My fitness pal formula

floareaciprian

Hey, I'm new here and i have one question, how does the myfitnesspal formula work?
Seems to me that it has a bad formula, nevertheless i use this app to see what calories i eat.
Searching all around the web i found a pretty consistent formula to lose or gain weight and that is:
calculate your BMR, mine is 1733, then multiply it by your activity level, i put active (1.725) because i go tot the gym 6 days a week and have a circuit training and cardio. So my thinking is 1733 x 1.725 = 2989 calories to maintain the current weight. In order for me to lose weight I subtract 500 calories from my workout, leaving me with 2489 calories. If I really want to loose weight fast i would even subtract 500 more calories from the food i am eating. So that would mean I have to eat a total of 1989 calories, let's say for argument sake that it's ~ 2000 calories. (sex:m; age:25; weight: 71 kg; height: 173cm).

Have I done the math right? I think so...but the myfitnesspal app shows that if I eat 2000 calories (Net Calories Consumed*), then i would lose 0.5 kg/week. So who's wrong? Me or the formula?

Cheers,

jacksonpt

Yes, sounds like you've done the math right.

MFP's formula is similar, except that it doesn't include exercise in the activity level. So with MFP, you get 1500 cals per day (or however the math works out for you), so you eat those 1500 cals PLUS whatever cals you burn during exercise.

In either case, you should be eating basically the same amount of cals in the long run. Assuming you've made reasonable estimates and using appropriate goals.

floareaciprian

Thanks mate