How accurate is MFP for your maintenance?

ovi212 · March 2014

I am currently ready to switch to maintenance (so done with extreme deficits) and I am terrified of gaining it all back. How accurate have you found the suggested maintenance calories have been for you? Any advice? I don't think I have maintained for long in the last 3 years.

The_Enginerd · March 2014

MFP, or any other calculator, is going to be just an estimate based on empirical formulas drawn from the population. Actual maintenance calories varies from person to person. All you can do is keep logging accurately and see what your weight does over the long term. Typically, people will use a running average or a lower/upper range to know when to make adjustments.

Personally, I lost slowly on MFPs suggested maintenance calories, I had to manually up it slightly.

kathleennf · March 2014

For me it's been very close.

Boogage · March 2014

I think mfp's calculation is pretty accurate for me. I ate about 60 cals above for a couple of weeks and seemed to gain very slowly. It's only an estimate so you have to play around with the numbers. If you have a fair bit of muscle you can get away with eating more.

sfbaumgarten · March 2014

It's pretty close for me also. I didn't lose with MFP, but I came here for maintenance and I've been maintaining for about 6 months now.

Mischievous_Rascal · March 2014

I continued to lose on MFP's amount, too. I set my own maintenance calories after using a separate spreadsheet to track my weight and calories (weekly total) to figure out my TDEE. Took all the guesswork out of it, since it's completely based on MY numbers, and not an average.

addean1 · March 2014

Mfp maintenance numbers seem to be just right for me. I've been maintaining since nov. I have it set at lightly active, and eat back my exercise calories. But I do try to average out my week, because there are days when I just can't eat all of those exercise calories back especially on Saturdays after long runs. So I plan on going 1-200 over a couple of days to average out.

animalldy · March 2014

MFP gives me 1650cal/day for maintenance (sedentary) but I have been doing great at 1800cal/day. I eat back all of my exercise calories. I did gain about 2-3 pounds when I upped my intake but I lost it again in about 1-2 weeks and have been very steady. Don't let the initial jump in weight deter you!

ANGIE181062 · March 2014

MFP gives me 1650cal/day for maintenance (sedentary) but I have been doing great at 1800cal/day. I eat back all of my exercise calories. I did gain about 2-3 pounds when I upped my intake but I lost it again in about 1-2 weeks and have been very steady. Don't let the initial jump in weight deter you!

I am not there yet but how do you set mfp to maintenance please? x

addean1 · March 2014

I am not there yet but how do you set mfp to maintenance please? x

Under goals, change it from "lose 1 pound a week" (or 2 or 1/2- whatever you have it set at) to "maintain my weight"

ottermotorcycle · March 2014

Since I'm in the younger range of MFP users, I can't use the MFP calculator for much of anything. The MFP calculator is accurate for people whose metabolisms have slowed.

I'm 20 years old, so I have to boost my activity level beyond what my actual activity level is. 4 days a week, my only exercise is walking to class or food, and the other 3 days I do about a half hour of weight lifting, no cardio. I would be "lightly active" by most counts, but on MFP I have listed myself as active to get a more accurate number for my age.

Doing it this way DOES work and is almost 100% accurate to my maintenance level.

Ulwaz · March 2014

yeah pretty accurate

nxd10 · March 2014

I maintain at 250 under what MFP recommends (eating my exercise calories back). It could be their model is off for me or it could be that my logging is off by about that much. I log everything but don't weight/measure everything and I eat out a lot.

However, it and I are CONSISTENT. Like everyone says, try it, adjust it, see what works. I've been within 3 pound since last July and I'm not hungry.

editorgrrl · March 2014

Everybody's different, and it will take a whole lot of trial & error to find the number of calories at which your weight stabilizes. Set your goal to maintenance , and eat back your calories at the same rate you did while you were losing. Wait a minimum of two weeks, then reevaluate. If you're still losing, increase your calories by 100. If you maintained, yay! If you gained, cut your calories by 100.

Your weight will fluctuate. Pick a window (for example, +/- 2 lb.), and add or cut 100 calories whenever you go outside that window.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

indianarunner76 · March 2014

Very close for me

whitebalance · March 2014

Using MFP for maintenance has worked great for me since last June. I don't follow its recommended numbers religiously, though. Log, measure, adjust... Log, measure adjust. My activity level varies greatly, both day to day and over time, and my weight fluctuates daily within a small range. In my experience so far, maintenance doesn't mean one magic number.

I tried using MFP to bulk for a while... That didn't go so well for me, but mainly because I wasn't physically or mentally prepared for a bulk. It's a tool. You use it to analyze how your body is responding and adjust your behavior accordingly.

Deipneus · March 2014

I've been on maintenance almost two years. The estimates are pretty good.

crose0056 · March 2014

I have a fitbit zip and sync with MFP. So far maintenance has been a piece of cake for me. I weigh daily and eat back my exercise calories and have everything set to maintenance. I always try to stay in the zone range with my fitbit, it takes a lot of dedication and planning. Weekly I have stayed within a -/+ of 200 calories. I swear by the fitbit syncing with MFP.