How do I log food/exercise

JJ2944

Hi, I’m just starting up with logging food which is a minefield but I’ve made a start today. I’m extremely active Mon-Fri & until I get my calorie expenditure from a PT at my gym I’ve signed up with, I’m guessing at 2000 calories. This might sound extreme for a woman of 5ft who wants to lose around 6lbs I’ve put on however just from exercise & my job alone I can burn 1500 calories a day, without any other calories factored in. Weekends would need to be less however I’m just concentrating on the bulk of the week atm. I’ve split this as 50% carbs, 30 protein, 20 fat….which so far today I’m not at 2000 but my macros are out so I know I need to work all this out going forwards. Does this sound a good target to be at (until I get the programme through) & also - do I log the exercise calories? It says only cardio calories to be logged but to me calories are calories. Weights can get my heart rate up in the 80-88% zone (from my myzone belt) and my job (cleaning houses) can at times be cardio based & at others not as much. I do 3 proper cardio hiit sessions a week. I’m now on 200 calories left for the day but this is with zero exercise. If I add the 1435 I’ve burned today (over 4 hours - weights session & top to bottom house clean), that will give me loads of calories back but this doesn’t seem right. I’m so confused about what I should be logging and eating in this allowance I’ve set. Any help appreciated.

chris_in_cal

JJ2944 wrote: »

I’m so confused about what I should be logging and eating in this allowance I’ve set. Any help appreciated.

Your path is all your own. Logging here is a very powerful tool to use. Here is 'help' I'll offer up: Logging food into MFP is a chore, the tool has it's strengths and weaknesses. For me, or anyone, just getting comfortable with the food diary part of this webpage and seeing how I can use it on my journey, is a learning curve. If it takes you a month to master the 'food diary tool' that's okay. Then you can figure out if your macros, or total calories consumed, or calories burned mean something on your journey.

I think accuracy is a very important part. Also consistency.

Pick an easy meal. Lunch? Breakfast? and try for three or four days in a row to log lunch as accurately as you can. Use the the UPC scanner if you have premium (RIP free scanning), search the database, get a food scale and weigh your portions, get measuring cups and spoons to measure portions.

Be easy on yourself by just mastering accuracy for one meal a day. After a week or so, you can try very accurately entering a whole day's food diary. After you can very accurately measure and enter several days in a row, then you can move on to your trends: macros, carbs, total calories, or whatever floats your boat.

If I just guess and throw a bunch of things in my food diary I can be off 10% or more, and that is all it takes to not be making the progress that MFP is predicting for me. Read all the "I eat 1200 calories a day and am gaining weight" post here....a secret: they are not really eating 1200 calories a day.

JJ2944

Thanks for that. I did use this tool years ago but haven’t for the last few. I’ve scanned and measured all my food today even down to the mixed herbs in my tea & 1 calorie cooking spray. It’s tedious but I can get my head around this bit, even if it is a bit time consuming. I’m more wanting to know if I should be logging exercise which then changes your calories, or not? Atm I have 200 left to eat. If I added the calories I’ve burned I’d have hundreds more which seems counter productive as I’d really be eating over 3000 than the 2000 I’ve set myself. I wear a myzone belt when exercising & working which is pretty accurate for what I’m burning (done lots of chats about this in myzone forums) so I don’t think I’m over estimating on that side, but can totally see with the food logging what’s not working ie - 175 calories today from mayo! I knew it wasn’t good but didn’t know it would be that high for the small amount I put on my dinner.
It’s not so much the food logging, more understanding the exercise logging side and eating more due to that. Is it 2000 cals WITH exercise, therefore not logging it as it adds more for me to be able to consume, or 2000 without & because of the calories burned I am then able to eat more? If that makes sense?

cwolfman13

JJ2944 wrote: »

Hi, I’m just starting up with logging food which is a minefield but I’ve made a start today. I’m extremely active Mon-Fri & until I get my calorie expenditure from a PT at my gym I’ve signed up with, I’m guessing at 2000 calories. This might sound extreme for a woman of 5ft who wants to lose around 6lbs I’ve put on however just from exercise & my job alone I can burn 1500 calories a day, without any other calories factored in. Weekends would need to be less however I’m just concentrating on the bulk of the week atm. I’ve split this as 50% carbs, 30 protein, 20 fat….which so far today I’m not at 2000 but my macros are out so I know I need to work all this out going forwards. Does this sound a good target to be at (until I get the programme through) & also - do I log the exercise calories? It says only cardio calories to be logged but to me calories are calories. Weights can get my heart rate up in the 80-88% zone (from my myzone belt) and my job (cleaning houses) can at times be cardio based & at others not as much. I do 3 proper cardio hiit sessions a week. I’m now on 200 calories left for the day but this is with zero exercise. If I add the 1435 I’ve burned today (over 4 hours - weights session & top to bottom house clean), that will give me loads of calories back but this doesn’t seem right. I’m so confused about what I should be logging and eating in this allowance I’ve set. Any help appreciated.

You can log weight lifting under cardio...but keep in mind that HR is really only a proxy for energy expenditure for cardiovascular activity. Even though your HR goes up lifting, it doesn't mean you're burning a ton of calories.

Also keep in mind how this tool works. It sounds as if you've customized your targets based on your total activity...day to day stuff and exercise. This is fine but also outside of the constructs of how this particular tool works. Using MFP as designed you log exercise and get additional calories because if you use the setup function, you only use your day to day hum drum as your "activity"...anything outside of that like deliberate exercise is logged after the fact and then you get additional calories to account for that otherwise unaccounted for activity. Customizing your own targets negates any of that.

Also, with only 6 Lbs to lose, your calorie deficit should be very small and you should lose weight very slowly.

JJ2944

Thank you.

What is the set up function and how do I customise my own targets? I think I need a tutorial on mfp 😂

I’ll send over my calories today from exercise (a weights session) and cleaning. So no cardio but I cram a lot of weights into the time I have and don’t just hang around if that makes sense. If I them log these as activity (not logging the rest of my day walking etc..), I will be able to eat over 3000 calories. I don’t intend doing that but it makes me think if that’s how you’re supposed to do it then how would anyone lose weight?

JJ2944

S

JJ2944

The above are what I have left without logging exercise & what I would have left if I log it. Which do I do?

paints5555

The question I have is where did you come up with the 2000 calorie number? If I let MFP determine my daily calories (without exercise) to lose .5 lbs /week, it gives me around 1500 calories/day . And I am quite a bit taller than 5 feet. So it sounds as though that number is already assuming some calories from exercise.

I also use a MZ belt and for me, the calories it says I burned tend to be pretty accurate for the combination of things I do (both cardio and strength). But you'll have to figure out for yourself how well it estimates the calories burned for you.

Nothing is perfect. Track both food and exercise the best you can for a couple weeks and measure your progress. Then adjust your calorie targets accordingly to keep yourself on track.

JJ2944

Yes sorry, I’ve guessed at 2000 (until my PT let’s me know for sure when he’s worked out my programme) because I am so active. I couldn’t survive on 1500, it’s not a lot when you’re up at 7am for the next 16/17 hours. Maybe if I lead a sedentary lifestyle but definitely not for what I do. I may be out by a bit, I’ll have to wait and see what he comes back with, but to me 2000 is just manageable on a normal day eating mainly at home/prepping, no meals out or alcohol.
So given I’ve allowed myself more for this reason of being so active, does that mean I shouldn’t log the exercise calories?

I can see easily today where I could have cut out 300 cals with cheese & mayo I didn’t need however I’ve 200 left (without logging exercise) & I’m slightly peckish now so will use them on a protein yoghurt more or less. I can’t go to bed hungry. I’ve no had chocolate or what I’d consider treats at all though today so am no doubt consuming more than this on a regular basis.

cwolfman13

How did you get your calorie target? It would appear that your calorie target is a weight loss target for a very active person and may also include an estimate of your exercise. You would only want to log intentional exercise or anything else that is not already included in your activity level. The activity level you select during setup already includes daily life stuff like your work...those calorie needs are accounted for and rolled into that target number. Using MFP as designed, your daily hum drum...your work, is your activity level. You only log exercise in MFP because it's unaccounted for activity and you get those calories added to your target because it's unaccounted for activity.

To me it looks like you're double dipping...ie your activity level you set already includes everything you do...and then you're adding it again. You certainly wouldn't want to add what you're doing as a job...that should be in your activity level and accounted for. Then...say 60 minutes of weight lifting might be somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 calories or so...maybe 200 depending on what you're doing. Your HRM is virtually useless for estimating calorie expenditure for anaerobic activity like weight lifting because the algorithms used to proxy oxygen consumption by your muscles assumes a steady state cardiovascular/aerobic activity.

JJ2944

That’s exactly what I’m doing & id just worked it out before reading your message. 2000 calories is because I use up so much being active, so I’m allowing myself more. So if was on say 1400 & I burn 800 a day, I’m down by 200 calories in a deficit, if I burn 1000 I’m down 400, if I eat 2400 I’m bang on but will only maintain. Does that sound about right? So the answer is I shouldn’t be logging any exercise. Or do it the other way, log it but set my calories much lower. I suppose that would work better & is what most people do? Thinking back I think I did this years ago. I just need to find out what those calories should be now, and then work out tweaking the macros. I actually go over on my protein quite a bit, but also far too much sugar aswell, which I have recently found out I have fructose malabsorption (whole other can of worms)! Should I also assume that myzone when weight lifting is adding on a lot of calories then? Is their a formula to this/how much?

AnnPT77

For weight training, go to the MFP cardiovascular exercise section and log your weight lifting minutes as "Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)". That's a relatively reasonable calorie estimate for that, if you're doing standard reps/sets type training with normal between-set short rests. (Make sure you've told MFP your current weight before you log exercise using the exercise database.)

Estimating strength training calories is hard to do accurately. As Wolfman said, heart rate based estimates for weight training can be wildly too high. (Things like stress and intra-body pressure happen during strength training, making heart rate go up for reasons that have nothing to do with calorie expenditure.)

JJ2944

Brilliant, thank you 🙏

kshama2001

JJ2944 wrote: »

That’s exactly what I’m doing & id just worked it out before reading your message. 2000 calories is because I use up so much being active, so I’m allowing myself more. So if was on say 1400 & I burn 800 a day, I’m down by 200 calories in a deficit, if I burn 1000 I’m down 400, if I eat 2400 I’m bang on but will only maintain. Does that sound about right? So the answer is I shouldn’t be logging any exercise. Or do it the other way, log it but set my calories much lower. I suppose that would work better & is what most people do? Thinking back I think I did this years ago. I just need to find out what those calories should be now, and then work out tweaking the macros. I actually go over on my protein quite a bit, but also far too much sugar aswell, which I have recently found out I have fructose malabsorption (whole other can of worms)! Should I also assume that myzone when weight lifting is adding on a lot of calories then? Is their a formula to this/how much?

I let MFP do the math, so use what MFP gives me to lose a half pound per week. I set my Activity Level as Sedentary and log intentional exercise separately.

• For weights, I use "Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)" in the Cardio section.
• For me, a half hour of cleaning, an hour of cooking, and a mile of walking is normal and I consider it to be included in my Sedentary activity level, so I don't log until I have exceeded those. I use "Cleaning, light, moderate effort," "Cooking or food preparation," and "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace."

Your trainer may use the TDEE method, which is equally valid, but this would mean you don't also log your intentional exercise.

Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

JJ2944

That’s really useful, thank you.