Confused!!

jen0619

I have calculated my rmr and bmr then done the calcluations to get my daily allowance for calories but what I am confused about is on this website it already gives me a number or my bmr plus exercise and then it adds back in my exercise calories once I have done more. Am I thinking wrong or something? On intense days I am burning usually 500+ calories and that puts me usually around 2300 or more calories. Now what I was thinking is when I did my calculations with other formulas even with my exercise calories it is usually 200-300 less calories..I am confused which one do I go by? I have never had any issues I just want some clarification. Can any one help?

zacherybinx

I think if I'm understanding correctly you're getting confused with the fitness goals part of the site. I think they just sort of let you know what you need to do to make whatever goal you set weight loss wise but it doesn't just automatically put that into your calculations everyday. So if you do more or less it then figures it out based upon what you enter for each day. I hope that answers your question again if I'm understanding it correctly.

Mindful_Trent

MFP estimates your normal daily calories burned (BMR plus normal daily activity calories) - this does NOT include exercise and is based off of your height/weight/age/gender and normal daily activity level (all of which you input when you set your goals). They take this estimation and subtract from that the deficit you need to lose your goal weight per week - to end up with your daily calories consumed goal.

You eat back exercise calories because the goal MFP gives you already has the deficit built in without taking any exercise into consideration. Make sure you don't overestimate - most people try to estimate exercise on the conservative end.

Don't make it harder than it has to be - go to the goals page (from the home page) if you haven't already and setup your goals (guided) and then log your exercise using a conservative estimate - eat most of the calories MFP gives you. Having a little left at the end of the day is okay, but not a ton on a regular basis, especially since you don't have much (if any) left to lose (based on the ticker on your profile).

jen0619

I am not trying to lose though. I just don't want to be over eating this whole time and never knew it.

Mindful_Trent

I am not trying to lose though. I just don't want to be over eating this whole time and never knew it.

Then set your goals to maintain - that is an option. MFP calculates it all for you.

taso42_DELETED

I am not trying to lose though. I just don't want to be over eating this whole time and never knew it.

Then set your goals to maintain - that is an option. MFP calculates it all for you.

I think the concern is that MFP is not powered by the holy grail, and the numbers it prints out may not necessarily be accurate for all people or all bodies or all fitness levels. People seem to treat the numbers that pop up on here as The Absolute Truth, when there may in fact be error. Nothing against MFP's algorithms. It's just that no device or online calculator is a one-size-fits-all solution. It's better to double check and cross-reference things.

Back to Jen's original question... I would check 2 or 3 online calculators and see if there seems to be a more or less general consensus of the numbers. Hopefully they will all point you to at least a certain ballpark.

jen0619

I am not trying to lose though. I just don't want to be over eating this whole time and never knew it.

Then set your goals to maintain - that is an option. MFP calculates it all for you.

I think the concern is that MFP is not powered by the holy grail, and the numbers it prints out may not necessarily be accurate for all people or all bodies or all fitness levels. People seem to treat the numbers that pop up on here as The Absolute Truth, when there may in fact be error. Nothing against MFP's algorithms. It's just that no device or online calculator is a one-size-fits-all solution. It's better to double check and cross-reference things.

Back to Jen's original question... I would check 2 or 3 online calculators and see if there seems to be a more or less general consensus of the numbers. Hopefully they will all point you to at least a certain ballpark.

Thanks Taso it's just the number it gives me here for the day after exercise is greater than the numbers I have previously seen which are around the upper 1900's to mid 2000's so on here I realized I have been eating over a by a good amount a fair number of days!

taso42_DELETED

Interesting. The people I've been talking to lately all seem to have the opposite issue where their numbers here are a few hundred calories less than their estimated daily burn from alternate ways of estimating. But it makes sense that it could swing either way.

Well how are the real-life results? Your hunger level? Are you maintaining as planned?

Also, were you comparing apples to apples? For example, if you accidentally compared a third-party's "weight loss calorie target" to MFP's "maintenance calorie target", then I could see why the number here would be higher.

If you have 2-4 weeks of real-world data you can look at, and then compare to the theoretical numbers, that's about the best you can do.

jen0619

My numbers on here initially before I exercise sit right at what is my RMR for the ENTIRE day then when I exercise. It goes over which confuses me. I mean I am doing fine and doing well maintaining. Should I really be eating all of these 2300+ calories some days?!? Lol I guess I have to realize there is no magical number too.