Daily calories consumption formula.

mynameisbittu139

Hi there,

Can you explain the daily calorie consumption formula shown on the homepage tab of the app?

Why did to add the exercise calories to the overall formula.
To be in calories deficit, we have to eat less than the burned. So i don't really understand how this formula works by adding the calories burned in exercise.

AnnPT77

I'm going to use pretend numbers.

MFP says we should set our "activity level" based on our life before any intentional exercise, i.e., based on job, home chores, non-exercise hobbies, that sort of thing.

MFP uses that, along with our demographic info (age, height, weight, etc.), as inputs to a research-based calorie estimating formula. The demographics enable an estimate of "Basal Metabolic Rate" (BMR), which is how many calories we'd burn in a coma flat on our back in bed all day. It then uses the "activity level" to add calories to the BMR to account for what we burn doing that daily life stuff. MFP then subtracts calories based on what weight loss rate we asked for (500 daily calories is roughly a pound a week). The result is our calorie goal

Let's say my BMR estimate is 1200, and the added calories for daily life are 800. My estimated calories to maintain current weight would be 1200+800=2000. If I tell MFP I want to lose a pound a week, it will set my calorie goal to 2000-500=1500.

Because there's that 500 calorie deficit, if I fit the averages so the estimate is accurate, I can expect to lose a pound a week doing no exercise at all.

Then, on Tuesday, I do 300 calories worth of exercise. Conceptually, that increases my calorie needs to maintain current weight to 2300 (1200+800+300). If I add the 300 calories to my eating, I'd eat 1500+300=1800. I still have the same 500 calorie deficit when I do that (2300-500=1800).

I hope that makes sense.

That's why MFP adds exercise calories. If we move more, we can eat more. That's a useful lesson.

Best wishes!