Calorie Goal Question

sydneywb86

Alright, let's talk numbers friends. . IIFYM says my bmr is 1472. Recently had a body scan and it said BMR was 1490. IIFYM cal goal should be 1618, which is pretty much the same as eating back exercise cals. Yet MFP cal goal is set to 1390, seems pretty low compared to two completely different, yet very close sources. Have any of you had luck bumping UP your cal goal? I do notice that i'm considerably tired and HUNGRY trying to exist on 1390 cals. I'm not training especially hard BUT I does work it out most days and try to get in as much protein as possible...Considering bumping cal goal up to 1470...hmmm. What say you, folks?

EvanKeel

Confused.

If 1618 is essentially the same as eating back your calories, and MFP is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories (it is), where's the issue?

I'd say, keep your goal at 1390 and eat your exercise calories back so that you can fuel/recover from your workouts.

EDIT: if you don't want to use MFP the way it's designed and instead want to use a TDEE method where your calorie goal includes a deficit and your exercise all pre-packaged into it, then just set your goal to 1618, and set MFP to maintain (or whatever) and don't enter in your exercise calories or eat them back---they're already figured into things.

sydneywb86

Confused.

If 1618 is essentially the same as eating back your calories, and MFP is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories (it is), where's the issue?

I'd say, keep your goal at 1390 and eat your exercise calories back so that you can fuel/recover from your workouts.

EDIT: if you don't want to use MFP the way it's designed and instead want to use a TDEE method where your calorie goal includes a deficit and your exercise all pre-packaged into it, then just set your goal to 1618, and set MFP to maintain (or whatever) and don't enter in your exercise calories or eat them back---they're already figured into things.

Thanks, EvanKeel.

My confusion is the BMR - which was set above 1470 cals per two sources vs. 1390 as set by MFP. 1618 is the daily goal per IIFYM if I'm exercising.

Get your point on setting to 1618 and not adding exercise cals, a good idea I might consider also.

As for BMR though, should i keep at 1390 or set to 1470?

hoyalawya2003

I would think 80 calories is a "rounding error." Try the higher number, if your losses are too slow/non-existent, bump it down.

sjaykay13

I have really found that MFP calculations are off. I use a fitness tracker and have a "sedentary lifestyle", my fitness tracker on a day without exercise puts me at 2600 calories burned but MFP says 2400. I never go by what MFP says, I encourage you to go by other research (love IIFYM) and go with that. I choose to eat 1600 every day, regardless of exercise UNLESS I feel I need the boost for a workout. Also, test it out for a while and see what works. Depending on how much you have to lose, your calorie burn and intake is going to change all the time, so finding a method to decide the numbers is crucial.

My advice: eat 1600 every day unless you need a boost for a workout, it works great for me!

EvanKeel

Confused.

If 1618 is essentially the same as eating back your calories, and MFP is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories (it is), where's the issue?

I'd say, keep your goal at 1390 and eat your exercise calories back so that you can fuel/recover from your workouts.

EDIT: if you don't want to use MFP the way it's designed and instead want to use a TDEE method where your calorie goal includes a deficit and your exercise all pre-packaged into it, then just set your goal to 1618, and set MFP to maintain (or whatever) and don't enter in your exercise calories or eat them back---they're already figured into things.

Thanks, EvanKeel.

My confusion is the BMR - which was set above 1470 cals per two sources vs. 1390 as set by MFP. 1618 is the daily goal per IIFYM if I'm exercising.

Get your point on setting to 1618 and not adding exercise cals, a good idea I might consider also.

As for BMR though, should i keep at 1390 or set to 1470?

MFP doesn't really care what your BMR is when it's setting a goal. My BMR is just under 2000k, but my goal is 1870. MFP has no problem whatsoever in setting a goal below your BMR because it has relative few options (.5, 1 or 2lb per week reductions). MFP will calculate what it thinks your TDEE is (sans exercise) based on the activity level you give it, and then it will apply a calorie reduction based on what you say you want to lose (e.g 1 lb per week). If you have a desk job like I do, that could very well put your goal below your BMR.


To your last question. Your BMR is your BMR, you don't set that anywhere. If you want to change your goal, you can. As long as you're eating below your TDEE, you'll lose weight. Ideally, you'd want to eat somehwere between your BMR and your TDEE.