Confused by MFP's "mat

michehrlich

So, I have reached my goal weight (yay me). I now want to maintain that weight. So I go into Goals in MFP. There, for my Weekly Goal, I can choose "maintain my current weight". The thing is, my current weight changes a bit each day. It gets synced into MFP from my Garmin Connect app, which gets it from my Garmin smart scale. So let's say one day my weight is a kilo more than my goal weight that I want to maintain. That means that my "current weight" is now more, so if MFP is calculating calories to maintain my "current weight" it'll be giving me too many calories that I can eat. How can I get MFP to adjust my daily calorie budget based on an immovable target rather than somethign that moves a bit each day (namely current weight). There should be an option for, instead of "maintain my current weight", it should be "reach and maintain my target weight". Am I missing something?

Lietchi

The difference in calorie requirement when you are 1kg heavier is really minimal, 5 calories at the most, perhaps even less. Don't worry about it, your calorie counting has more margin of error than that.

On top of that, MFP doesn't automatically update your calorie goal based on your weight updates, or at least it never has for me (I've always had to 'force' it by updating my settings).

mtaratoot

In maintenance, your mass will fluctuate. Sometimes wildly. It can be a mind game, so be prepared. It's OK. Maintenance is essentially gaining and losing the same (x) pounds over and over again. There's some good tools to help make sure you stay on track, but you're asking about goal setting.

What I do is decide what my actual goal weight is - one number. I enter THAT into the goal setting page on MFP and see what it spits out. I usually make a small change to that number based on my experience and the fact I like palindromes. Then I track for several weeks. I eat back my exercise calories (synched from a Garmin device). Sometimes, based on experience, I don't eat them all back because I think some of the estimates are dubious (like for SCUBA diving at the aquarium). After several weeks, I check how close to my calorie target I've been and how the scale responds. Then, if needed, make small adjustments to the goal.

There's a user in a group I'm involved in that has a neat spreadsheet that helps him apply a correction factor. You could do this. He tracks his calories, then estimates what his weight SHOULD be based on his surplus or deficit. Then, I think monthly or at most quarterly, if his actual weight change is different from his calculated change, he applies a positive or negative adjustment to his calorie goal.

TLDR: Maintenance is always a work in progress.

cwolfman13

Bodyweight isn't a static figure and it will always fluctuate. Your maintenance calorie target isn't going to really change being a bit up or down...and in reality, maintenance calories in general are a range.

heybales

Weight change for one day should never be the basis for a decision as to how much you will eat that day.

Prior comments as to reason why.

Set a goal weight range or you'll drive yourself batty.
Scale is not always the best measurement device for these things.

I'd suggest tape measuring where the fat is first to go on, for most the belly, and if weight goes up 5 lbs along with a non-bloated increase in measurement - then you got something to tackle with some minor changes to intake amount.

wunderkindking

I set my weight based on my first early morning weigh in on a day when I'm not near my period, then just eat roughly that. Sometimes I'm a bit over, sometimes I'm a bit under. My weight fluctuates about 2-3 pounds most days and within that range, but it all ultimately balances out to 'I weigh more or less 127 pounds (or whatever).

mjglantz

I have never let MFP set my calorie goal. When I started out and wanted to lose I knew how many calories I had been eating and knew if I cut 500/day I'd start losing weight. So instead of the 1500 (or so) that MFP set, I set 2,000. As I lost I adjusted the calorie goal and as I stabilized I gradually increased it. Interestingly enough to me, now at maintenance I'm back to 2,000 calories/day. I am MUCH more active now working out regularly and getting on average over 20,000 steps/day.

mylittlerainbow

I set my calorie count for the day 100 calories higher one week at a time, until my weight seemed to be stabilized, and that's where I have remained on the average. I exercise 60 min per day but don't eat back my exercise calories, and it all seems to work for me.

spiriteagle99

My goal is to maintain within a 5 lb. range of 120-125. I set my MFP calorie target by using 122 as the goal. I was told I should eat 1400 net calories a day. I continued to lose weight on that, so I reset my goal to 1600. That is still too low, but it works for me. I just don't worry about the days when I go over goal. I feel like I have a manageable target but some flexibility. That has worked for several years for me, until I got injured and couldn't run any more and discovered how few calories 1600 is when you're used to eating 2100 or more every day.

MFP's numbers are based on averages, and you will need to figure out what calorie goal works for you. Some people have a faster metabolism than others, or do more non-obvious exercise like fidgeting or playing with the dog that doesn't get counted but does burn calories.