i just do not understand this calories thing!!!

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chichic77
chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
in Getting Started
when i start my day it says i have 1680 calories. since i started mfp i have been slightly under and when i finish my diary it always says that i am under my goal. but in the morning when i look back at it, it has me with a negative number in the red and it says my daily goal was only 1200??? why does that change?? take yesterday for example when i finished my food diary it said i was under calories, and said i'd have lost 12 pounds in 5 weeks if every day were like today, and now it says if every day were like that day i'd lose only 3 in 5 weeks. what are net calories? i worked out and had a good burn for the day (according to my tracker it says i burned 2767 for the entire day.... so what i burned through the day and what i took in there is a huge deficit. so what's the deal here??
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  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    Open your diary so we can see, the option is in settings.

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  • Meredith8684
    Meredith8684 Posts: 681 Member
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    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.
  • SweeDecadence92
    SweeDecadence92 Posts: 218 Member
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    Yeah, I 2nd open the diary.

    It sounds like your overall deficit was maybe higher on the day you didn't exercise. Even if you exercise, if you have a smaller deficit you you'll lose less weight because your better meeting you bodies energy demands.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.


    it's not just a few. it is by a lot. i do wear a tracker that i have synced to this account here on mfp. i just do not understand how any of this works and i am getting frustrated.
  • Loopy_1980
    Loopy_1980 Posts: 18 Member
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    Maybe it's a glitch? I've been playing around with my calorie goal lately, and I noticed yesterday that I had a different goal on my mobile app than on the website. I just went back into the settings on both and adjusted them and they are now the same.

    EDIT: I obviously didn't understand what you meant judging from the other replies... ignore me!! :)
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    You've set your activity level too high.

    Here's how calorie adjustments work:

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex, height & weight, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (not including exercise). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    Walking, 4.0 mph, very brisk pace 30 318
    Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace 45 314
    Withings calorie adjustment N/A -1,112


    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity? that is yesterdays exercise report.


    also i am not sure what my diary would show. it tells me in the am i have 1680 calories and when i close it out at night it says i am under and then when i look back it only has 1200 as my calorie goal. i am opening it now so you can see.
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
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    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.


    it's not just a few. it is by a lot. i do wear a tracker that i have synced to this account here on mfp. i just do not understand how any of this works and i am getting frustrated.

    I have a body media fit. I plug it in to the computer in the mornings when I get up and upload my data. I'll upload the data again after I get home from work and let it make any adjustments before I eat dinner. If I've been really active that day, it'll give me more calories to eat. If it's been a mostly sedentary day, it'll take calories away and i can work that into my meal plan. Like someone else said, if you go to bed earlier or get up later than usual, you'll lose calories too.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    You've set your activity level too high.

    Here's how calorie adjustments work:

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex, height & weight, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (not including exercise). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment? i don't think i understand that....
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
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    I don't think you are supposed to be logging your exercises on mfp. Your device should be adding those in and it looks like you're duplicating them.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    Edited to add:
    You've set your activity level too high.
    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment?
    If you disable negative calorie adjustments, then you won't be eating at a deficit. Set your activity level to "sedentary."
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    I don't think you are supposed to be logging your exercises on mfp. Your device should be adding those in and it looks like you're duplicating them.

    GAH! that is what i thought and i was told that mfp would adjust it and it wouldn't be duplicated :/
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    i am connected. should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    i also have my activity set to sedentary. i am out of work right now and aside from cleaning and running errands i don't do much during the day. but i do workout 5-6 days a week for an hour.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
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    I use my FitBit One with MFP but do *not* have negative calorie adjustments enabled. I have MFP set to sedentary because I sit at a desk for 8+ hours per day. If the FitBit estimates my TDEE is higher than what MFP estimates my TDEE for the day, then I will get a positive calorie adjustment from my FitBit. This prevents those unexpected red numbers and helps to keep my daily calorie goals steady throughout the day.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
    If there's an option to log bicycling in the Withings Pulse, you should do that. The data is way more accurate than MFP's one-size-fits-all guesstimates. (That's what I do with my Fitbit Flex & Jawbone UP.)

    Edited to add that I Googled Withings & biking and found this:
    https://withings.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201490347-How-does-the-Pulse-measure-my-activity-while-I-am-on-my-bike-
  • christa279
    christa279 Posts: 222 Member
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    Yes, just log your spin bike workouts since you aren't wearing your device then.


    I have the FitBit One and, if I log an exercise and put in the time I started it and duration, it doesn't double log it. I'm not sure how it works for other devices.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
    If there's an option to log bicycling in the Withings Pulse, you should do that. The data is way more accurate than MFP's one-size-fits-all guesstimates. (That's what I do with my Fitbit Flex & Jawbone UP.)

    Edited to add that I Googled Withings & biking and found this:
    https://withings.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201490347-How-does-the-Pulse-measure-my-activity-while-I-am-on-my-bike-


    thanks, runkeeper is good if it was an outdoor biking activity. i have a heart rate monitor and will just log that into mfp and not wear my withings during.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
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    Yes, just log your spin bike workouts since you aren't wearing your device then.


    I have the FitBit One and, if I log an exercise and put in the time I started it and duration, it doesn't double log it. I'm not sure how it works for other devices.

    thanks, there is no way to log it into this device, the only downfall for it.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    Edited to add:
    You've set your activity level too high.
    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment?
    If you disable negative calorie adjustments, then you won't be eating at a deficit. Set your activity level to "sedentary."

    it is at sedentary....

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