Difference between MFP calories and BodyMedia

superlefty

First post!
I've been tracking my calories here on MFP and my weight has not budged since 1/7. MFP tells me I'm supposed to only consume 1380 calories to lose a pound a week - I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week but then it set my calories at 1200 and I just couldn't do it. I've been extremely frustrated that my weight is so stuck where it is.

So I got a BodyMedia tracker for my birthday and just loaded the software and filled out my profile. It tells me that if I want to lose one pound a week I should consume 1960 calories a day and if I want to lose 2 pounds a week I should consume 1710 calories!

What is the reason for the difference? How could I possibly consume 400-600 more calories and lose weight?

heybales

First post!
I've been tracking my calories here on MFP and my weight has not budged since 1/7. MFP tells me I'm supposed to only consume 1380 calories to lose a pound a week - I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week but then it set my calories at 1200 and I just couldn't do it. I've been extremely frustrated that my weight is so stuck where it is.

So I got a BodyMedia tracker for my birthday and just loaded the software and filled out my profile. It tells me that if I want to lose one pound a week I should consume 1960 calories a day and if I want to lose 2 pounds a week I should consume 1710 calories!

What is the reason for the difference? How could I possibly consume 400-600 more calories and lose weight?

The basic reason is you told MFP too aggressive a goal for the level of your daily activities.

So both have estimated your daily activity calories based on calculated BMR.
MFP used standard calc for daily activity cal's, BodyMedia starts with that and then tells you total activity it is estimating, and frankly, poor estimates on actual exercise, just fine for daily stuff.

MFP took your desired goal, 1000 a day, off your maintenance calories, and that took it below the suggested lower safety limit of 1200, so it stayed at 1200.
On MFP, you are supposed to enter exercise and accurate calories seperately, and eat them back. Remember, it already took out a deficit, exercise is not for deficit, but building strength, keeping metabolism up, ect.

BodyMedia is taking your whole day, with all activity it can estimate, and is taking off whatever goal you gave it. Since it under-estimates exercise calories, when it subtracts daily loss goal, you probably would end up about the same between the two.

And yes you can lose weight by eating more, and yes you could actually stop losing weight by eating too little.

It's called lowering your metabolism, your BMR that is burning probably 1500 calories a day when running at full steam.
Underfeed it constantly, and it will lower to compensate. Eat 1200 constant enough, and eat back all your exercise calories, and you lose out on 300 free calorie burn each day.
Don't eat your exercise calories, and you undercut what your BMR has to use to take care of body functions - it will lower.

Feel like missing out on 600-800 calories every day from just a lowered metabolism?

Read the first post, and page 13 a progress report in this topic.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/471769-an-easier-way-to-setup-goal-calories-eating-for-who-you-wi