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

amuchison

@ Rachiepie6 I am on Medifast and my body gets plenty of calories...its kind of the point of the diet..to decrease cals create a deficet...but I just want to lose more..the avg loss is 2-5lbs a week..I eat 5 Medifast Meals a day and 1 lean and green meal... www.yourhealthandyou.tsfl.com

jennysmission

Can you help me I'm also haveing a hard time losing and seemed to have tried 1300 cal 1800 cal not eating exercise calories...eating them!

my maintenace calories are 2310

can't remember what else you needed thank so much!

Pickles11

Bump

suepeta

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jennysmission

Nevermind went to the group and I think I figured it out.

my bmr is 1800 my maintenance is 2310 anything over 490 calories burned I eat back

sounds right?

and I try to keep it in the green at 1000 or less right?

kappyd

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kappyd

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kikkipoo

Can you help me I'm also haveing a hard time losing and seemed to have tried 1300 cal 1800 cal not eating exercise calories...eating them!

my maintenace calories are 2310

can't remember what else you needed thank so much!

First go to TOOLS and calculate your BMR calories. This is what you need to eat for your body to function daily. Breathe, sleep, digest, etc. It's what you would burn if you were bed ridden pretty much. Write that number down or memorize it or something because that is how many calories you will eat every day with maybe 100-200 more as leverage, but never less.

Next go to MY HOME-->GOALS-->CHANGE GOALS-->GUIDED.
All your current data should be entered in there already, but be sure to indicate SEDENTARY and change your exercise goals to 0 workouts per week and 0 calories burned per week. Click the drop down menu and select MAINTAIN MY CURRENT WEIGHT. This is your calorie level you should set your MFP to. NOTE, do not eat this many calories. Eat the first number.

Now, how it works is that the number is shows in green...the calories you still have to go is actually now your daily deficit of calories. For a pound of loss a week you should average 500 calories in green every day at end of day. For 2 pounds a week it should be 1,000. 2 pounds loss is the most you should aim for though to be providing your body what it still needs. So, do not let that number ever go over 1,000 at end of day. Anything over 1,000 should be eaten back.

So...3 rules
Eat at least your BMR calories
Log all exercise above and beyond your daily routine
Never go over 1,000 green number

If you end up in the red you are eating past maintenance and will gain weight. It's pretty simple to follow once you get it all set up and as a bonus if it applies to you, the IPHONE and Droid apps have a weekly chart that shows you you're weekly deficit quite nicely. So, you know at the end of the week exactly how much your deficit was. If 7,000...congrats you just lost 2 pounds.

jennysmission

thanks Kikkipoo!!

faw1001

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kikkipoo

Thanks for your post. Can you please explain the significance / source of the factor of 1.3 for "lightly active"? Where does that come from? Does it work for everyone, or is it not applicable for someone with a sedentary desk job? It seems the only element of your calculation that isn't at least somewhat deterministic.

1.3 is just a generalized factor that Olivia's nutritionist used. It's a step up from sedentary, which is probably the average person....whereas if you have a desk job sedentary will be more appropriate. I chose and encourage using the maintenance goal setting in MFP to do the math for me. I think it is bit more accurate than using just a generic all inclusive factor that doesn't apply to everyone. Since you will be logging your activity, I would rather think that Sedentary is the way to go, unless you just have a really hard heavy exertion kind of job.

sherrillg

I'm gonna give it shot. thanks so much for posting...and explaining!!! :-)

califigureeight

BUMP

califigureeight

BUMP

Le_Joy

Am I missing something? It seems to me like it's just a more complex way to do what MFP will do for me....

pearlymae

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fjrandol

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califigureeight

I think I have it....

Current Weight: 266
BMR: 1913
Maintenance: 2390
The difference after the formula is 523......I'm getting kind of lost here but I'm thinking that, oh forget it....HELP!!!

Retry: Since I got this far, what if I set my goal at 1390 a day and kept track of my calories burned but not on MFP? Wouldn't I loose 2 pounds in a week? I'm going to stick around for an answer, if anyone is so kind to explain where I got lost and inbox me, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'm going to stick with my 1390 for a week and see what happens

califigureeight

Alright, I'm back. I set my goal to 1390, where I'll loose 2 pounds a week. Now....when I work out, it's normally a 300 calorie burn. Should I "eat back" these calories? Otherwise, I'm only going to take in 1090 calories for the day. If this is correct, and I do eat them back, my MFP goal is 1400....so is the difference that I normally don't eat them back?

At the end of the day, should my net be 1390?

Thanks in advance

PerfectPout

Hi Olivia

Can you help me? I am exercising and having a deficit each day but not losing weight.

I am 5" 2' and weigh 72kgs and I want to lose 12-14kgs.

I am also breastfeeding so I need to add another 1500 calories on top of what my goal calories are: MFP says I need to eat 1240 calories.

I do at least 20 mins strength/cardio and walk 30mins 5-6 days a week.

Can you work out what I need to set my MFP at?

Thanks

Leanz

Bump thanks

Biglovelovesme

Bumpily bump

olivia3263

I think I have it....

Current Weight: 266
BMR: 1913
Maintenance: 2390
The difference after the formula is 523......I'm getting kind of lost here but I'm thinking that, oh forget it....HELP!!!

Retry: Since I got this far, what if I set my goal at 1390 a day and kept track of my calories burned but not on MFP? Wouldn't I loose 2 pounds in a week? I'm going to stick around for an answer, if anyone is so kind to explain where I got lost and inbox me, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'm going to stick with my 1390 for a week and see what happens

Yes, I would stick to the 1390 for now, and eat all your exercise calories to keep the 1000 calorie deficit. As you lose weight, that number (1390) will go down and down and down until it hits 1200. Since it's unhealthy for anyone to eat less than 1200 calories, MFP caps it off there. At 1200, your Maintenance should be 2200. Once your maintenance starts going below 2200, you can switch to this method which will allow you to still get that 1000 calorie deficit with exercise. But for now - stick with the MFP ways. Good luck

olivia3263

Hi Olivia

Can you help me? I am exercising and having a deficit each day but not losing weight.

I am 5" 2' and weigh 72kgs and I want to lose 12-14kgs.

I am also breastfeeding so I need to add another 1500 calories on top of what my goal calories are: MFP says I need to eat 1240 calories.

I do at least 20 mins strength/cardio and walk 30mins 5-6 days a week.

Can you work out what I need to set my MFP at?

Thanks

What is your BMR? I can't figure it out without that number.

Monica_in_MO

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Monica_in_MO

I just changed my info. I think I'm going to really like seeing all of that green!! It seems like it will motivate me to stick with my goals a little better and help me break this stupid plateau. I've always responded better to positive reinforcement. : )

JeSuisPrest

I guess I am the only one confused by it all, I feel stupid every time I read it cause all I can think is "huh"?
How many have seen results from this so far? Maybe I can ask DH to sit with me and help figure it out.

AmyEm3

I guess I am the only one confused by it all, I feel stupid every time I read it cause all I can think is "huh"?
How many have seen results from this so far? Maybe I can ask DH to sit with me and help figure it out.

LOL, you aren't the only one. I've tried reading it a few times and I still don't get it.

JeSuisPrest

I guess I am the only one confused by it all, I feel stupid every time I read it cause all I can think is "huh"?
How many have seen results from this so far? Maybe I can ask DH to sit with me and help figure it out.

LOL, you aren't the only one. I've tried reading it a few times and I still don't get it.

Thank you....nice to know I'm not alone!!!

kikkipoo

I guess I am the only one confused by it all, I feel stupid every time I read it cause all I can think is "huh"?
How many have seen results from this so far? Maybe I can ask DH to sit with me and help figure it out.

LOL, you aren't the only one. I've tried reading it a few times and I still don't get it.

We'd all be glad to help. Where's the confusion at? You don't have to do the math. Let MFP do all the calcs for you. Get your BMR cals from the TOOLS calculator, and set your MFP goals to Maintain current weight rather than lose a specific number. Then eat only the BMR cals instead of what shows available in green, and that green number will be your deficit for the day. Goal is to have that between 500-1000 every day once you log exercise. If you go over 1,000 eat to get back to 1,000.