Calorie Allowance

aziz_n1

Somehow managing to stay well below my daily allowance. Wondering how the calorie allowance is calculated? Does it take into account all factors like height, weight, build/frame, age & activity level? Glad to say had another deficit day today, while still having eaten enough to feel content but not overly full. If I ate enough to meet the calorie allowance, I think the belly would ‘burst.!’
Are others having the same dilemma?

deannalfisher

your calorie goal should take into account all of that stats that you inputted into MFP; but remember that it does not inlcude PURPOSFUL EXERCISE.

also if you are in maintenace then why are you staying before your daily allowance - that allowance should be your maintenance goal

aziz_n1

Looking to lose some more to get to my target weight of 147lbs or 65.3Kg. Posted original article under the wrong heading.

apullum

Are you weighing all of your food with a food scale? Most people who don't use a food scale are actually eating more than they think they are.

aziz_n1

Yes, I recently purchased a new set of digital kitchen scales. Takes some discipline and patience to measure each time, especially when one is really hungry and one just wants to tuck in..

Jthanmyfitnesspal

MFP uses the "Mifflin-St Jeor" formula (which really gives your basal metabolic rate, BMR).

https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

It's shockingly simple, but is based on scientific studies. Most mysterious is the activity factor, which takes the BMR and just multiplies it by a number greater than 1. The lowest multiplier (reflecting minimal activity, but assuming you do get out of bed every day) is 1.2, for example.

To lose 1 lb per, you "just" need to have a net deficit of ~3500kcals (over any amount of time). For 1 week, this happens to be ~500kcals per day.

For me, my maintenance allowance is calculated to be ~2000kcals/day, so I will lose a pound a week by eating 1500kcals/day plus extra for exercise. Given how crude these calculations are, I'm amazed how accurate it has proven to be!


Happy dieting!

WinoGelato

You are supposed to come as close to your calorie target as possible, assuming you entered correct stats, a rate of loss goal appropriate for the amount of weight you have to lose, and are logging as accurately as possible. Some people look at weekly calorie goals, if they eat under goal during the week they then bank the calories for a weekend indulgence.

Significantly and consistently eating under goal can have adverse effects, this isn’t a case of faster weight loss must be better.

If you are having trouble eating enough calories, I bet you’ve changed your diet to add high volume lower calorie foods like a lot more vegetables, fruits, etc. Nothing wrong with adding back some more calorie dense foods to help get to your goal - things like cooking with oil, eating full fat dairy, adding small portions of nuts, avocado, cheese, hummus, ice cream to your day...

aziz_n1

Thanks for the science and calculation methods. Had another big deficit day calorie wise once I factored in my activity & exercise. Don’t feel bad for it though. No cravings. If I ate enough to meet my allowance, I really would feel bloated.

AnnPT77

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Yes, I recently purchased a new set of digital kitchen scales. Takes some discipline and patience to measure each time, especially when one is really hungry and one just wants to tuck in..

It's quicker with a few tricks. Do you know them?

If not, read this thread (despite the joke-y clickbait title, it's about using your food scale efficiently):

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10498882/weighing-food-takes-too-long-and-is-obsessive

SueSueDio

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Thanks for the science and calculation methods. Had another big deficit day calorie wise once I factored in my activity & exercise. Don’t feel bad for it though. No cravings. If I ate enough to meet my allowance, I really would feel bloated.

If you're sure your logging is accurate, then consider adding some calorie-dense foods to bring up your total without feeling stuffed:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

lg013

SueSueDio wrote: »

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Thanks for the science and calculation methods. Had another big deficit day calorie wise once I factored in my activity & exercise. Don’t feel bad for it though. No cravings. If I ate enough to meet my allowance, I really would feel bloated.

If you're sure your logging is accurate, then consider adding some calorie-dense foods to bring up your total without feeling stuffed:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

For me personally, I started finding more calorie dense foods to add to my diet...over time I found I had better results if I stayed close to my allotted calories rather than having a 200-400 calorie deficit each day. The key is to play around with it to see what works for you.

aziz_n1

Thanks for the advice about calorie dense foods. Some examples would be appreciated. Still trying to understand how eating more to raise the calorie intake could help with weight loss.
I seem to be doing well by having a deficit everyday through high activity levels through the day, self-restraint on diet and not suffering any downside that I can see or feel.
Maybe I need to do some more study into this whole thing of health & fitness.

PAV8888

People tend to feel fine during an excess deficit... until they no longer do.

By that time it is usually both hard to reverse out of the not feeling fine AND it is hard to control the re-bounds that often follow.

Quite a few people also find it fine to lose at a no more than say 20% deficit (25% while obese), one that ends up with them losing anywhere from 0.25% to 0.75% of their body weight per week. It could be anecdotal, but I see fewer of these people complaining that they ended up not feeling fine! It could be that there is just far fewer of them--or, just maybe, slow and steady works and gives you time to learn useful things--who knows!

One thing I do know is that early on in my weight loss I decided to try and establish patterns and behaviours that I could use during maintenance. And practice eating in ways that I thought I could continue with during maintenance.

Looking back at things 5.5 years after I started and 3.5 years after I hit the top of normal weight I do not regret one bit this "practice" and truly do not think I would have benefited at all by losing even faster.

Retrospectively, my one year top average speed from obese to overweight was 1.4lbs a week, achieving an average deficit of 21.35% of my TDEE.

AnnPT77

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice about calorie dense foods. Some examples would be appreciated. Still trying to understand how eating more to raise the calorie intake could help with weight loss.
I seem to be doing well by having a deficit everyday through high activity levels through the day, self-restraint on diet and not suffering any downside that I can see or feel.

Maybe I need to do some more study into this whole thing of health & fitness.

Mostly, eating more to raise the calorie intake (to a sensible level!) helps preserve health, energy level, and body composition (relatively more muscle vs. fat). Losing at the fastest possible rate isn't always a good thing. It can even be a health risk.

I accidentally lost too fast for a while (because MFP underestimates my calorie needs). I felt great . . . until I didn't, suddenly. I felt weak and fatigued. It took several weeks to recover my normal strength and energy level. It was counterproductive.

I was lucky. It's possible to have much more severe consequences: Gall bladder dysfunction, thinning hair, brittle nails, and more. Will that happen for sure, if losing too fast? No, not for sure. So, how much risk tolerance do you have? When it comes to my health, personally, I'd rather play it safer.

lg013

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice about calorie dense foods. Some examples would be appreciated. Still trying to understand how eating more to raise the calorie intake could help with weight loss.
I seem to be doing well by having a deficit everyday through high activity levels through the day, self-restraint on diet and not suffering any downside that I can see or feel.
Maybe I need to do some more study into this whole thing of health & fitness.

https://www.shape.com/weight-loss/tips-plans/why-eating-more-secret-losing-weight

heybales

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Still trying to understand how eating more to raise the calorie intake could help with weight loss.
I seem to be doing well by having a deficit everyday through high activity levels through the day, self-restraint on diet and not suffering any downside that I can see or feel.
Maybe I need to do some more study into this whole thing of health & fitness.

If your body doesn't like the amount of deficit it's getting as a stress to all the others you may have (and you may have none) - it'll adapt to make that deficit not so bad.

It can't adapt enough to wipe deficit out if you keep eating lower and lower - but obviously if body was stressed out enough to adapt, it ain't going to be thrilled with you eating even lower.

One of the first things it does is slow you down in many ways, fidgeting, actually feeling like moving, small stuff all day long.
If it's serious, it'll slow down lower level functions normally viewed as part of the metabolism - growing hair, nails, replacing skin, ect.

Between those levels, workouts will start to suck, even though they may "feel" just as difficult - but objective measures point out that's usually not true. So there's a savings of calories during the weaker workout and then no need for repair later it just can't handle.

Steep deficits is where people discover the normal body breakdown and buildup of muscle throughout starts to get hampered - and even with strength training some muscle somewhere isn't being built back up. Loss of muscle mass very difficult to correct later.

None of this will immediately jump out at someone - just like vitamin & mineral deficiency can take months and months to finally show a symptom serious enough to notice, and by them some have done real harm to their body, some can recover and it'll take awhile.
So also with calorie deficiency.

You want enough to lose the fat only (usually the goal anyway), but not so much to cross the line to get the negatives.

Unless you are lucky enough to be in a research study to be measured out the whazoo to find out where that personal line is (and even then you could be the unlucky one purposely pushed over it and won't know until later it happened) - the advice you are hearing are the research study conclusions that on average seem to keep people safe in their diet from the negatives.

Obviously some people have more stress, diseased body already, mental/emotional issues - and that avg line is too far.
Others maybe could push beyond average - the problem being the time it takes to discover which you are and the negatives that occur in the meantime.

Last stat I saw still had over a majority of dieters failing to keep their goal weight range after so many months, even higher % after a longer time lapse. And from the boards you'll discover there must be plenty % that don't reach goal weight either.
So even if it was only that reason to learn to eat well for level of activity.

Just some food for thought. Maybe eat a little more real food too while thinking about it! ;-)

try2again

aziz_n1 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice about calorie dense foods. Some examples would be appreciated.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Ooh, calorie dense foods, I love them. Off the top of my head, I eat nuts, nut butters, various cheeses, avocado, oils, meats, and fish.