Is My Fitness Pal correct?

whisperwhitley

I'm a bit confused. Myfitnesspal says I need 1650 calories a day to maintain my weight, and then the american cancer site says i need 1780 to maintain. Not much of a difference but my question is which site is correct? today I had maybe 20 more calories then what mfp says I need. To them I'd be an ounce heavier if I ate like this daily but to the Cancer site It would be different. I'm just confused and a bit tired of counting calories..

socajam

I'm a bit confused. Myfitnesspal says I need 1650 calories a day to maintain my weight, and then the american cancer site says i need 1780 to maintain. Not much of a difference but my question is which site is correct? today I had maybe 20 more calories then what mfp says I need. To them I'd be an ounce heavier if I ate like this daily but to the Cancer site It would be different. I'm just confused and a bit tired of counting calories..

If you feel that you can maintain on 1650, eat at that for a couple of weeks, if you are hungry, then move to 1780.

amiramakh

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

socajam

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

Are you exercising and eating back those calories?

MinnieInMaine

You could check several more other calculators and come up with slightly different numbers - they're all just estimates. The only way to know for sure is to try it and see how your body responds.

amiramakh actually is a prime example of this - if you continue to lose based on the MFP number, going with a slightly higher number may be the ticket.

Also remember, if you're active MFP's calorie goal does not include exercise calories so you should be eating back at least half of calories earned through exercise.

whisperwhitley

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

Hmm either you did lose a pound or it's just water weight. Maybe for you since you sound tiny you need to eat a little more, say 100 more calories then what this site says. I'm 125 pounds and am happy with my weight. I weighed myself a week ago and had been maintaining my weight for the past three years. I used to track by myself but im sure i misscounted along the way but I thought I was eating 1200-1400 a day but maybe it's been 1500-1600 and its what my body needs.

amiramakh

Currently I have an internship but I'm at a desk all day Untilpretty late at night. I haven't had any formal exercise expet one day of crazy shopping with my friend and we walked for about 6 hours all over town. I don't believe that I Lost the pound from that one day, but I really don't know. Should I eat more?

rwhite610

I just want to follow this thread as I've questioned the same thing. MFP has me at 1200 working out 5x a week for 60 mins and trying to lose at least a lb a week. But it tells me to eat 1200 even if I put sedentary and not doing any type of exercise. It tells me 1123 for sedentary and 1497 on days I would workout on healthyweightforum.org. SOOO which do I do?!?!?!

No_Finish_Line

its all an estimate. i wouldn't spend any time worring about it. just think of it as the range that you want to fall into and ypu'll be fine.

samammay

Currently I have an internship but I'm at a desk all day Untilpretty late at night. I haven't had any formal exercise expet one day of crazy shopping with my friend and we walked for about 6 hours all over town. I don't believe that I Lost the pound from that one day, but I really don't know. Should I eat more?

If you are losing weight and you dont want to, yes, you should eat more.

amiramakh

I'd love to weigh a bit more, but I'm hesitant to start gaining the weight ( in a healthy way of course) without knowing how to maintain.
It's been 103 everyday after lunch.
So maybe start eating about 1600 and see if I maintain this?
And 125 sounds perfect, I want around 115 but I don't know how that would work since I'm 5' 3

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

Hmm either you did lose a pound or it's just water weight. Maybe for you since you sound tiny you need to eat a little more, say 100 more calories then what this site says. I'm 125 pounds and am happy with my weight. I weighed myself a week ago and had been maintaining my weight for the past three years. I used to track by myself but im sure i misscounted along the way but I thought I was eating 1200-1400 a day but maybe it's been 1500-1600 and its what my body needs.

amiramakh

I'd love to weigh a bit more, but I'm hesitant to start gaining the weight ( in a healthy way of course) without knowing how to maintain.
It's been 103 everyday after lunch.
So maybe start eating about 1600 and see if I maintain this?
And 125 sounds perfect, I want around 115 but I don't know how that would work since I'm 5' 3

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

Hmm either you did lose a pound or it's just water weight. Maybe for you since you sound tiny you need to eat a little more, say 100 more calories then what this site says. I'm 125 pounds and am happy with my weight. I weighed myself a week ago and had been maintaining my weight for the past three years. I used to track by myself but im sure i misscounted along the way but I thought I was eating 1200-1400 a day but maybe it's been 1500-1600 and its what my body needs.

rwhite610

I'd love to weigh a bit more, but I'm hesitant to start gaining the weight ( in a healthy way of course) without knowing how to maintain.
It's been 103 everyday after lunch.
So maybe start eating about 1600 and see if I maintain this?
And 125 sounds perfect, I want around 115 but I don't know how that would work since I'm 5' 3

Actually I've had the same problem.
I've set myself as sedentary and it says I need 1530 to maintain. I've been eating about 1450 to 1500 for the past two weeks and the scale says 103lbs now, and I started at 104. Is that just a oral fluctuation or should I eat a title more?
Other calculators have told me that I need about 1650 too, so I'm not sure what is correct and what isn't

Hmm either you did lose a pound or it's just water weight. Maybe for you since you sound tiny you need to eat a little more, say 100 more calories then what this site says. I'm 125 pounds and am happy with my weight. I weighed myself a week ago and had been maintaining my weight for the past three years. I used to track by myself but im sure i misscounted along the way but I thought I was eating 1200-1400 a day but maybe it's been 1500-1600 and its what my body needs.

I'm 5 foot 1 and am trying to get to 115-112 at the very lowest. 130 just isn't working on this tiny frame

amiramakh

Don't wanna gain but don't wanna loose either.

Currently I have an internship but I'm at a desk all day Untilpretty late at night. I haven't had any formal exercise expet one day of crazy shopping with my friend and we walked for about 6 hours all over town. I don't believe that I Lost the pound from that one day, but I really don't know. Should I eat more?

If you are losing weight and you dont want to, yes, you should eat more.

whisperwhitley

I'm just a bit frustrated with all this counting. If I go by other sites I need more calories then what this site says. I slipped today and ate 20 more calories and now seeing the red bar under my calorie goal has me upset. (I must seem silly) I work tonight so I will burn maybe 100-200 calories by that so I guess I shouldn't be this upset. I just don't want to gain anything while I mess around with numbers.

Scott_2025

bump for later.

socajam

I'm just a bit frustrated with all this counting. If I go by other sites I need more calories then what this site says. I slipped today and ate 20 more calories and now seeing the red bar under my calorie goal has me upset. (I must seem silly) I work tonight so I will burn maybe 100-200 calories by that so I guess I shouldn't be this upset. I just don't want to gain anything while I mess around with numbers.

I think you are worrying too much - red bar, green bar.

MinnieInMaine

I just want to follow this thread as I've questioned the same thing. MFP has me at 1200 working out 5x a week for 60 mins and trying to lose at least a lb a week. But it tells me to eat 1200 even if I put sedentary and not doing any type of exercise. It tells me 1123 for sedentary and 1497 on days I would workout on healthyweightforum.org. SOOO which do I do?!?!?!

MFP does not include exercise calories in your daily goal. When you exercise, you log that activity in your exercise diary and MFP will give you earned calories for that activity that you should eat back. FYI, they numbers do tend to be overestimated so aim to eat back at least half, more if you're still hungry.

The other calculator you used includes the exercise calories right up front. It probably ends up being the same in the end.

Examples: MFP 1200 daily goal + 300 calories burned = 1500
Other site 1500 calories per day including exercise

Also, 1200 is the absolutely minimum # of calories MFP will set its users at as this is the standard minimum for women in order to get all their nutritients.

samammay

Don't wanna gain but don't wanna loose either.

Currently I have an internship but I'm at a desk all day Untilpretty late at night. I haven't had any formal exercise expet one day of crazy shopping with my friend and we walked for about 6 hours all over town. I don't believe that I Lost the pound from that one day, but I really don't know. Should I eat more?

If you are losing weight and you dont want to, yes, you should eat more.

If you are losing weight eat more. If you are gaining weight, eat less. If you are exactly where you want to be, dont change anything.

midnightsolace

I'm just a bit frustrated with all this counting. If I go by other sites I need more calories then what this site says. I slipped today and ate 20 more calories and now seeing the red bar under my calorie goal has me upset. (I must seem silly) I work tonight so I will burn maybe 100-200 calories by that so I guess I shouldn't be this upset. I just don't want to gain anything while I mess around with numbers.

I think you are worrying too much - red bar, green bar.

Agreed. Weekly averaging is a great tool to use in conjunction with daily intake. Don't freak out if you go over on any given day. Besides, it's not a perfect science; I figure so long as I'm within around 100 calories either way, I'm happy. And honestly, even when I fall out of that range, it's not the end of the world. Truly? Don't be worrying about 20 calories anyway. You'll never consistently hit exactly your number anyway, so don't stress over it. Just get close.

themedalist

I'm just a bit frustrated with all this counting. If I go by other sites I need more calories then what this site says. I slipped today and ate 20 more calories and now seeing the red bar under my calorie goal has me upset. (I must seem silly) I work tonight so I will burn maybe 100-200 calories by that so I guess I shouldn't be this upset. I just don't want to gain anything while I mess around with numbers.

I think you are worrying too much - red bar, green bar.

^^^This. It's 20 calories. MFP is an estimate and so is every other on-line tool. All food labels are estimates of calories contained (I believe 10% is the requirement). Even with a digital scale and the best measurement techniques, calorie estimation errors WILL happen. Bathroom scales are approximations. I understand you're not wanting to regain the lost weight, but honestly the extra cortisol you are generating in your body from stressing about which calorie estimate is correct will likely have a greater impact on your weight than the extra calories ever could.

jimmmer

I'm a bit confused. Myfitnesspal says I need 1650 calories a day to maintain my weight, and then the american cancer site says i need 1780 to maintain. Not much of a difference but my question is which site is correct? today I had maybe 20 more calories then what mfp says I need. To them I'd be an ounce heavier if I ate like this daily but to the Cancer site It would be different. I'm just confused and a bit tired of counting calories..

Neither.

They are both estimates, probably derived from different equations.

At the end of the day, your body is not a machine. You have to run at one TDEE for a couple of weeks and then, if you need to, adjust up or down by a 100 and try again. Might take a little while depending on how consistent you are with exercise and how set-in-stone your day-to-day activities are.

emjaycazz

Use either TDEE or the MFP number as starting points. Last week I gave myself an additional 50 calories (My Home -> Goals -> Change Goals-> Custom-> input your desired calorie goal). I usually shoot for a bit under my total calories (due to exaggeration of MFP's calorie burn estimates) on a weekly basis--which will probably change when I bite the bullet and start a slow bulk.