Correct Calorie Goal

MegABCrunning

I still CANNOT figure out what the correct calorie goal should be for me on this app. On the days I work out, my total burn will be about 2400 for the
day. My RMR is 1500. I have it set to 1800 but when I include my exercise, it adds every calorie I burned as calories I can eat. What that tells me is that I should be setting my calorie goal to my RMR. Is that what you all are seeing?

AnnPT77

RMR is pretty much irrelevant - it's what you'd burn if you did nothing all day. I'm betting you do something (job, chores, whatever) every day, even non-exercise days.

Just set up your MFP profile with reasonably accurate entries. Set the activity level based on your activities not including intentional exercise. Tell it the weight loss rate you target (I'd advise around 0.5% of current weight weekly, maybe 1% tops if severely overweight and without lots of other sources of life stress, not more unless under close medical supervision).

MFP will give you a base calorie goal that it estimates will result in that loss rate, without exercise (unless you go too aggressive - it'll never give a woman less than 1200 or a man less than 1500, because we all need basic nutrition, maybe especially so when losing weight).

When you exercise, make a reasonable estimate of the exercise calories, add them, eat them. That will leave you estimated to lose weight at that same rate you asked for. If you don't want to eat them that day, carry them over (within reason - i.e., it's hard to do 1000 calories of exercise, but if you did that or close, it would be good to eat at least some of those back that very day, to avoid extremes).

Do that for 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual cycles if a premenopausal adult woman, so you can compare body weights at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, because otherwise hormonal water weight fluctuations can be misleading for many of us women).

If you're losing faster than a sensible goal rate, eat more. If you're losing more slowly than a sensible rate, cut a bit. Adjust based on the assumption that 3500 calories = roughly 1 pound. That is, if you need to lose more slowly by a half a pound a week, eat 250 more calories daily (7 x 250 = 1750, which is half of 3500).

Any calculator just spits out an average for people with characteristics similar to you. You're an individual. It's your own results, averaged over a reasonable multi-week period, that are the best guide.