The "Olivia Method" - the cool new way to set up your MFP go

MelanieAG05

bump......Olivia - I have made my diary public so can you check please that i've done the right thing - i just want to be sure.

I have just changed my goal to 1750 which is my maintenance cals and I now understand that the green number is the deficit I have created everyday. So far this week (since monday) I have created a deficit including exercise cals of 1046 so I need another 2354 over the next 4 days to create the 3500 total deficit to make a 1lb loss for this week which is the rate i'd like to lose the weight at....is this right??

olivia3263

bump......Olivia - I have made my diary public so can you check please that i've done the right thing - i just want to be sure.

I have just changed my goal to 1750 which is my maintenance cals and I now understand that the green number is the deficit I have created everyday. So far this week (since monday) I have created a deficit including exercise cals of 1046 so I need another 2354 over the next 4 days to create the 3500 total deficit to make a 1lb loss for this week which is the rate i'd like to lose the weight at....is this right??

Yes, everything looks good. I don't know what your bmr is but just make sure you're eating at least that everyday too. Today looks to be low, but then again the day's not over

KylieBarstow

This is such a cool method. I definitely don't work out all too much, but I will be more often, but being able to see the calorie deficit each day will be very helpful. And for some reason it seems that even if I want to only have a deficit of 500 cal a day or 3500 a week I can eat more than I thought I could on this way than what MFP gives me as a goal each day. By staying under MFP goal I'm probably starting to starve my body and desperately do not want to hit a plateau! I hope this works for me!

Lary_babe

ME TOO! It sounds good but it's too much math I really don't understand it. :P Wish I could figure out a way to do it though!

Lary_babe

This is such a cool method. I definitely don't work out all too much, but I will be more often, but being able to see the calorie deficit each day will be very helpful. And for some reason it seems that even if I want to only have a deficit of 500 cal a day or 3500 a week I can eat more than I thought I could on this way than what MFP gives me as a goal each day. By staying under MFP goal I'm probably starting to starve my body and desperately do not want to hit a plateau! I hope this works for me!

I couldn't have said it better I feel the exact same way. Would someone be willing to help me set this up and learn how to use this method? Thanks Olivia for sharing with us!

ksmorck

bump

gjprincess

bump

MelanieAG05

bump......Olivia - I have made my diary public so can you check please that i've done the right thing - i just want to be sure.

I have just changed my goal to 1750 which is my maintenance cals and I now understand that the green number is the deficit I have created everyday. So far this week (since monday) I have created a deficit including exercise cals of 1046 so I need another 2354 over the next 4 days to create the 3500 total deficit to make a 1lb loss for this week which is the rate i'd like to lose the weight at....is this right??

Yes, everything looks good. I don't know what your bmr is but just make sure you're eating at least that everyday too. Today looks to be low, but then again the day's not over

Excellent, thanks for all your assistance with this - it is a great idea! My BMR is about 1400 so I'll try to stick to eating at least that everyday.

t_rog

And for some reason it seems that even if I want to only have a deficit of 500 cal a day or 3500 a week I can eat more than I thought I could on this way than what MFP gives me as a goal each day. By staying under MFP goal I'm probably starting to starve my body and desperately do not want to hit a plateau! I hope this works for me!

Yeah, I was kinda wondering why MFP gave me a calorie goal 100 below my BMR. Seems not right?

commotionstrange

bump...gonna try this! I was having the same issues with the numbers here on MFP. I also think though that they DRASTICALLY overestimate calories burned, so I'm trying to be careful with that.

Laura_Ivy

Hey there I've been calorie counting for the past 4 weeks and lost 2 lbs the first two weeks but now I am gaining...which makes no sense. Could you help me out with my bmr? I'm 29,161 lbs and 5'4. I want to lose at least 20 lbs.

I was reading through the posts and another lady said to just set your calories like you're maintaining,is that right?

Thank ya!

skward04

Let me give this a try...

BMR of 1465 and maintenance of 1904, so my deficit is 439. I can exercise up to 561 without having to eat some cals back, right?

But would that not essentially put me at 561 under my BMR? Seems like quite a low #?

Thanks for your help!!

candyle

Cookie22684

I am totally new to this method, can someone help me please thanks a lot :flowerforyou:

My Bmr is 1239

Erykah3584

Bump!

lilsassymom

Seeing if I have this correct
BMR = 1252
1252*1.3 = 1627 (that's the number I set my calorie goal for, correct?)
1252+1000 = 2252-1627 = 625

So I need to eat AT LEAST 1252 and I need to keep the green number between 500-1000? So, if I exercise and get more calories, then what? Eat? What does the 625 mean? And I need to set my settings to sedentary and maintenance right?

firedragon064

Seeing if I have this correct
BMR = 1252
1252*1.3 = 1627 (that's the number I set my calorie goal for, correct?)
1252+1000 = 2252-1627 = 625

So I need to eat AT LEAST 1252 and I need to keep the green number between 500-1000? So, if I exercise and get more calories, then what? Eat? What does the 625 mean? And I need to set my settings to sedentary and maintenance right?

if you burned more than 625 cal, you have to eat the difference back.
Ex: you burned 825 cal for work out . 825 - 625 = 200. so you will eat (BMR) 1252 + 200 = 1452
if you only burned 300 cal then you just have to eat your BMR cal and that's it = 1252

shkytalhick

I NEED HELP!!!
my current weight is: 194.8
My BMR is: 1730

I have a very labor intensive job & how do I refigure as I lose weight?
Thanks for the help!

chaineyart

bump!

kammy92

Bump!!

Gamergl

bump!

juliep1974

bump - saving this for after the holidays.

kikih64

This is such a cool method. I definitely don't work out all too much, but I will be more often, but being able to see the calorie deficit each day will be very helpful. And for some reason it seems that even if I want to only have a deficit of 500 cal a day or 3500 a week I can eat more than I thought I could on this way than what MFP gives me as a goal each day. By staying under MFP goal I'm probably starting to starve my body and desperately do not want to hit a plateau! I hope this works for me!

I have to agree with this one! I really like seeing what I have left, instead of trying to keep under the MFP goal. Too soon to tell if this will work for me, but it is a really good visual motivation, and I feel like I can eat more too.

chelsea_thatsme

i don't get it....too much info!!!

lilsassymom

Still confused...

Seeing if I have this correct
BMR = 1252
1252*1.3 = 1627 (that's the number I set my calorie goal for, correct?)
1252+1000 = 2252-1627 = 625

So I need to eat at least 1252 and I need to keep the green number between 500-1000?
Now I am confused... I went to "guided" and set it to "maintain weight, sedentary, and 0 exercises for 0 minutes"----correct? According to MFP that gives me a NET calorie goal of 1570---According to the above isn't it supposed to be 1627??? Do I need to change my current weight and goal weight info?
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So, if my goal is to lose 1 lb a week what do I need to aim for? What about 1 1/2 lbs a week? Thanks!

gazerofthestars

I am in! :happy:
Haven't seen noticeable scale losses in awhile... thinking I am starving my body by working out too much. Lets see if this works out.

hadapurpura

Sounds good!

kikkipoo

Still confused...

Seeing if I have this correct
BMR = 1252
1252*1.3 = 1627 (that's the number I set my calorie goal for, correct?)
1252+1000 = 2252-1627 = 625

So I need to eat at least 1252 and I need to keep the green number between 500-1000?
Now I am confused... I went to "guided" and set it to "maintain weight, sedentary, and 0 exercises for 0 minutes"----correct? According to MFP that gives me a NET calorie goal of 1570---According to the above isn't it supposed to be 1627??? Do I need to change my current weight and goal weight info?
So, if my goal is to lose 1 lb a week what do I need to aim for? What about 1 1/2 lbs a week? Thanks!

The difference between the 1627 and the 1570 is just two different ways to calculate your maitenance goals. There is no truly scientific approach to it, but I find it easier to let MFP use my stats to figure it out and I would also rather underestimate than overestimate my deficit. Just me personally. So, you can either do it to the auto calculated method or enter it manually under custom goals. That goal just uses the assumption you are a little more active on a daily basis than someone who has a desk job and only gets exercise when they deliberately exercise. Like if you were a mail carrier who walked 8 miles a day and didn't track that as exercise because it was your regular activity...well, then you have a higher natural maintenance amount.

1 pound a week=green number of 500 every day
1.5 pound a week=green number of 750 every day
2 pounds a week=green number of 1,000 every day

But keep in mind you can have a 500 one day and a 1,000 the next day and the average will be 750 meaning you're on path for a 1.5 pound loss that week. This plan is great for people who stagger their daily deficit based on working out say 3-5 times a week rather than every single day.

KOrogue

That totally makes sense! It might take some getting used to but I think I'll try it...

lilsassymom

Still confused...

Seeing if I have this correct
BMR = 1252
1252*1.3 = 1627 (that's the number I set my calorie goal for, correct?)
1252+1000 = 2252-1627 = 625

So I need to eat at least 1252 and I need to keep the green number between 500-1000?
Now I am confused... I went to "guided" and set it to "maintain weight, sedentary, and 0 exercises for 0 minutes"----correct? According to MFP that gives me a NET calorie goal of 1570---According to the above isn't it supposed to be 1627??? Do I need to change my current weight and goal weight info?
So, if my goal is to lose 1 lb a week what do I need to aim for? What about 1 1/2 lbs a week? Thanks!

The difference between the 1627 and the 1570 is just two different ways to calculate your maitenance goals. There is no truly scientific approach to it, but I find it easier to let MFP use my stats to figure it out and I would also rather underestimate than overestimate my deficit. Just me personally. So, you can either do it to the auto calculated method or enter it manually under custom goals. That goal just uses the assumption you are a little more active on a daily basis than someone who has a desk job and only gets exercise when they deliberately exercise. Like if you were a mail carrier who walked 8 miles a day and didn't track that as exercise because it was your regular activity...well, then you have a higher natural maintenance amount.

1 pound a week=green number of 500 every day
1.5 pound a week=green number of 750 every day
2 pounds a week=green number of 1,000 every day

But keep in mind you can have a 500 one day and a 1,000 the next day and the average will be 750 meaning you're on path for a 1.5 pound loss that week. This plan is great for people who stagger their daily deficit based on working out say 3-5 times a week rather than every single day.

Ok, thanks. Would it be better if I left my settings to lightly active instead of sedentary? If I left it at lightly active it gives me a net calorie of 1690... Or with this method are we supposed to put it to sedentary?