Net Calorie Confusion!

RubyRunner14

So, I have checked all the stickies threads, and previous MFP net calorie topics but I've never found a definite answer.

So my BMR is about 1300. Two days a week I run 8 miles, two days I have 2:15 band practice mostly walking or speed walking with a 30lb drum, one day I do weight training, and one day I either have a game (5 hrs standing, 1 hr walking, 10 mins quick walking w/drum) or I do weights.

So I just now set my net at a fair defect of -500 my estimated TDEE at workout 6-7x a week (2374), which turns out about 1870 (Used to be 1680). However, I do not log exercise into MFP because I already calculated my exercise burned into my TDEE calculation.

Just for kicks, I plugged in my run from yesterday into MFP. It had me eating 2700 calories after an (overestimated) 870-ish calorie burn from my run. Is this correct? What should I set my net goal to be? Should I log my exercise into MFP as well to get the correct net calories amount or what?

Thanks for the help.

cmriverside

Pick one and stick to it for a month.

If you are hungry eat a little more on those 8-mile-run days.

Regroup if it isn't working.

This is your experiment to run...and you haven't given us enough data to make any kind of educated guess.

RubyRunner14

Okay... what information do you need?

RubyRunner14

Bump. Still confused...

Francl27

There's no way MFP would give you 2700 to eat. It just added your exercise calories to your TDEE-20% goal, which isn't supposed to happen. Your MFP goal would probably be much lower if you used the default setting (guessing 1300ish instead of 1870).

cwolfman13

Stick with a method. When you do TDEE, you estimate your exercise as part of your activity level..thus you don't eat back exercise calories. MFP assumes no exercise in your daily activity level...therefore you log and eat back those exercise calories. If you're doing it right it's pretty much 6 of 1.

My MFP net goal was 1,850 calories to lose 1 Lb per week. With exercise I was grossing between 2100 - 2200 calories on average depending on the day. My TDEE estimate is around 2700 calories. My TDEE - 20% to lose 1 Lb per week is 2,160 calories. See, 6 of 1.

With TDEE, you're going to have days where you're at a bigger deficit and days where you're at a smaller deficit. It should net out in the end if you have your TDEE set right. It's all an estimate and you may need to adjust accordingly. I initially had my TDEE set to moderate based on the description. I'm not quite moderate active though...but I'm more than light active...I just had to dial in that number.

bwogilvie

There is no definitive answer, because it depends on how you want to use the tool.

MFP is *built* on the model of calculating TDEE without exercise, and then generating a calorie deficit based on that and on how much the user wants to lose. If you want to use the tool as designed, do that, but find a more reliable way to estimate calories burned.

However, plenty of people use MFP's calorie counting feature without following its method for determining how much to eat. They estimate TDEE including exercise, then choose a deficit.

Both kinds will lose weight as long as they're honest about tracking what they eat and what they burn, though it's important to compare estimates with reality and adjust calorie targets accordingly.

RubyRunner14

Thank you for the replies, everyone. I came up with a median number of BMRx 1.65 or something activity level, so I'm eating about 1770 daily goal since I don't really bother with logging exercise.

For real MFP have me 2700 to eat. On the bottom it said, you earned such and such calories from exercise. For 1lb a week weight loss it recommended 1200. I'd be falling over with just that much. (:

glreim21

If you are setting your own calorie goal then make sure you change your profile to 'maintain' and weight loss goal as 'zero'. Then the MFP calculations don't get all confused:)