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

kikkipoo

Definitely like the sound of this....
So, I for one started by calculating my BMR on the MFP Tools and got 1450.
Then I set my goals to readjust using Maintain current weight setting at sedentary (yup, accurate...I live in a 5 ft cubicle) and and 0 exercise and 0 calorie burn for 1800 maintenance calories. A difference of 650 calories....so that means even with no exercise I should still lose 1.3 pounds a week eating my BMR cals, right? Exercise then makes the extra calorie burn icing on the cake.

1800-1450=350 deficit, to lose a pound a week, you would need to burn 150 calories per day, eating back anything after 650 burned.

Oyyy, thank you. Stand corrected on the 650. Not sure what I was thinking....but makes sense now.

olivia3263

OK Olivia,

Lets see if this is right?
My BMR is 1086

So: 1086 * 1.25 = 1358
Maintenance : 1358
1086 + 1000 - 1358 = 728

I would eat 1086 regardless of whether I exercise or not everyday? I would only eat my calories if they exceeded 728. The problem I don't understand is that by doing this I get a net calorie of 630. Now doesn't that put me into starvation mode? Or am I misunderstanding this?

If your bmr is only 1086, you couldn't have much to lose, do you? I'm really wary of giving any advice to those whose bmr is under 1200. I have been told by my nutritionist that no woman can get enough nutrients for their body that it requires eating less than 1200 calories. If I were you, I would Make my mfp goal 1358, my personal goal 1200, and not eat any exercise calories unless I burned over 728. The only thing that will put you in starvation mode is eating under your bmr. That is what this system is set up for - avoiding starvation mode, to ensure that you stay above the bmr.

BUT, take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't know much about bmr's below 1200.

olivia3263

Hmmm, weekly thread, or new group? Which do you think we should do?

jecka31

Bump for later when my brain isn't mush from school :huh:

auntie_missy

I really like the way you laid this out. As I approach a maintanence of 2200, I was trying to figure out how to crunch the numbers to get the best outcome without starving myself or plateauing. Can't wait to try it.

KaeChelle

Hmmm, weekly thread, or new group? Which do you think we should do?

I'm still learning how the group thing works, but it might be good.

In the first thread I was really confused, but in this one you explained more about why you have it set so you end the day in green. My concern, like some of the others, is seeing the green and thinking I can eat more! I guess we just have to retrain our brains! I may try it and see how I like seeing the green numbers!

chrissy1965

hi Olivia could you please help me work mine out..
im 5ft 3.. 46 years of age female.. i weigh 56.5 kilos and want to get down to around 50 -52 kilos.. My BMR is 1169 i burn 500-600 calories 5-6 days per week.. do you need any other info from me .. thanks in advance im very new to this.. Thanks Chrissy

olivia3263

hi Olivia could you please help me work mine out..
im 5ft 3.. 46 years of age female.. i weigh 56.5 kilos and want to get down to around 50 -52 kilos.. My BMR is 1169 i burn 500-600 calories 5-6 days per week.. do you need any other info from me .. thanks in advance im very new to this.. Thanks Chrissy

Sure!

Set MFP to 1520 (maintenance)
Aim to eat at least 1200 everyday with or without exercise (creates a 320 calorie deficit before exercise)
You'll create a 1000 calorie deficit by working out and burning 680. If you burn more than this, make sure to eat those calories above 680 (at least). Make sure your green calories remaining stays under 1000.

Good Luck

november03

bump

jen2607

for anyone having a problem with the numbers, the first link on this sight is an excel sheet that calculates bmr 2 different ways . It also gives a grid of how many calories you would need to maintain, lose, build, ect. Just plug in your numbers at the top and enjoy!


http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/better-bmr-calculator

BJC78

144 lbs. 5'6 goal weight 135

CyberEd312

Maybe I am not reading this right, but how is this any different than setting your BMR by MFP and setting it to sedentary and then whatever you want to lose (mine is set to 1.5 lbs. lost a week) this then give me my daily caloric intake (with my deficit already built in to lose 1.5 lbs a week) and then when I exercise, i eat those calories back. Doesn't that get the same results??? If not please explain... My deficit (set by MFP is 750 calories less a day) which even when I eat back my exercise calories, I try to stay when 250 calories of that 750 calorie deficit which gives me a 1000 calorie deficit for that day. On days I take off exercise then my deficit is already built into my MFP calories so I just eat to my net...

rosepetals_03

I can't believe I'm posting about a method named after myself, but it really was the easiest way for people to recognize it - and it's kind of cool

So this is a special thread stemming from the impromptu popularity of something discussed here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/406319-a-different-way-to-set-up-mfp-goals-that-works

I started doing this after a meeting with a sports nutritionist. I found a way to set up MFP so I could see my daily deficit each day, and I could maximize my calorie burn on heavy workout days, and not have to eat like a bird on my non workout days.

This is mostly appropriate for people who's maintenance calories before exercise are less than 2200. At 2200 or above, you can safely create a 1000 calorie deficit without exercise - so if you set up MFP to lose 2 pounds a week it would set your calories to 1200. You would then eat all your exercise calories and keep your 1000 calorie deficit, making noticeable progress quite achievable.

When you have less to lose, your options are to decrease your deficit by eating more, or eat less and run the danger of a weight loss plateau because your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs for basic functioning. Well we can all agree that eating less (under your BMR) is not a good way to go. We could try setting to .5 lb a week weight loss, but there's not a lot of wiggle room with 250 calories, and a few off calculations with exercise and food and you could find yourself gaining, not losing.

With this method, you can reach whatever deficit you want day by day, and you will know that you are safely keeping your deficit under 1000 (2 lbs a week loss). Rather than force feed yourself on high calorie burn workout days,, you can use those great workouts to maximize your weight loss - which, let's face it, is probably one of the main reasons why we workout to begin with.

If you'd like to try this method or need help figuring out how to set up your MFP goals, feel free to post your info: weight and BMR and I or someone will help you out.

So here are the guidelines:

Step 1: Figure out your BMR - this is your body's calorie requirements for basic functioning. You would burn this if you just stayed in bed all day. There is a BMR calculator on this site under TOOLS. This is going to be your minimum number. You will be aiming to eat at least this much, or about 100 calories higher per day, whether you workout or not.

Step 2: Figure out your Maintenance calories before exercise. You can use MFP's calculations based on your activity level. My nutritionist used an easy calculation of BMR x 1.3 (for light activity). This is the number you're going to set your MFP calorie goal to. You're not going to eat this number, but it will be a marker for how much of a deficit you are creating.

Step 3: Figure out how many exercise calories it will take to reach a 1000 calorie deficit (the maximum). Do this by adding 1000 to your BMR, and then subtract your maintenance calories (the number you found in step 2). This number will let you know how many calories you can burn through exercise without eating them back. If you burn more than this number, you will HAVE to eat the surplus calories at least to keep your safe 1000 calorie deficit.

I'll use myself as an example for the calculations:

Step 1: BMR = 1480
Step 2: BMR x 1.3 (1480 x1.3) = 1924
Step 3: (BMR + 1000) - maintenance/ 1480 + 1000 - 1924 = 556.

So I set my MFP calorie goal to 1924.
I aim to eat at least 1500 - 1600 calories per day, regardless of exercise, but definitely no less than 1480.
If I burn more than 556 through exercise on a given day, I should eat at least the surplus calories. So if I burn 800 calories through exercise, I would want to eat at least 244 calories above my goal of 1500 - so at least 1744.

Now for the fun part. When you look at your numbers in your tracker, the green number under the word REMAINING will show your total deficit for the day. The smaller that number, the closer you are to maintaining your weight. If that number is near 500 and you kept it like that for a week you would lose 1 pound. If that number is near 1000, you would lose 2 pounds. I usually aim to keep that number between 500 - 1000. I personally LOVE being able to see my deficit for the day. It really makes me feel in control of my weight loss. I have a small deficit on my days off from working out, and I have a larger deficit on my long run days (big calorie burns).

One more thing - don't forget to readjust your numbers as you lose weight!!

Good luck and happy deficit creating!

GAH!!! My brain is fried today.... here are my numbers... can you help?!
My BMR: 1283 (according to MFP)
My Maintenance: 1539.6
My 3rd Number: 743.40

After this I'm basically lost... on a regular/non-work out day how many calories should I consume? If I workout and burn 350 calories (for example) how many calories would I need to consume that day?? Thanks a bunch!!! EDITED to add: I'm 26yrs old and 5'2" 130lbs if this matters

olivia3263

Maybe I am not reading this right, but how is this any different than setting your BMR by MFP and setting it to sedentary and then whatever you want to lose (mine is set to 1.5 lbs. lost a week) this then give me my daily caloric intake (with my deficit already built in to lose 1.5 lbs a week) and then when I exercise, i eat those calories back. Doesn't that get the same results??? If not please explain... My deficit (set by MFP is 750 calories less a day) which even when I eat back my exercise calories, I try to stay when 250 calories of that 750 calorie deficit which gives me a 1000 calorie deficit for that day. On days I take off exercise then my deficit is already built into my MFP calories so I just eat to my net...

Ok, so for me, if I were to set my calories the MFP way, with a sedentary setting it would have me at 1776 calories a day to maintain. If I wanted to set it up so that I lost 1.5 pounds a week, it would have me eating 1200 (less than 1.5 pounds a week because it won't go below 1200 - to lose 1.5 pounds a week I would have to eat 1,026 which isn't safe). If I choose 1 pound a week, it gives me 1276. Now for someone like me who runs a lot, i would have to eat VERY little on my off days, and then eat quite a lot on my long run days, still only running a smallish deficit. I could choose not to eat all my exercise calories to create a larger deficit, but it would be unclear how many I could not eat back without forcing my body into panic mode.

By doing it this way, I have a minimum safety number I need to hit, and then I can see the deficit I'm creating, making sure to keep it in a safe zone of less than 1000. If I want to reach a greater deficit, I know how much I need to work out to achieve it.

For people who have less to lose, and women in particular, it is harder to work the numbers when it caps off at 1200 net. It's a way for us to lose weight at a noticeable rate without being unhealthy.

olivia3263

GAH!!! My brain is fried today.... here are my numbers... can you help?!
My BMR: 1283 (according to MFP)
My Maintenance: 1539.6
My 3rd Number: 743.40

After this I'm basically lost... on a regular/non-work out day how many calories should I consume? If I workout and burn 350 calories (for example) how many calories would I need to consume that day?? Thanks a bunch!!! EDITED to add: I'm 26yrs old and 5'2" 130lbs if this matters

Set MFP to 1540. Aim to eat 1300 each day both on workout days and non-workout days. You'll be creating a 260 calorie deficit before working out. You can reach the maximum deficit of 1000 by burning 743 calories during exercise. If you burn a larger amount than this, you need to eat the surplus calories. If you burn 350 calories, and stick to eating 1300, you'll reach a deficit of 590 (if you averaged this for the week you would lose 1 pound).

chrissy1965

thank you Olivia will give it a go..

vs1023

OK. I've been thinking about this all day and here's what I've come up with:

I weigh 155 lbs and my BMR is 1435 cals. Maintenance is 1790. So I set my goal to maintenance and my activity level to sedentary. My goal will be to eat around 1435 leaving me a deficit of 355 on non-workout days. If I burn more than 645 cals in exercise I need to eat more, but this is where I'm stuck.

Two questions:
1. How in the world are you people burning 600 calories or more in exercise per day? I never burn that much (that I know of - I don't have a HRM).
2. So say I burn 700 cals in exercise, how many cals do I need to eat at that point?

This is a super interesting method! I'm excited

I would get a HRM. I take BodyPump and BodyCombat 3-4 days a week and for each one I can burn 500-600cals. Sometimes I do both classes back to back burning 1100-1200 cals according to my HRM which is a Polar F7.

sdwelk11

Think I get it.. Bumping to try it

kikkipoo

Hmmm, weekly thread, or new group? Which do you think we should do?

I would prefer a group. It's so much easier to follow without having to search down a weekly thread.

joclougherty

GAH!!! My brain is fried today.... here are my numbers... can you help?!
My BMR: 1283 (according to MFP)
My Maintenance: 1539.6
My 3rd Number: 743.40

After this I'm basically lost... on a regular/non-work out day how many calories should I consume? If I workout and burn 350 calories (for example) how many calories would I need to consume that day?? Thanks a bunch!!! EDITED to add: I'm 26yrs old and 5'2" 130lbs if this matters

Set MFP to 1540. Aim to eat 1300 each day both on workout days and non-workout days. You'll be creating a 260 calorie deficit before working out. You can reach the maximum deficit of 1000 by burning 743 calories during exercise. If you burn a larger amount than this, you need to eat the surplus calories. If you burn 350 calories, and stick to eating 1300, you'll reach a deficit of 590 (if you averaged this for the week you would lose 1 pound).

Hi Olivia, that totally makes sense. I feel the same, even though I'm not running as much as you, I'm probably doing 20-25 miles per week and as my weight got lower, MFP was only giving me 1200 cals per day which I couldn't possibly do! That was only to lost 1lb per week and I just thought, this can't be right, I'm doing loads of exercise, why is it so low. I changed it to only lose .5lb per week for the last 6 weeks but have hardly lost anything. The same 3/4 pounds keeps going off then on again. I do tend to zig zag a bit unintentionally because I eat more at the weekend than in the week so hopefully I'll get some results with your method. I also wanted to say that now I've set it up, when I look at my Iphone app the deficit for the week is great, so this week it's about 4000 but when I go back to the last month or so, if I'd been using this method my deficit was only about 1000 per week for what I was eating, so no wonder I didn't lose. Can't get my head around that........