Do you follow MFP calories recommendations?

GamecockFan14

I've never followed their recommendations. I've always eaten WAY below Sure, I see weight loss, but it never stays. For those of you who follow their calorie recommendations, do you generally see the 1-2 lb loss / week?

williams969

I follow MFP goals. Mine is set to .5lbs/wk loss, but I eat a scooch lower than the daily goal (like, eating back most but not all exercise calories--but I always NET 1250+ calories daily). I see mostly at least .5, sometimes a full lb loss per week. Of course, that's an average, since sometimes it's NO loss (TOM water bloat) or sometimes a lot (like, 2lbs/week at the beginning of my weight loss).

Nely77

Hi,

can anyone help me to understand:
I changed my fitness goal (guided) to lose 0.5 kilograms per week.
Current weight 63 kg, goal weight 58 kg, height 160cm, age 30
I exercising 5 times per week (hiking, running, cycling..) at least 60 min per activity...

After my goals are set up I click update my profile and aplication gives me this:
If you follow this plan...
Your projected weight loss is 0.4 kg/week
You should lose 0.9 kg by October 5

Is this somekind of bugg or probably I do not understand point of it?
If I want to lose 5 kilograms (like I set up in my goal) it should be by November 9 (if I lose 0.5 kg per week)

Thank you in advance for your help

myrtille87

I'm following it.

I initially set to lose 1.5 pounds per week and it told me to eat 1,360 calories per day. No way I could keep that up on a daily basis (I love food too much!) but it was the summer holidays so I just did loads of exercise to burn off the extra calories I ate, so my net calories for the day were still around or under my target.

Now I'm back at work, I know I won't be able to exercise every day (I'm hoping to do 2-3 times per week, or if I can get my elliptical machine fixed, do a little bit most days but literally just 15 minutes or so). So I've changed my goal to 1 pound per week and my calories are 1,560 per day which is doable (then on a Saturday I can go for a bike ride and eat more!).

I don't know how well this is going to work in the long run, because so far I've been using MFP for 20 days. I'm still in the early stages where I'm losing quickly and a lot of that will be water weight rather than fat. So far I've lost 8lbs.

Icandoityayme

I don't follow their recommendations. I started off on 1200 calories and did my exercises and didn't eat back any of the calories I burned and yes I lost weight. Then I hit a plateau and I also started getting dizzy and sick. So now I set my goals to 1400 and eat as close to that and try to burn at least 650 calories a day, which I don't eat those back either. I am not hungry and sick feeling now and still losing weight. So, no, I wouldn't say you have to follow it exactly. I always do custom.

Liftng4Lis

For the first three months I followed their recommendations, then I changed them to custom and follow that. I like my protein higher than they recommend on macros as well.

nosebag1212

no I have a bodymedia fit, feels so good knowing exactly how much I burn each day with no ocd guesswork, I would use a TDEE calculator rather than mfp recommendations instead as mfp recommendations were always way under what I burn anyway

jenny24012014

I follow it to within 100 calories.

I am set to eat 1280 calories a day, but I am breastfeeding a toddler so I add that as a food entry and it enters -200 so I actually eat between 1400 and 1500 a day. I don't know if I've been doing it long enough to say it definitely works but the weeks that I don't lose at least a pound I know why (periods, too much salt the day before a weigh in, going over calories allowance because of a special occasion)

MelodyandBarbells

Yes. I have my account set to losing .5 lb per week. For a while there I didn't want to change from "1510" calories to "14-whatever" it was telling me for my newer lower weight, so I just overrode it all to 1510. Now I'm past that mini mental block and just going with what it recommends. I use an HRM as well to log my workouts and wound up cranking the "max heart rate" to 197 which gives me more conservative calories burn. I eat all of those back and have been losing as MFP predicts

I wouldn't eat way less than MFP predicts, personally. If you want to show you can be disciplined and eat small quantities of food, just you wait. Once you get smaller you'll have to eat a bit less and you can eat the smaller quantities/lower calories at that time. For now, just trust the tool and allow it to transition you gently from your current eating habits while you lose weight. Or at the very least if you're eating way below, when you do want to eat some high calorie item just realize that you've been banking lots of calories (try to understand the exact amount) and use those to your advantage. It should help you stay on track a bit better in the future

RacquetChick

No, it was way too low for me. I need to eat more.

TavistockToad

I've never followed their recommendations. I've always eaten WAY below Sure, I see weight loss, but it never stays. For those of you who follow their calorie recommendations, do you generally see the 1-2 lb loss / week?

I eat MORE than MFP recommends, I find their figures a bit low, and am losing steadily.

Fatandfifty3

I've lost about 2.5lbs aweek-BUT I have a lot to lose and I think I was underestimating how active I am and therefore not having enough calories.
It's a basic good guideline. Everyone one is different and you have to tailor it to suit your own body.
So in answer to your question... by and by , in the main, roughly - yes.

lavendah

Nope,I could never. My recommendation is 1320 calories for losing a pound a week.I eat like atleast 1600 and have still lost 3-5 pounds a month so far (only 2 this month though ). But I just can't eat less than that cause Im not able to give up calorie dense foods,only reduced their intake.

cwolfman13

When I did the MFP method, I followed the direction of this tool...I"m not sure why one wouldn't. I adjusted my exercise burn for estimation error...generally took about 20% off of whatever my HRM said and ate those calories back. A bit of 5th grade math and you can easily see how this tool works and is designed to work...

wannakimmy

Yep, and it has worked for me thus far.

higgins8283801

No. Even at losing .5 a week it tells me I should only consume 1280 calories. Too low for me. My dietitian put me on a calorie range of 1350-1400 calories.