're aiming for.
A final note, proper exercise will tend to build muscle even on a calorie deficit as long as proper protein level is maintained, so that will tend to ensure you don't exceed your weight loss target, because you'll have lost fat but gained some muscle.13 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
Women aren't supposed to get less than 1,200 calories a day. If you aren't pulling our leg, I suggest resetting your goals as there is apparently a bug impacting your calorie goal.
I would be interested in knowing that too. I work a lot during the week and sometimes I sleep in on Saturdays....so I frequently come close to the 1000 calorie line on that day. If I go below the program tells me in big red letters that I need to be above 1000 calories.3 -
CindyJNC1963 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
Women aren't supposed to get less than 1,200 calories a day. If you aren't pulling our leg, I suggest resetting your goals as there is apparently a bug impacting your calorie goal.
I would be interested in knowing that too. I work a lot during the week and sometimes I sleep in on Saturdays....so I frequently come close to the 1000 calorie line on that day. If I go below the program tells me in big red letters that I need to be above 1000 calories.
It's likely that you *do* need to eat more than 1,000 calories, even while you're sleeping your body is still using energy.4 -
sathmif465 wrote: »I’m a girl, 18, 5.2ft, weight 60kg and my goal is 55kg. My net cals are 1420 a day to lose weight. My bmr is 1330 cals. I workout 4 days a week. My workouts range from moderate to intense. I’m not sure how much I burn through exercise. So for example if I burn 100 cals through exercise, does that mean I need to eat that back or at least half of it??? I don’t want to eat them back cause it’s tough mentally as I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight and I dnt want to
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
Yeah I lose on 1300-1400. Maintenance calories for me are about 1750.
I wasn't eating back exercise calories but I was going too low on exercise days so I've started to.
If you eat 1400 in calories but only burn 100 on exercise you can choose whether or not you want to eat them back.
Thank u!!! x do I have to eat them back? If I don’t want to? Will that have any negative problems?1 -
sathmif465 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »I’m a girl, 18, 5.2ft, weight 60kg and my goal is 55kg. My net cals are 1420 a day to lose weight. My bmr is 1330 cals. I workout 4 days a week. My workouts range from moderate to intense. I’m not sure how much I burn through exercise. So for example if I burn 100 cals through exercise, does that mean I need to eat that back or at least half of it??? I don’t want to eat them back cause it’s tough mentally as I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight and I dnt want to
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
Yeah I lose on 1300-1400. Maintenance calories for me are about 1750.
I wasn't eating back exercise calories but I was going too low on exercise days so I've started to.
If you eat 1400 in calories but only burn 100 on exercise you can choose whether or not you want to eat them back.
Thank u!!! x do I have to eat them back? If I don’t want to? Will that have any negative problems?
You're an adult, you decide what you eat and don't eat. Nobody can make you nourish yourself properly if you've decided not to.
If not eating exercise calories results in a too-large deficit, you'll be at risk for all the problems associated with rapid weight loss -- hunger, fatigue, hair loss, lack of energy, urges to binge, gallbladder problems, and loss of muscle.
For people who don't exercise much or have a smaller deficit, not eating back exercise calories is no big deal. But why wouldn't you want to eat more while you're losing weight?14 -
sathmif465 wrote: »The way MFP is designed, you should eat them back. Your deficit calories to lose weight at the rate you chose is built into that 1420kcal. Where that runs into problems is when calories burned for exercise are overestimated so some people are conservative with it and eat a % back until they have the data to know how accurate the estimate is. The idea is that if you are then losing too fast you then eat back a higher %.sathmif465 wrote: »I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight
You need to look at why you feel this way. That's just a number. It's like having 1400ml of water and a 2000ml container and feeling like the container is going to overflow. It won't. It can't. Your feelings about it don't change how much water you actually have.
Be as accurate as you can with your logging and you will lose weight on 1400kcal + exercise. If your BMR is 1330 do you really think it only takes 90kcal to keep you moving around all day?
Oh alright thank u! So u re saying I should eat back exercise cals back? But I don’t how to estimate them? I can’t afford a watch that counts caloriess.
You dont need a watch to count calories. Use the myfitness pal app on your phone or computer.3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »sathmif465 wrote: »I’m a girl, 18, 5.2ft, weight 60kg and my goal is 55kg. My net cals are 1420 a day to lose weight. My bmr is 1330 cals. I workout 4 days a week. My workouts range from moderate to intense. I’m not sure how much I burn through exercise. So for example if I burn 100 cals through exercise, does that mean I need to eat that back or at least half of it??? I don’t want to eat them back cause it’s tough mentally as I already feel 1400 cals is too much to lose weight and I dnt want to
add more calories. Plus it doesn’t make sense to me to eat them back. I haven’t lost any weight yet cause I only started eating 1400 cals 2 days ago.
What do u think?
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks x
Yeah I lose on 1300-1400. Maintenance calories for me are about 1750.
I wasn't eating back exercise calories but I was going too low on exercise days so I've started to.
If you eat 1400 in calories but only burn 100 on exercise you can choose whether or not you want to eat them back.
Thank u!!! x do I have to eat them back? If I don’t want to? Will that have any negative problems?
You're an adult, you decide what you eat and don't eat. Nobody can make you nourish yourself properly if you've decided not to.
If not eating exercise calories results in a too-large deficit, you'll be at risk for all the problems associated with rapid weight loss -- hunger, fatigue, hair loss, lack of energy, urges to binge, gallbladder problems, and loss of muscle.
For people who don't exercise much or have a smaller deficit, not eating back exercise calories is no big deal. But why wouldn't you want to eat more while you're losing weight?
As one wise MFP'er once said "Whoever eats the most and loses--WINS!" #truth
Losing weight doesn't have to be about deprivation or starving, or even dieting. We're just conditioned to think that way.11 -
janejellyroll wrote: »CindyJNC1963 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
Women aren't supposed to get less than 1,200 calories a day. If you aren't pulling our leg, I suggest resetting your goals as there is apparently a bug impacting your calorie goal.
I would be interested in knowing that too. I work a lot during the week and sometimes I sleep in on Saturdays....so I frequently come close to the 1000 calorie line on that day. If I go below the program tells me in big red letters that I need to be above 1000 calories.
It's likely that you *do* need to eat more than 1,000 calories, even while you're sleeping your body is still using energy.
I probably didn't word my post correctly. I totally agree with you. I absolutely need to eat more on those sleep in Saturdays. My point was that it's weird that someone says their MFP maximum is 1000 calories when, in fact, MFP warns you that you absolutely should never eat below 1000 calories a day.
1 -
CindyJNC1963 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »CindyJNC1963 wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »Addy_Caddy wrote: »Big deal. I got 1,000 calories, and that's WITH exercise.
Count your blessings merkowski
Women aren't supposed to get less than 1,200 calories a day. If you aren't pulling our leg, I suggest resetting your goals as there is apparently a bug impacting your calorie goal.
I would be interested in knowing that too. I work a lot during the week and sometimes I sleep in on Saturdays....so I frequently come close to the 1000 calorie line on that day. If I go below the program tells me in big red letters that I need to be above 1000 calories.
It's likely that you *do* need to eat more than 1,000 calories, even while you're sleeping your body is still using energy.
I probably didn't word my post correctly. I totally agree with you. I absolutely need to eat more on those sleep in Saturdays. My point was that it's weird that someone says their MFP maximum is 1000 calories when, in fact, MFP warns you that you absolutely should never eat below 1000 calories a day.
Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying!4 -
As most of the responders stated - trust the process.
The reason some recommend to eat a portion of exercise calories back is due to miscalculations in entries, but this can hurt you in the long term if you are underfueling your workouts.
Follow the MFP guidelines and check back in 4-6 weeks and see where you stand.0
This discussion has been closed.
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