An easier way to setup goal calories - eating for who you wi

heybales

For those with Excel, here is the link for that spreadsheet.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/496449-spreadsheet-for-calculations

For those without.

Here is an online Google Spreadsheet version. Just be careful of the fields with formulas, stick to the yellow boxes.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGZlcmNCNmhJWFhtUGl0ZEk1RFd1c0E

kmorris246

Bump to read later! This sounds very interesting!

jojo1371

Heybales, thank you for posting this!
I have been stuck at my current weight now for over a year, and am definitely going to give this method a try.

I have used the excel speadsheet you posted to calculate my stats which are as follows:.
5ft, 25 years old
Current Weight: 140
Goal Weight: 120

Daily Goal: 1684
Activity: 857 (which consists of working out 3x a week)
BMR: 1287

I just want some clarification that I am in fact to be eating 1684 calories a day? I'm really worried that eating this many calories a day will actually cause me to lose weight since I have been eating 1200-1400 a day with MFP.

Also can you please clarify how the weekly spot check and confirmation works?

i understand the food logged, but how would I know my exercise since I'm not tracking it?

heybales

I have used the excel speadsheet you posted to calculate my stats which are as follows:.
5ft, 25 years old
Current Weight: 140
Goal Weight: 120

Daily Goal: 1684
Activity: 857 (which consists of working out 3x a week)
BMR: 1287

I just want some clarification that I am in fact to be eating 1684 calories a day? I'm really worried that eating this many calories a day will actually cause me to lose weight since I have been eating 1200-1400 a day with MFP.

Also can you please clarify how the weekly spot check and confirmation works?
i understand the food logged, but how would I know my exercise since I'm not tracking it?

That math there doesn't seem to work out, I can't figure out where the typo is.
Because future BMR plus that activity is more than 1684 with the figures you give.
I show CW BMR as 1302.
GW BMR as 1211.

The day spot check is if you happen to know how many accurate estimated calories in a workout, perhaps by HRM, or it's walking so the database sites are just fine, or you can compare your workout to walking a certain speed, which is great for low intensity type workouts. Though, walking 5mph is pretty fast and could compare well to other intense efforts.
http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/calculat.htm

So it just lets you see if that big workout day takes you below your BMR a lot or little. So if you walked 4mph, 318 cal, off maintenance of 1684 (if that was correct), then there is 1366, probably below your current BMR.
But, with only 3 workout days, I think I can tell right now you probably got some activity levels not correct, or you walk the dog a lot or work on your feet. Because with 3 workout days, it should go under by probably 300.
Look at Rest, perhaps should have more in it, and including too much in Light that doesn't belong, and then your 3 workouts just depends on how intense. Make sure no sample data sitting in there.

But whatever that green field is for Net Calories Consumed, that is the daily goal. And it's purpose is to raise your metabolism back up to get full burn on. And has the current method helped? No, because your metabolism is slower and BMR is NOT really the estimated level 1302. So you have been eating right at BMR, but with exercise and daily activity, constantly under by some amount. And so close to goal, you really want to go into it with burning metabolism to finish it off.

The weekly spot check is either while doing the method, entering in a week from start weigh-in to finish. You can pretend to, and enter each day's eating, and then what days for the exercise and how much, and see where the avg net ends up, hopefully above your current BMR by 100-200 calories.
If way more than that, proves the activities are probably off.

If you do know a good estimate of calories burned for your workout, log it in Food Diary Notes for that day. Then you can visually see or log the Net calories too.

Let me know. Follow the tips on the activity calculator, and descriptions for the level of activity.

jojo1371

I have used the excel speadsheet you posted to calculate my stats which are as follows:.
5ft, 25 years old
Current Weight: 140
Goal Weight: 120

Daily Goal: 1684
Activity: 857 (which consists of working out 3x a week)
BMR: 1287

I just want some clarification that I am in fact to be eating 1684 calories a day? I'm really worried that eating this many calories a day will actually cause me to lose weight since I have been eating 1200-1400 a day with MFP.

Also can you please clarify how the weekly spot check and confirmation works?
i understand the food logged, but how would I know my exercise since I'm not tracking it?

That math there doesn't seem to work out, I can't figure out where the typo is.
Because future BMR plus that activity is more than 1684 with the figures you give.
I show CW BMR as 1302.
GW BMR as 1211.

The day spot check is if you happen to know how many accurate estimated calories in a workout, perhaps by HRM, or it's walking so the database sites are just fine, or you can compare your workout to walking a certain speed, which is great for low intensity type workouts. Though, walking 5mph is pretty fast and could compare well to other intense efforts.
http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/calculat.htm

So it just lets you see if that big workout day takes you below your BMR a lot or little. So if you walked 4mph, 318 cal, off maintenance of 1684 (if that was correct), then there is 1366, probably below your current BMR.
But, with only 3 workout days, I think I can tell right now you probably got some activity levels not correct, or you walk the dog a lot or work on your feet. Because with 3 workout days, it should go under by probably 300.
Look at Rest, perhaps should have more in it, and including too much in Light that doesn't belong, and then your 3 workouts just depends on how intense. Make sure no sample data sitting in there.

But whatever that green field is for Net Calories Consumed, that is the daily goal. And it's purpose is to raise your metabolism back up to get full burn on. And has the current method helped? No, because your metabolism is slower and BMR is NOT really the estimated level 1302. So you have been eating right at BMR, but with exercise and daily activity, constantly under by some amount. And so close to goal, you really want to go into it with burning metabolism to finish it off.

The weekly spot check is either while doing the method, entering in a week from start weigh-in to finish. You can pretend to, and enter each day's eating, and then what days for the exercise and how much, and see where the avg net ends up, hopefully above your current BMR by 100-200 calories.
If way more than that, proves the activities are probably off.

If you do know a good estimate of calories burned for your workout, log it in Food Diary Notes for that day. Then you can visually see or log the Net calories too.

Let me know. Follow the tips on the activity calculator, and descriptions for the level of activity.

Thank you this was helpful.
Perhaps I can clarify to you what my activity level is...

So I am 5ft, female, age 25
CW: 140
GW:120

My activity level is as follows:
Sleep: 8 hours
I have an office job, so I am mostly sitting for 8 hours per day
I work out 3 times per week- 45 mins weight training, 30 minutes cardio
I watch tv for about 2 hours a night x 5 nights
Most of my shopping/cleaning comes on the weekend, for a total of about 4 hours for 1 day.
The other weekend day is mostly lightly activites

I hope this clarifies...? Please let me know as I am very eager to start.

craziedazie

Oh my lord, my head hurts. heybales, I think you are on to something, but for the life of me I cannot figure this out. So much for that master's degree on my shelf!

I went to the spreadsheet:
It says goal BMR 1492. Best for current weight: K-Mc = 1552, Miff = 1529.

Ok from there how do I find out how many calories I should be eating based on your theory? (I don't care about the MFP calculators). I am 5'9 and 163, my goal is 155.

Thanks,
Tosha

heybales

Oh my lord, my head hurts. heybales, I think you are on to something, but for the life of me I cannot figure this out. So much for that master's degree on my shelf!

I went to the spreadsheet:
It says goal BMR 1492. Best for current weight: K-Mc = 1552, Miff = 1529.

Ok from there how do I find out how many calories I should be eating based on your theory? (I don't care about the MFP calculators). I am 5'9 and 163, my goal is 155.

Thanks,
Tosha

Well, the best for current weight just means best guess. All BMR formula's are based on studies done on healthy people at healthy weight. Those are merely for comparison.
Please read the method description to see what you are trying to accomplish. This was re-written since the first post on this topic. So perhaps a bit clearer for the actual steps the spreadsheet helps you do.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method

You must go to the next area down in the spreadsheet, and do the activities.

You gotta do more work than just entering your stats! ;-)

Then the next section gives exact instructions as to what to change on MFP to use this method, set it and forget it.

At least you are near goal weight, but this still could help you reach the goal with a fully burning metabolism, and learn to eat at maintenance level you'll be at.

craziedazie

Oh my lord, my head hurts. heybales, I think you are on to something, but for the life of me I cannot figure this out. So much for that master's degree on my shelf!

I went to the spreadsheet:
It says goal BMR 1492. Best for current weight: K-Mc = 1552, Miff = 1529.

Ok from there how do I find out how many calories I should be eating based on your theory? (I don't care about the MFP calculators). I am 5'9 and 163, my goal is 155.

Thanks,
Tosha

Well, the best for current weight just means best guess. All BMR formula's are based on studies done on healthy people at healthy weight. Those are merely for comparison.
Please read the method description to see what you are trying to accomplish. This was re-written since the first post on this topic. So perhaps a bit clearer for the actual steps the spreadsheet helps you do.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method

You must go to the next area down in the spreadsheet, and do the activities.

You gotta do more work than just entering your stats! ;-)

Then the next section gives exact instructions as to what to change on MFP to use this method, set it and forget it.

At least you are near goal weight, but this still could help you reach the goal with a fully burning metabolism, and learn to eat at maintenance level you'll be at.

Ok thanks for replying - I understand now those 3 numbers are just for comparison. I had become so mixed up earlier that I wasn't sure what was going up. I will try again. Thanks again.

heybales

So I am 5ft, female, age 25
CW: 140
GW:120

My activity level is as follows:
Sleep: 8 hours
I have an office job, so I am mostly sitting for 8 hours per day
I work out 3 times per week- 45 mins weight training, 30 minutes cardio
I watch tv for about 2 hours a night x 5 nights
Most of my shopping/cleaning comes on the weekend, for a total of about 4 hours for 1 day.
The other weekend day is mostly lightly activites

I hope this clarifies...? Please let me know as I am very eager to start.

Ok, that helps.

CW BMR - 1302
GW BMR - 1211

You can enter these figures in the spreadsheet for hrs/day and put 7 days/wk to use it.
Resting - 9.43 (tv and sleep)
Heavy - 0.21 (cardio)
Moderate - 0.32 (weights)
Light - 0.86 (cleaning, shopping, and I gave the other day 2hrs of light)
Very Light - 13.18 (the rest)

GW maintenance - 1738

So that is the setup in MFP for Net Calories Consumed. The spreadsheet says where to change things.

And spot check for a day eating 1738 with 45 min weights and 30 min cardio at current weight (213+228=441) gives 5 under current BMR.

So that doesn't seem like much, and it isn't, because you are close to goal weight, and not much daily activity.
This method is designed to protect your potential BMR, while not feeding non-exercise daily activities, which you don't have much.

Now, it may be your cardio is more intense than that estimate, which is equal to walking between 4.5 to 5mph. If more intense, then you actually do go under a bit more. And the weight lifting was for between light and vigorous level, so it may be more towards the vigorous side with 45 min worth.

skeetpea

bump

jojo1371

I'm wondering, how would I be able to accurately reflect the number of calories burned by strength training into my activity calories?
I know cardio can be accounted for, but weight lifting is a little bit more complicated.

ItsANewMe2012

Bump

sweetad

So I went to the site and did all the calculations. My BMR is 1298, Activity: 656, for a total of 1954. So do I eat a minimum of 1298 and a max of 1954? or somewhere in between?? More if I'm more active? Let me know, thanks.
Ann

AFitJamie

Bump - want to dig into the details of this... But can't now. Will read details later....

TaraLawrence11

Bump!!

heybales

I'm wondering, how would I be able to accurately reflect the number of calories burned by strength training into my activity calories?
I know cardio can be accounted for, but weight lifting is a little bit more complicated.

Weight lifting goes under Moderate. If you walk a few laps for warmup/cooldown, count it for time too.
If you talk for 15 minutes between sets while standing, don't count that.

heybales

So I went to the site and did all the calculations. My BMR is 1298, Activity: 656, for a total of 1954. So do I eat a minimum of 1298 and a max of 1954? or somewhere in between?? More if I'm more active? Let me know, thanks.
Ann

You would eat at the 1954 each and every day. And if you log exercise, you would only do activity and time, calories would be 1.

If you want to confirm that activity calc's, might try here, which also references an online spreadsheet to confirm it.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477753-how-do-i-do-activity-level-and-calculator

Rhodygarden

Bump to read later.

2fit4fat

Bump to finish messing with tomorrow...

rschmmidt

bump

mummytobeslim

right think I get it im currenlty 148lb i want to be 136
bmr cals are 1376
activity 508
total 1862
soI add this to my mgp dailly cals and thenall the extra exercise | do just add as 1 cal is this right .Thank you x


Calories Burned / Week calories/week
Workouts / Week workouts
Minutes / Workout minutes
Your diet Profile Target
Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 1850 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1862 calories/day
Daily Calorie Deficit -12 calories
Projected Weight Loss 0.0 lbs/week

Topsking2010

Thiis is great info!!!!

heybales

right think I get it im currenlty 148lb i want to be 136
bmr cals are 1376
activity 508
total 1862
soI add this to my mgp dailly cals and thenall the extra exercise | do just add as 1 cal is this right .Thank you x


Calories Burned / Week calories/week
Workouts / Week workouts
Minutes / Workout minutes
Your diet Profile Target
Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 1850 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1862 calories/day
Daily Calorie Deficit -12 calories
Projected Weight Loss 0.0 lbs/week

That is correct if you used goal weight in the spreadsheet.

Don't worry about MFP's estimate of loss - they don't know you included exercise in your manually set goal.
You can change your activity level to Lightly Active if you want that estimate to be a tad closer, though it will still be a ways off.
It isn't used in any math since you are manually setting the goal, but when you complete your diary and it says "in 5 weeks..." it may do the math better.

And correct, logging exercise is 1 cal so it will show up.
You can look at my diary to see how I log stuff in my Food notes. That lets me spot check that my true net is right around my BMR on avg.

Spreadsheet helps spot check that too.

mummytobeslim

thank you I used the weight from the http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html ,is this correct not see a spread sheet

rileysowner

Or just use the tool here to figure it out. http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

Dove954

Thanks for the info bumping for later.

MrsR0SE

Bump

Armygirl67

So I am 5ft, female, age 25
CW: 140
GW:120

My activity level is as follows:
Sleep: 8 hours
I have an office job, so I am mostly sitting for 8 hours per day
I work out 3 times per week- 45 mins weight training, 30 minutes cardio
I watch tv for about 2 hours a night x 5 nights
Most of my shopping/cleaning comes on the weekend, for a total of about 4 hours for 1 day.
The other weekend day is mostly lightly activites

I hope this clarifies...? Please let me know as I am very eager to start.

Ok, that helps.

CW BMR - 1302
GW BMR - 1211

You can enter these figures in the spreadsheet for hrs/day and put 7 days/wk to use it.
Resting - 9.43 (tv and sleep)
Heavy - 0.21 (cardio)
Moderate - 0.32 (weights)
Light - 0.86 (cleaning, shopping, and I gave the other day 2hrs of light)
Very Light - 13.18 (the rest)

GW maintenance - 1738

So that is the setup in MFP for Net Calories Consumed. The spreadsheet says where to change things.

And spot check for a day eating 1738 with 45 min weights and 30 min cardio at current weight (213+228=441) gives 5 under current BMR.

So that doesn't seem like much, and it isn't, because you are close to goal weight, and not much daily activity.
This method is designed to protect your potential BMR, while not feeding non-exercise daily activities, which you don't have much.

Now, it may be your cardio is more intense than that estimate, which is equal to walking between 4.5 to 5mph. If more intense, then you actually do go under a bit more. And the weight lifting was for between light and vigorous level, so it may be more towards the vigorous side with 45 min worth.

bump...

AussieMisfit

I checked it out and it has me at 2200 calories. I've never averaged that much - if this is accurate how did I ever get overweight??

autumnk921

Bump...Just bumping so that I can read this a little later....Sounds interesting!!