Is MFP daily calorie intake REALLY correct?
zealey77
Posts: 104
Hi, I've been following the daily calorie intake of 2300 for 9 days now, and with taking moderate exercise (30mins) and not leaving myself feeling hungry at all I am consistently about 900 calories UNDER what it allows. Surely this means it's wrong? But MFP is professional and I am just a bloke who knows nothing about weight loss, so I guess I must trust it.
But I've been talking with friends who know about nutrition and they say the system generated amount of 2,300 is stupidly high anyway. Who to trust?
Thanks for any insight...
M
But I've been talking with friends who know about nutrition and they say the system generated amount of 2,300 is stupidly high anyway. Who to trust?
Thanks for any insight...
M
0
Replies
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I don't follow what MFP sets for me. I changed it to 1500 a day intake, and I changed my macros to 30 carb 35 protein 35 fat.
MFP also says my TDEE is 2700 a day lol. My doctor says it's more like 1100.
Also, I had my BMR tested and it was 801 - 911, not 1800 like it said online.
Don't trust computers, they are trying to take over the world. SKYNET! LOL0 -
Depending on what your goals and activity levels are, 2300 kcal/day is perfectly reasonable. To call it stupidly high without context is ridiculous.0
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Hi, I've been following the daily calorie intake of 2300 for 9 days now, and with taking moderate exercise (30mins) and not leaving myself feeling hungry at all I am consistently about 900 calories UNDER what it allows. Surely this means it's wrong? But MFP is professional and I am just a bloke who knows nothing about weight loss, so I guess I must trust it.
But I've been talking with friends who know about nutrition and they say the system generated amount of 2,300 is stupidly high anyway. Who to trust?
Thanks for any insight...
M
On January 17th you made a post saying that you were keeping your calories around 1000 per day, and eventually agreed based on the responses to up your calories to 1800. So how could you possibly be following a daily calorie intake of 2300 for 9 days?0 -
I saw the other post too and would like to hear the answer
Is it 1000 or 2300? 0 -
I also don't follow the calories or macros set by mfp... I am on 2450 kcal a day now with approx. 170-180 grams protein, 70 grams fat and 20+ grams fiber.
But you should at least provide some info about yourself before anyone can say if 2300 kcals a day fits your goals.0 -
Just to clarify - I started out doing 5 days at about 800 calories, then I joined here and was told 800 was dangerously low, (plus I was starting to feel faint and 'high') - couldn't have maintained it long-term, so on advice from this forum I upped it to 1800, but then I filled in all the MFP data about me where it sets everything automatically based on weight, height, age, etc and it gave me a target recommended daily goal of 2,300.
I am finding it hard to eat this many calories every day if I'm eating healthily (and if I'm eating badly with mars bars and gak, then why even go on a diet in the first place? )
Hope this explains.0 -
I don't follow what MFP sets for me. I changed it to 1500 a day intake, and I changed my macros to 30 carb 35 protein 35 fat.
MFP also says my TDEE is 2700 a day lol. My doctor says it's more like 1100.
Also, I had my BMR tested and it was 801 - 911, not 1800 like it said online.
Don't trust computers, they are trying to take over the world. SKYNET! LOL
Your are confused (or your goal is weight gain)............FIRST of all if your TDEE was 1100 calories......you would be gaining weight by eating 1500 calories. OP is not asking about weight gain.
BMR - basal metabolic rate.....calories your body would use if you were in a coma.
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure .....BMR+ activity level + exercise ......in other words.....maintenance.
SECOND.......MFP gives you XXXX calories based upon "I want to lose XX pounds per week"..........If a 6'5" woman puts in a rediculously high weight loss goal.......MFP spits out 1200 calories. This is NOT MFP saying it's a healthy daily calorie goal.....it's just doing math.....and setting the number at it's lowest default.
THIRD.....men have a higher default than women. Men typically have more muscle mass.....it takes calories to maintain existing muscle. If you want to lose "weight" as fast as possible....if the number on the scale is more important than fat to muscle ratio.....by all means put in a rediculously high weekly goal.
Morbidly obese people can lose 2 pounds a week ......people within 15 pounds of goal ......1/2 pound a week is more like it.
Of course MFP is using estimates.....activity level is a range......not all people has the same fat to muscle ratio (higher fat = slower metabolism)....Calorie burns for exercise are estimates......even a heart rate monitor is an estimate ........BUT MFP numbers work for most people.....provided they have supplied accurate (and sensible) information.0 -
Just to clarify - I started out doing 5 days at about 800 calories, then I joined here and was told 800 was dangerously low, so on advice from this forum I upped it to 1800, but then I filled in all the MFP data about me where it sets everything automatically based on weight, height, age, etc and it gave me a target recommended daily goal of 2,300.
I would find it hard to eat this many calories every day if I'm eating healthily (and if I'm eating badly with mars bars and gak, then why even go on a diet in the first place? )
Hope this explains.
It doesn't help clarify if 2300 calories seems reasonable or not. Since we don't know about you, your activity/exercise, or what settings you chose, I'll talk about me.
I have a desk job and my goal is set to 1 lb/week loss. MFP gave me a goal of 1870. I try do some sort of exercise everyday. Sometimes it's light cardio, sometimes is weights, etc. But I try to burn at least 500 calories/day. Thus, it would be reasonable for me to consume 2300 cal/day.0 -
What settings did you input? What is your age, height, weight, goal weight, activity level, and desired loss per week? MFP is purely a calculator, it takes the settings you give it, calculates a predicted TDEE, and subtracts 500 calories per day for every 1lb/wk you desire to lose. That's all it does. If it's wrong it's because your settings are wrong or your metabolism is for some reason (usually due to long term dieting or a medical reason) different than the 'average' person.
Frankly, you not eating your calorie target is not an indication that the calorie target is wrong.0 -
@Morebean13. Hi, I'm 39yr old man, I'm 6ft 2", I currently weigh 17stones 3pounds. I am big build, I cycle 30mins 5 days a week and try to walk briskly for 30 mins a day too. This is all the info MFP asked of me.
I want to lose as much weight as possible each week in a healthy and sustainable way, I want to burn fat, not muscle. My goal weight is 13 stone. (Although the BMI calculator says I could even get down to 10stone 9pounds and STILL not be underweight - which is frankly f***ing laughable)
Everyone I respect who knows about/or have lost weight themselves is saying 2,300 is ridiculously high. I am also finding it hard to eat this many calories naturally unless I switch to cakes, bread, sweets, fatty meats, fried food, etc. So I think MFP has got it wrong. I want to know what the minimum calories I can eat every day and not burn muscle instead of fat, or put my health at risk.0 -
If you want to drop it to 1800, drop it to 1800. You don't have to stick with the number MFP gives you initially. MFP is going to calculate a number for you based on your size/activity/etc. and how quickly you want to lose weight. If you want to lose weight at a different rate, you can adjust the calories MFP recommends up or down manually. There is no "right" answer.0
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Everyone I respect who know about/or have lost weight themselves is saying 2,300 is ridiculously high.
Well, they're wrong.
Whether or not you can eat that much isn't something other people can comment on much. You can try to eat more calorie dense foods, anything with healthy fats. You could try adding more almonds, avocados, or peanut butter into your diet to reach that goal.
Here's the thing though. It's all guess work. The goals use statistical tables to make their suggestions, so it's an educated guess, but it's still a guess. All you can really do is log as accurately as possible and try it out.0 -
I'm 39yr old man, I'm 6ft 2", I currently weigh 17stones 3pounds. I am big build, I cycle 30mins 5 days a week and try to walk briskly for 30 mins a day too. This is all the info MFP asked of me.
I want to lose as much weight as possible each week in a healthy and sustainable way, I want to burn fat, not muscle. My goal weight is 13 stone. (Although the BMI calculator says I could even get down to 10stone 9pounds and STILL not be underweight - which is frankly f***ing laughable)
Everyone I respect who know about/or have lost weight themselves is saying 2,300 is ridiculously high. I am also finding it hard to eat this many calories naturally unless I switch to cakes, bread, sweets, etc.
What exactly, are these people basing their opinions on? What has made them decide that 2300 is 'ridiculously high'? It might be too high for them, but believe it or not, not everyone is the same. I eat 2200 - 2400 a day and lose weight.
I just plugged your details into fat2fit and it gave me a higher amount than MFP - 2466 to lose 1lb a week. That's based on you being lightly active, which to be honest depending on how strenuous your exercise is, you may even be more than that.
You've used MFP in the way it's meant to be used, so trust it.
This thread should actually be 'what can I eat to get up to my 2300 calories a day' - the answer to which, by the way, is calorie dense foods, like nuts, peanut butter, avocado, full fat milk, and bacon double cheeseburgers.0 -
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
YOUR DATA
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 2240
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 3473 based upon moderate exercise (3-5 hours per week)
If your goal is 4.28 stone loss (about 60 pounds) a 1 to 1.5 pound a week goal would be doable....for a time. Eventually you will need to step it down some.
That would be 3473 calories less 500 ( or 750) ......2973 for 1 pound......2723 for 1.5 pounds
Getting enough calories........calorie dense foods...........nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, seeds, cheese. Also, think of this as a lifestyle change.....you aren't going to give up sweets for the rest of your life are you? I DO make room for a treat everyday.....just not the mindless snacking that I used to do.
If you plug this goal into MFP......you get a daily calorie goal WITHOUT exercise. MFP is based on zero exercise......Scooby's adds it up front......kind of nice not to worry about logging.0 -
i have just estimated your info based on what you've told us into scoobys workshop http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss and according to that you should be on about 2778 calories a day, thats estimating that you eat 3 meals a day and are active 3-5 hours a week with moderate exercise, have a play around on scoobys workshop yourself and see what other results you get with accurate info from yourself.
when i first started out i was heavier than you, and went down the same path eating ridiculously low numbers, didnt work for me either lol, when i first joined this site i did the whole 1200 calories, that made me miserable so did the scoobys workshop number and ended up on about 2200, i also thought it was ridiculous, i used to eat bars of chocolate to get my calories in (never ever bothered with the macro nutrients) i'm now on about 1850ish i still pretty much eat what i want as long as it fits in with my daily calories, i'm 83lbs down, and most importantly i have learned to eat the foods that i love, that i will be eating for the rest of my life, in the correct proportions
good luck x0 -
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
YOUR DATA
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 2240
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 3473 based upon moderate exercise (3-5 hours per week)
If your goal is 4.28 stone loss (about 60 pounds) a 1 to 1.5 pound a week goal would be doable....for a time. Eventually you will need to step it down some.
That would be 3473 calories less 500 ( or 750) ......2973 for 1 pound......2723 for 1.5 pounds
Getting enough calories........calorie dense foods...........nuts, nut butters, avocado, olive oil, seeds, cheese. Also, think of this as a lifestyle change.....you aren't going to give up sweets for the rest of your life are you? I DO make room for a treat everyday.....just not the mindless snacking that I used to do.
If you plug this goal into MFP......you get a daily calorie goal WITHOUT exercise. MFP is based on zero exercise......Scooby's adds it up front......kind of nice not to worry about logging.
ha ha beat me to it x0 -
What exactly, are these people basing their opinions on? What has made them decide that 2300 is 'ridiculously high'? It might be too high for them, but believe it or not, not everyone is the same. I eat 2200 - 2400 a day and lose weight.
I just plugged your details into fat2fit and it gave me a higher amount than MFP - 2466 to lose 1lb a week. That's based on you being lightly active, which to be honest depending on how strenuous your exercise is, you may even be more than that.
You've used MFP in the way it's meant to be used, so trust it.
This thread should actually be 'what can I eat to get up to my 2300 calories a day' - the answer to which, by the way, is calorie dense foods, like nuts, peanut butter, avocado, full fat milk, and bacon double cheeseburgers.
Good tips.
I have a question... it seems like you know a good deal about this.
I just used the fat2fit calcs too. I'm 200 lbs, 5'5" about 27-28% b.f., goal b.f. 15%. Fat2fit says my goal weight is 170-172. That's pretty consistent with other calcs. It says my calories for goal of 170-172 lbs should be 2434 per day if I am "Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)". I work out pretty hard with weights 3-4x/week... BUT I sit at a desk all day. My only exercise during the day is going for coffee and pee breaks. Is that factored into the "Moderately Active" number?0 -
If it makes you feel better, I am 5'11, desk job, 31 years old, 185 lbs and exercise 5-6 hours a week and I lost at 2300-2500 calories a day.. So no, it's not stupid. I fuel my body to push hard during workouts and work hard to maintain my muscle mass.0
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Yep, I can do even better. I'm a 5'-7" male, 52 years old, desk job, work out lightly 30 mins. 3-4 days/week.If it makes you feel better, I am 5'11, desk job, 31 years old, 185 lbs and exercise 5-6 hours a week and I lost at 2300-2500 calories a day.. So no, it's not stupid. I fuel my body to push hard during workouts and work hard to maintain my muscle mass.
I can lose at 2300 kcals/day if I'm busy around the house.0 -
So then in these activity calculators, they mostly base it on exercise, not if we are desk jockeys. That's good.0
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"Is MFP daily calorie intake REALLY correct?"
It spits out a suggested intake. There is no correct intake for weight loss. Pick a calorie range that seems reasonable and do-able for you and stick to it for weeks and see what happens and adjust from there. That's the only way to know what works for you.0 -
OP, I am probably going to re-state what some have already said, but I did not feel like reading every detail from everyone to include replies. So basically, there are two methods of thought around here on MFP.
The default method is tell MFP what your day to day life is like, set that activity level (I don't like to include exercise in this due to if you are going to log exercise later and actually doing the exercise... which you might not from being sick, or work, etc...), it spits you out calories per day to eat and you log exercise when you do it which in turn adds those calories back in for that day for you to eat back. Yes, the theory is that you eat back those calories as the calorie deficit to lose X amount of weight is already factored into what MFP shot back to you initially. The problem with this for some is that:
1. Exercise calories are most often overstated, meaning it calculates you burned 400 calories for said task and in reality you only burn 200 (so you will even see some referencing they eat back most calories, but not all to compensate)
2. Logging food and having to log exercise is a pain
3. MFP sucks when it comes to proper macro (protein, carbs, fats) splits for people losing weight as they base their info on minimal government recommendations. These minimums are far too minimum and there is too much scientific research and study proving higher protein and fat ratios are better on calorie deficits.
The second most popular method is based off of TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). There are many online calculators that were mentioned (i.e... www.scoobysworkshop.com, www.fat2fitradio.com, www.iifym.com, just to name a few). These calculators will give you an approximate value of daily calories to eat based on your overall activity level (this includes exercise, so you do not have to log exercise). The best thing is just to eat at those calories for 2 weeks and see what your weight does. If you have weighed all food and exercised accordingly, then however much weight you lose averaged out over a week can be used to decide if you need to up calories or lower calories based on your goals. It's that easy. So for example, if you lost .5 lbs average in one week at 2500 calories a day and your goal is to lose 1lbs a week, then you need to subtract 250 more calories a day or up your exercise to compensate burning another 250 calories a day. I like www.iifym.com as it will give you a good macro split to follow for enough protein, fats, and carbs. This can be changed in MFP's goals section to customize. Try not to set a goal too high as there is a recommended threshold of weight loss (this does not include the first week or two of any diet which will be mostly water weight lost) of about 1% on higher body fat individuals and around .5% on leaner individuals.
Also, and again, I think this was already mentioned, get on a weight training program if you aren't already. Give your body a reason to not burn muscle along with fat by strength training and enough protein intake. There are many referenced on these groups including, but not limited to, Starting Strength, StrongLifts, Ice Cream Fitness, All Pros, etc... just do your research and ask questions to see which one better suites your goals.
*Note-sorry if some of my thoughts come across haphazardly and not well ordered, been doing to many tasks as once for a while.0 -
How did you change your macros?I don't follow what MFP sets for me. I changed it to 1500 a day intake, and I changed my macros to 30 carb 35 protein 35 fat.
MFP also says my TDEE is 2700 a day lol. My doctor says it's more like 1100.
Also, I had my BMR tested and it was 801 - 911, not 1800 like it said online.
Don't trust computers, they are trying to take over the world. SKYNET! LOL0 -
For me, the MFP estimate was *way* too low, like by about 600 calories.0
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So then in these activity calculators, they mostly base it on exercise, not if we are desk jockeys. That's good.
MFPs activity settings do not include any exercise at all. Most desk jockeys still line up with "lightly active". You add your exercise when you do it.0 -
Just to clarify - I started out doing 5 days at about 800 calories, then I joined here and was told 800 was dangerously low, so on advice from this forum I upped it to 1800, but then I filled in all the MFP data about me where it sets everything automatically based on weight, height, age, etc and it gave me a target recommended daily goal of 2,300.
I would find it hard to eat this many calories every day if I'm eating healthily (and if I'm eating badly with mars bars and gak, then why even go on a diet in the first place? )
Hope this explains.
It doesn't help clarify if 2300 calories seems reasonable or not. Since we don't know about you, your activity/exercise, or what settings you chose, I'll talk about me.
I have a desk job and my goal is set to 1 lb/week loss. MFP gave me a goal of 1870. I try do some sort of exercise everyday. Sometimes it's light cardio, sometimes is weights, etc. But I try to burn at least 500 calories/day. Thus, it would be reasonable for me to consume 2300 cal/day.
2300 calories is *NOT* a lot of calories. Sheesh! My maintenance is about 2550. Men generally need more calories than women anyway. Also, my brother is 42, is sedentary for work and just does an elliptical about 3x a week and has lost 100 pounds over the last year by eating 1900-2000 calories.0 -
2300 calories is *NOT* a lot of calories. Sheesh! My maintenance is about 2550. Men generally need more calories than women anyway. Also, my brother is 42, is sedentary for work and just does an elliptical about 3x a week and has lost 100 pounds over the last year by eating 1900-2000 calories.
Whether it's a lot is relative, but generally no it's not an excessive amount. That still doesn't mean it's the "right" amount. It simply depends on how quickly the OP wants to lose weight and how many calories/day he can stick with. Yes, there's a threshold at which he'll be consuming too few calories, but that's no where near 2300 calories/day. He just needs to figure out what % caloric deficit he wants to try and go from there.0 -
So then in these activity calculators, they mostly base it on exercise, not if we are desk jockeys. That's good.
MFPs activity settings do not include any exercise at all. Most desk jockeys still line up with "lightly active". You add your exercise when you do it.
Thanks. I didn't think MFP took it into account but it seems Fat2Fit does. That's good because when I do even a 15 minute session of 10x10 or 10x15 (10 sets of 10 or 10 sets of 15 reps) of kettlebell swings in addition to a weights workout, and 90 mins. of snow shoveling, I'm absolutely ravenous. I had my total set to 1900. There's too much risk to fill up the rest that you need with junk foods.0 -
How did you change your macros?I don't follow what MFP sets for me. I changed it to 1500 a day intake, and I changed my macros to 30 carb 35 protein 35 fat.
MFP also says my TDEE is 2700 a day lol. My doctor says it's more like 1100.
Also, I had my BMR tested and it was 801 - 911, not 1800 like it said online.
Don't trust computers, they are trying to take over the world. SKYNET! LOL
I have mine set to 35/35/30 P/C/F also.
Go to My Home, Goals, Change Goals, Custom, Continue. You will see percentages for the macros. I clicked Change Goals again as if it were Submit. Then you can see the change of totals in your diary.0 -
MFP, and any other website that makes these estimations is doing do so as a guideline. They're just esitmates.
In the end, you need to experiment and find what works for you. This takes a little bit of trial and error. You don't want to be starving yourself, yet, you need to have a threshhold of where you STOP EATING, and be accountable to that threshhold.
Sites like MFP work because if you stick to it, you'll be more mindful of what, and how much you are eating. Where as before you were either ignorant of the nutrition, or didn't care.0
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