Calories

amjmortensen48
amjmortensen48 Posts: 40 Member
in Getting Started
How do you know how many calories to start off with when trying to lose weight?

Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,217 Member
    You use the tool on MFP's settings.

    Go to https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals. Look for the link to Guided Setup at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided. Enter your current weight, height, and activity level. Set the rate you want to lose at; don't just pick two pounds a week. Start with one or even a half pound a week. You can adjust after you have a few weeks of personal data.

    POOF!

    You now have a calorie goal, but this goal does not include extra calories to fuel any exercise. This is just living your daily life, going to work and such.

    What goal did it give you?
  • amjmortensen48
    amjmortensen48 Posts: 40 Member
    You mean calorie goal?
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,271 Member
    What did you mean in OP if not calorie goal???

    The way MFP is designed to work, as mtaratoot said, is you put in your stats and a realistic weight loss per week goal - there is a chart somewhere on here on what amounts to aim for, but in general only put more than 1lb per week if you have a lot to lose.

    Additional exercise - you eat back those calories.

    You may need t o tweak the system a bit as you go - some people find only eating back 50% of exercise calories or adjusting the calorie goal slightly is required (it is all an estimate, after all) - but that is how you get your calorie goal to start off
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,217 Member
    amjmortensen48 wrote: »
    You mean calorie goal?

    Yes. What calorie goal did the guided setup tell you to eat? That's the starting point. If you do intentional exercise over and above the activity level you set for your daily routine, you add those each day so your goal may be different every day.

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