Counting Calories
makalani22
Posts: 2 Member
Aloha everyone -
I've been eating pretty primally for a while now, but I've been feeling mixed feelings about the caloric intake piece... I feel like primal/paleo view says to eat a lot more than what is recommended by myfitnesspal. What do you all do about this? Manually set your calories on mfp? That's what I've done so far, but I'm not quite seeing the results I've been hoping for, so I thought I'd ask.
Looking forward to your feedback!
I've been eating pretty primally for a while now, but I've been feeling mixed feelings about the caloric intake piece... I feel like primal/paleo view says to eat a lot more than what is recommended by myfitnesspal. What do you all do about this? Manually set your calories on mfp? That's what I've done so far, but I'm not quite seeing the results I've been hoping for, so I thought I'd ask.
Looking forward to your feedback!
0
Replies
-
I manually set my calories and macros to better fit with the paleo/primal guidelines (C/F/P = 25/40/35), but also try to keep my caloric intake around the same amount MFP says I'd need in order to keep losing. It's only been about a month since I really started trying to adhere to this way of eating, so I can't say I've had huge successes yet (I wasn't eating too differently before this), but I feel great and definitely have more energy than I did before, which I'm hoping will translate into pounds lost, since it also means I have more energy to get my exercise in (joined a Muay Thai class and go 3 times a week now).
So....the TLDR; Yes, I manually set calories and macros0 -
I agree, I always find I get the best results by setting my own macro goals (15% carb, 40% protein, 45% fat) while still following the overall recommended calories intake set by MFP. I know many others insist that you don't need to count calories, but I don't see the results I want if I don't restrict my calorie intake to around 1500.0
-
I haven't been eating primal/paleo for very long. When I started, I didn't log anything and I didn't weigh anything, I just tried to focus on what my body was telling me.
I have since manually set my calorie goal to be TDEE - 20%, and I set my macros to (C/F/P = 20/45/35). I'm trying to keep carbs to 50-100 g per day, which is do-able if I log my calories. I've only been logging my calories for 3 days though!!
I don't have a problem staying under my calorie goal, I actually think I need to eat more!0 -
Aloha everyone -
I've been eating pretty primally for a while now, but I've been feeling mixed feelings about the caloric intake piece... I feel like primal/paleo view says to eat a lot more than what is recommended by myfitnesspal. What do you all do about this? Manually set your calories on mfp? That's what I've done so far, but I'm not quite seeing the results I've been hoping for, so I thought I'd ask.
Looking forward to your feedback!
Never heard that before, unless you're talking about the TDEE-20% method. That looks higher on an individual day, because it's averaging out your daily calorie needs over the course of the week. So, instead of eating 1400 calories today, and 2000 tomorrow (when you have a workout class or whatever), you eat 1700 calories every day, regardless of exercise, because it's already calculated in.
That said, I generally use MFP's calorie guidelines as a general calorie goal, and adjust the macro settings to my needs. It's served me well, and I already have a hard time eating the amount I'm supposed to, because the higher fat makes me practically never hungry.0 -
I lost weight pretty steadily for about 3 months using MFP' s calorie suggestions and setting my macros myself to get 85 g protein, 75 g carbs and the rest fat. Then I stalled. MFP had me eating ~1200 calories, and it wasn't enough. Recently I manually set my calories to 1500 and have started losing again. Doesn't make total sense to me, eating more to lose more, but at least it's working.0
-
MFP set my calories far too low when I started out. The result was slowed weight loss and I probably lost LBM too. MFP would automatically give me 1200 calories now but I am usually eating around 1600 plus exercise calories. Every now and then I have a day where I eat well over 2000. For where I am at now, I am losing weight very well. Much better than if I were trying to live on 1200 calories. Better yet, how I eat now is sustainable forever.
Go to another site and find your TDEE, where you enter in all your typical daily activities. It's no wonder my weight loss stalled earlier this year, MFP had me eating 500 calories less than I should in the first few months.
MFP macro defaults suck. I use 70 fat, 20 protein, and 10 carb. When I struggle, the fat goes up and the carbs down. IMO, 50% fat is a bare minimum for anyone (ideally 60+) and 15% carbs is adequate for anyone (yes some people disagree with me). Protein depends on the individual but it shouldn't be really high.0 -
As others have said, change the macros to be in line with a more Paleo way of eating (around 20c/30p/50f I find is pretty good and is easier to do if you haven't been eating Paleo for very long).
I find that if I stick to eating this way, I have difficulty exceeding my MFP calorie goals because I stay full.
I track mostly to keep myself accountable to the types of foods I eat (been having a hard time with non-paleo foods lately), but generally I don't find that I have a hard time staying within my calorie limits if I'm eating well.0 -
I can't believe how long I tried to eat 1200 calories for. I bumped it up to 1350 because it just didn't feel like enough. Still miserable and unsuccessful.
Then I started paleo and stopped restricting calories and the weight just fell off! I haven't been logging lately but when I do its usually around 1600 cals, which is pretty much just me eating whatever/whenever I want. I kind of feel like if you're eating the right stuff, your body knows better than a calculator how much you should be eating.0
