Ummm a little confused...Any ideas

ridgellmomof3

Okay So according to my fitness pal I should be consuming 1520 calories a day plus my exercise calories which usually 500-800 calories on top so roughly eating 2100-2400 calories a day, so I someone posted calorie calculator and i put in the same information in and I got these results.
2939 Calories/day
Fat Loss:
2351 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss:
1920 Calories/day

7 day calorie cycle (zig-zag)

Ex Fat Loss Fat Loss Maintain
Monday 1920 2352 2940
Tuesday 1920 1920 2352
Wednesday 2304 2822 3527
Thursday 1920 2352 2940
Friday 1920 2117 2646
Saturday 2112 2587 3233
Sunday 1920 2352 2940

so I am assuming this takes into account for exercise calories, because if not this seems like a huge amount of calories to eat, and if this is right and the exercise calories are not built in then I am really undereating, which I now I wonder could leading to my 3 week long plateau, and bloating....thoughts anyone?

wwhite94

Check you sodium intake for the bloating. I was on a two week plataue and what i did was zig zag my daily calories. One day i would eat like i was on a 1lb weight loss next day or two i would do the 2lb one etc. and i got on the scale and lost 3lbs in a week. So what you wrote for 7 day calorie cycle is good i would just stay with the MFP one because then you will know for sure that your exercise calories are included.

wwhite94

oops double post

Walt75

MFP has it's calories set a little low. The only reason I can figure is that they give you room for error. Considering alot of the foods in the database are "iffy" on the accuracy I figure if you get as close to your calories as possible you should have no porblem losing weight.

chevy88grl

According to MFP I should be eating 1980 calories a day. When I eat this low, I tend to gain weight (not a lot - about .5lbs a week, but I do gain). So, I've gone in and adjusted my goals. Right now, I'm averaging between 2200-2500 NET calories everyday (it depends on my activity levels for the day). I've been happily maintaining 143-145lbs for almost 2 months now. I've had a couple days where I was around 3000 NET calories and lost a few pounds within a few days of being over.

Pebble321

I'd suggest keep it simple. Why not try following the MFP calorie allowance (and eat your exercise cals) for a month and see how it goes. If you aren't losing as you'd like then you could try zigzagging.
I'm a fan of keeping it simple!

crisanderson27

According to MFP I should be eating 1980 calories a day. When I eat this low, I tend to gain weight (not a lot - about .5lbs a week, but I do gain). So, I've gone in and adjusted my goals. Right now, I'm averaging between 2200-2500 NET calories everyday (it depends on my activity levels for the day). I've been happily maintaining 143-145lbs for almost 2 months now. I've had a couple days where I was around 3000 NET calories and lost a few pounds within a few days of being over.

This is good information.

I used one of those calculators for weeks trying to get off my plateau...with no luck. It's not that they recommend too much food (those aren't net calories btw...that's base calories before exercise), it just wasnt' what I needed to break through. As has been said, MFP is set low for some reason. Try it, and if it works for you great. A lot of people find that they need to eat more though...it's getting them to believe it that is the issue lol.

Oishii

I'm just like chevy88grl, except I lose on 1980 and don't want to any more!

I think I naturally zig zag calories, whether I'm losing or maintaining, and it has never caused me any trouble.

vim_n_vigor

The calories here should be set to the 'average' persons metabolism, which means it will be high for some people, and low for others. That is why everyone needs to experiment and see what works for them and what doesn't