A different way to set up MFP goals - that WORKS!

missikay1970

i am not completely sure i understand, but i think i do. i have changed my goals on MFP and will try for 2 weeks and see what happens. thx for sharing

Mom2M_and_O

This is the basic technique I've been using for 12 weeks now. It was the first approach to weight loss that made any kind of mathematical sense to me. I figured out my BMR (approx 1400 cals) and decided I wouldn't eat less than that if I could help it -- exercise or no exercise. Also roughly figured out my maintenance calories and try not to exceed those on my cheat days. That way any exercise I do just make my daily calorie deficit bigger and I'm more likely to lose weight. I've lost on average 1 lb/wk this way. My daily calorie goal is 1500, and I never work out hard enough to justify eating my calories back unless I just want to.

aquarianpixi

Ok, I think I have it.

My BMR is 2,128.
According to MFP my maintenance is 2,660.
I should eat 2,128 cals a day so that I have a deficit of 532 everyday. Unless I exercise. Then I allow up to a 1000 deficit and eat any remaining cals.

Example:
I eat 2,128 and burn 600 when I work out. I should eat an extra 132 cals to make sure my deficit isn't over 1000.

Is that right? Seems like a lot of cals.

Awake_Alive

Thank you!!! :flowerforyou:

nursenelson

Ok.... let me see if I understand this....
BMR - 1481
Change MFP Goal to Maintenance (Net Calorie Consumed /day) - 2000
(P.S. - It feels soooo wrong to change wt loss goals to Maintenance haha)

eat around the 1481 everyday.... unless I burn more than 600 calories via exercise (ex. Burned 800 calories so minus off the 600 and eat 200 calories.)

1481+200=1681
??
??

Am I right?
Thanks in advance if you can help me out
Heather

jenluvsushi

BUMP! Thanks!

fitnessmonthly

Hi I have avery hard time losing weight after menopause. So let me try this method.Current weight around 192 lbs.
My BMR is 1450
maintenence is multiply by 1.3=1885
I need to set my mfp goal as 1450 right if I exercise more than 435 cal per day then I add the extra.
So by eating at 1450 per day I will comfortably lose 1 lb per week.

Does this sound right.

rb16fitness

My BMR is 1295. Multiply that by 1.3 = 1683.5.
I should eat 1295 and not eat back exercise calories except if I burn more than 295 so that I don't net lower than 1000.

Basically, I should eat 1295 a day. If I exercise, I should not worry about 295 calories of the burn but if I burn more, I eat that surplus back. I would say my average daily calorie burn would be 500 which means that I would eat back 205( 500 exercise burn minus 295 cals I don't need to worry about). Since I work out six days a week, I"ll be eating 1500 those days and 1295 on my rest day.

Right now my MFP calorie goal is as low as it can go....1200 to lose .8 lb a week and I eat back exercise calories. That has me eating anywhere from 1300 to 1800(most days 1730 around) usually. And this is why I"m not losing? I'm doing p90x and insanity. If I didn't eat back all my exercise calories, I would be losing?

Actually, you could eat 1295, burn up to 611 calories from working out, and if you didn't eat them back you would have a 1000 calorie deficit. if you burn anything over 611 you would HAVE to eat them back to make sure you don't have too large of a deficit. If you burn under 611, your deficit decreases (less than 2 pounds a week) but burning your average 500, sticking with 1295 you would still have an 889 deficit. If you were hungry, you could eat more but your deficit would decrease. The only way though for you to reach the maximum 1000 calorie deficit would be to increase your workout to burn at least 611, and not eat the calories back - just stick to the 1295.

So basically take your own personal maintenance number...mine is 1683.5 and minus 1000 = 683.5 and that's the NET number you are shooting for. Do not go below this number. Have MFP's goal set at your BMR which is 1295 for me and eat anywhere from 1000 to 1295 actual calories. Use exercise to get down to 683.5 NET.
I have 13lbs till I get to my goal.
Which explains why I'm not losing at all from eating 1100 to 1400 NET.

No no no. Don't just eat 1000 - 1295 - That's not enough! You need AT LEAST 1295 actual calories if that's your BMR. Set your MFP goal to your maintenance calories (average is BMR x 1.3). Yours would be 1684. You have the other calculations correct, just make sure you're eating at least 1295. In theory, if you have a 1000 calorie deficit, you will be netting 1000 below your BMR, so yes you will be netting 684 - maximum. You can always decrease it a little to be on the safe side - I have been averaging about an 800 - 900 calorie deficit most days as this seems to make my body feel better than the full 1000. I hope that makes sense.

bump. great post.

rosied915

Hi I have avery hard time losing weight after menopause. So let me try this method.Current weight around 192 lbs.
My BMR is 1450
maintenence is multiply by 1.3=1885
I need to set my mfp goal as 1450 right if I exercise more than 435 cal per day then I add the extra.
So by eating at 1450 per day I will comfortably lose 1 lb per week.

Does this sound right.

Sounds pretty darn close! I believe the point is to NEVER eat below your BMR~ although it's OK once in a while if you have a "lot" to lose like me!

Your story and numbers are very close to mine~let's try it~ what have we got to lose, eh?

Tigermad

I wanted to make sure I have this right, and also make sure your technique applies to me, since I have 71 lbs to lose.

I weigh 241 and am 5'9. My goal weight is 170. I would like to lose 2 lbs per week.
My BMR (according to MFP) = 1,845
So I should always eat 1,845 calories everyday?
1,845 x 1.3 = 2,398 gives me a 553 burn on non-workout days
On workout days, I can burn 447 and not eat back the calories for a 1000 deficit or if I burn more than 447 calories during a workout, I need to eat those extra calories above the 447 back?

Did I figure this correctly? And again, does this apply to me, since I have so much weight to lose, or should I do what MFP says to do? I want to lose 2lbs per week... a nice consistent pace without ripping the weight off too quickly.

Thank you very much!

Hello

I am sure Olivia will be along later to answer your query. I am in a similar predicament to you. I still want to lose 47 pounds (maybe more) and have been losing 2lbs per week over 4 months using mfp way. I am testing this new way out but my major concern is that I probably won't lose as much per week now I am eating more. My deficit per day now without excercise is 380, so over the week this would only be 2660. This is not even enough to lose 1lb. I would need to exercise every day and burn 620 cals every day to get the 7000 deficit I would technically need to lose 2lbs. I can't burn 620 every single day so I do not think I will lose even a pound on this, but I am willing to give it a go. I was eating 1200 cals so getting a deficit of 680 on non workout days, a total of 4760 deficit for the week but I still lost the 2lbs.

Yes, this is definitely more beneficial for people who have less to lose. If your maintenance calories before exercise are greater than 2200, you can create a 1000 calorie deficit safely without exercise (1200 calories) - then setting it up with your MFP calories goal at 1200, if eat all your exercise calories you will keep your deficit of 1000 (2 pounds a week). Once your daily burn is less than 2200, it's harder to keep that 1000 calorie deficit while still eating enough so that your body doesn't freak out on you. It will still work, but you may find the old MFP way a little easier to manage. Hope that helped

Thanks. Great reply as usual. I burned over 900 cals exercising today and have eaten over 1800 cals to get to my 1000 deficit and not have more deficit. Needless to say I am stuffed! I will need to search the threads to find good ways to snack healthy to bring the calories in line. Tonight I had half a bottle of red wine and a kit Kat. Not exactly healthy. I guess if I plan early in the day to burn x number of calories at the gym after work I can eat a bit more during the day and not feel like I have to stuff my face at night. I am also finding it harder to track my macros if i exercise. I have made a note of what macros I should eat for my 1500 cals but when I exercise they increase and I don't know what they have increased to because mfp is set to 1880 cals for maintenance.

GettingFit4Me2011

I am 5"6" female, light activity. BMR 1423.75

Please help with my numbers please. I need to understand what where the numbers will go and what I will eat if or not eat if I exercise.

I would like to lose about a pound a week.. Thanks for all your help.

Linda

olivia3263

Ok.... let me see if I understand this....
BMR - 1481
Change MFP Goal to Maintenance (Net Calorie Consumed /day) - 2000
(P.S. - It feels soooo wrong to change wt loss goals to Maintenance haha)

eat around the 1481 everyday.... unless I burn more than 600 calories via exercise (ex. Burned 800 calories so minus off the 600 and eat 200 calories.)

1481+200=1681
??
??

Am I right?
Thanks in advance if you can help me out
Heather

Actually, if your maintenance is 2000, than you would eat exercise calories you burn over 481. If you multiply your bmr by 1.3, you get 1925, therefore it would take you more workout calories to reach a 1000 calorie deficit.

To find this I take 1481 +1000 (the maximum deficit). That equals 2481. Then subtract your TDEE before exercise (2000) and you get how many exercise calories it would take to reach a 1000 calorie deficit - for you (at a setting of 2000) it would take 481. So anything you burn on top of 481 you would want to eat.

So if you burn 800, you would want to eat 319 on top of your 1481 - therefore, your minimum for that day is 1800.

joclougherty

Hi Olivia,

I sent you a rather garbled message, but just wanted to clarify: my BMR on MFP is 1403 and maintenance is 1890. I am 5'7" and weigh 156lbs. So am I correct in thinking that I set MFP to maintenance (1890) then I try to eat below that on non exercise days but keep above 1403 (should I aim for 1500 giving me a deficit of 390 on non exercise days?). On days I run I should do the same but not worry too much about eating a bit more but make sure the green number at the bottom of the page is no more than 1000......

So you would set it like this:

MFP calorie goal - 1890
Actual calorie goal - 1500 - eat this whether you workout or not.
If you burn more than 610, eat the surplus calories. Just make sure the number in green stays below 1000.

Sooooo, just to clarify again! I've set my MFP to maintenance, 1890. I will try and eat 1500 and if I exercise I'll only eat more if I burn more than 610. Am I right in saying that on my Iphone app if I look at the weekly screen it will show my total deficit, so for example if it says 3500 in green, I should lose a pound (scientifically) that week?

Erica0718

Bump to read later...

lilah808

I wanted to make sure I have this right, and also make sure your technique applies to me, since I have 71 lbs to lose.

I weigh 241 and am 5'9. My goal weight is 170. I would like to lose 2 lbs per week.
My BMR (according to MFP) = 1,845
So I should always eat 1,845 calories everyday?
1,845 x 1.3 = 2,398 gives me a 553 burn on non-workout days
On workout days, I can burn 447 and not eat back the calories for a 1000 deficit or if I burn more than 447 calories during a workout, I need to eat those extra calories above the 447 back?

Did I figure this correctly? And again, does this apply to me, since I have so much weight to lose, or should I do what MFP says to do? I want to lose 2lbs per week... a nice consistent pace without ripping the weight off too quickly.

Thank you very much!

Exactly right!

Thanks Olivia! So it's okay to do it your way even though I have 71 lbs to lose?

olivia3263

Sooooo, just to clarify again! I've set my MFP to maintenance, 1890. I will try and eat 1500 and if I exercise I'll only eat more if I burn more than 610. Am I right in saying that on my Iphone app if I look at the weekly screen it will show my total deficit, so for example if it says 3500 in green, I should lose a pound (scientifically) that week?

Yup. And yes, on the weekly screen will show your average deficit in green. 3500 being 1 pound, 7000 being 2 pounds. It's kinda cool

olivia3263

Thanks Olivia! So it's okay to do it your way even though I have 71 lbs to lose?

I don't see why not. You might lose a little slower, but you'll be doing it in a healthy way

olivia3263

I am 5"6" female, light activity. BMR 1423.75

Please help with my numbers please. I need to understand what where the numbers will go and what I will eat if or not eat if I exercise.

I would like to lose about a pound a week.. Thanks for all your help.

Linda

Ok, so here it goes.

MFP calorie goal - 1851 (maintenance calories before exercise)
Actual calorie goal - 1450 (so you can create a 401 deficit before working out)
If you workout, you'll reach a 1000 calorie deficit (2 pounds a week) by burning 599 calories. You'll want to eat the surplus calories if you burn more than this. If you want to stick to only 1 pound a week, you should eat any exercise calories over 100.

olivia3263

Hi I have avery hard time losing weight after menopause. So let me try this method.Current weight around 192 lbs.
My BMR is 1450
maintenence is multiply by 1.3=1885
I need to set my mfp goal as 1450 right if I exercise more than 435 cal per day then I add the extra.
So by eating at 1450 per day I will comfortably lose 1 lb per week.

Does this sound right.

Nope. So you want to set your MFP calorie goal to 1885 (your maintenance level before exercise). Your actual daily goal whether you workout or not should be 1450 (or at least don't go below this). You'll reach a 1000 calorie deficit at 565 exercise calories, so if you burn over this in one day, you should eat the surplus calories.

brookelyn2030

BUMP