How many of you went with the calorie goal MFP set for you,

SmallerBecky

I'm just wondering because so many people say that the goal MFP sets for you is too high or too low. Just wondering how many of you kept it as simple as possible and did exactly what the website told you: ate the number of calories it said, ate back your exercise calories, and lost about a pound or two most weeks until you got to your goal. Also specify whether you made sure you put in your true activity level so the site could make the correct calculations. Please comment...and thanks!

MissMaryMac33

I use the calorie goal they estimate, but I also change my settings to custom because their carb/protein/fat ratios are way off and completely wrong for me.

mdcjmom

Honestly, Most days I typically stick to 1200 calories a day regardless of the exercise I put in. I have had a couple of days where I have ate part of the calories back . (went out with friends couldn't avoid the bar) but in ten days lost 12 lbs so I mustbe doing something remotely right for me/

SmallerBecky

I use the calorie goal they estimate, but I also change my settings to custom because their carb/protein/fat ratios are way off and completely wrong for me.

Thank you for your quick reply. I see that you lost an incredible amount of weight--WAY TO GO! Now, did you go in every few weeks and change your goals according to your new weight?

melsinct

I did follow MFP's suggestions, but not at first. I initially set my goal too aggressively (2 pounds a week), which only gave me 1200 calories and I was starving. Of course, that made me plateau for a while, and then when I started eating more and set my goal more reasonably, I started losing again. I set fit or moderately active, even though I am a sedentary desk worker, and then I just didn't log my exercise. Months later and with only a couple pounds left until goal, I plateaued again. At that time, I set my activity back to sedentary, started logging exercise and eating the extra calories (most of the time anyway, not always), and I finally lost the last few pounds. I am currently maintaining by logging exercise and mostly eating my exercise calories. I say "mostly" because if I plan out my day, I can usually eat them. If I don't plan in the extra calories and I am truly not hungry, I don't force myself to choke down food.

SmallerBecky

Honestly, Most days I typically stick to 1200 calories a day regardless of the exercise I put in. I have had a couple of days where I have ate part of the calories back . (went out with friends couldn't avoid the bar) but in ten days lost 12 lbs so I mustbe doing something remotely right for me/

So, you are typically netting well below 1200 calories on days that you work out...do you do fairly light exercise? Also, you just started your journey so you're losing fairly quickly due to a drastic change in your diet, I imagine. Be careful...you want to keep your body fueled for basic everyday functions! Thanks for your reply.

stacymama5

I have really tryed to stick to my goal calories on here which is 1200. Also, I try to eat back my exercise calories. I have lost 18 pound in just over 45 days. I'm feeling real good about the whole thing.

SmallerBecky

I did follow MFP's suggestions, but not at first. I initially set my goal too aggressively (2 pounds a week), which only gave me 1200 calories and I was starving. Of course, that made me plateau for a while, and then when I started eating more and set my goal more reasonably, I started losing again. I set fit or moderately active, even though I am a sedentary desk worker, and then I just didn't log my exercise. Months later and with only a couple pounds left until goal, I plateaued again. At that time, I set my activity back to sedentary, started logging exercise and eating the extra calories (most of the time anyway, not always), and I finally lost the last few pounds. I am currently maintaining by logging exercise and mostly eating my exercise calories. I say "mostly" because if I plan out my day, I can usually eat them. If I don't plan in the extra calories and I am truly not hungry, I don't force myself to choke down food.

That is an interesting idea--setting my activity level as quite active and then just not logging exercise. Thanks for the tip!

caroliiine86

i use the goal MFP gives me, but most of the time at the end of the day i'm below my calories goal

SmallerBecky

I have really tryed to stick to my goal calories on here which is 1200. Also, I try to eat back my exercise calories. I have lost 18 pound in just over 45 days. I'm feeling real good about the whole thing.

This is great! I think if you're going to be set as low as 1200, it's very important to eat back your exercise calories. You've had great success so far! Good job!

kprangernix07

My calorie goal said to only eat 1200. I went and saw a nutritionist, and she told me that I needed to be eating 1300 on days I dont work out, and 1400-1500 on days that I do. She said that using your workouts as a calorie deficit is a farce... and it will only train you to psychologically punish yourself by working out in order to "work off" calories. I was having a really tough time with losing weight, and was beating myself up. She suggested that instead, I find something I enjoy doing to work out, and do it 3 times a week... and then go for a walk the other 4 days. So far it has not only improved my self esteem, but it has trained me true self control and portion size. Now I eat approx 200 cal at breakfast, 2 snacks of approx 100 cals, and then 500 for lunch, and 500 for dinner. I have lost 5 pounds so far in the past month... but getting myself to the place I wanted to be mentally was what took so long. I would suggest not counting your workouts as a deficit. It's only negative reinforcement, and you will end up hating your work out time. Hope this helps!

SmallerBecky

i use the goal MFP gives me, but most of the time at the end of the day i'm below my calories goal

How far below? And how well is this working out for you; i.e., how long has it taken you to lose those 12 lbs? Thanks!

SunnyAndrsn

I'm finishing my first week and am lost 5 pounds the first week. I'm sure mostly water weight, and next week will balance out. I generally have been a few hundred calorie under, and one day ate back the exercise calories totally, one day did not, and the rest were about in the middle. Net calories have remained below the target. I set it to lose about a pound a week, because I think that's reasonable, slow, and will likely bring me more long term success.

As for *WHY* I ate more/less one day than another, mainly because that's what I felt like on a particular day.

AggieCass09

i followed MFP's suggestion of 1200 cals initially and lost weight. THen i hit a plateau and had to eat MORE which MFP never seemed to agree with even when I set my calories at maintenance. I use fat2fit.com and freedieting.com to gauge my calories but ultimately i go by how i feel. These sites INCLUDE your exercise calories so when comparing to MFP look at your "totals" number each day rather than your "net" number.

I eat until i'm 80% full and those calories are mostly protein and veggies. I do not eat grains (allergy). I follow a zig-zag plan to accommodate my varied exercise plan. I average 2000-2500 calories a day total and usually burn about 200-800.

I've had much success with this method.

MrsAgi

I have done exactly wht it says and lost exactly what it predicted so far:)

only 6 weekjs in though,and just starting to add in excersise..... eating back those few extra cals with delght:)

deniserenee_02

I follow the 1lb weekly loss w/ light exercise and I'm on day 24 and I've lost 5 lbs so far.

SmallerBecky

My calorie goal said to only eat 1200. I went and saw a nutritionist, and she told me that I needed to be eating 1300 on days I dont work out, and 1400-1500 on days that I do. She said that using your workouts as a calorie deficit is a farce... and it will only train you to psychologically punish yourself by working out in order to "work off" calories. I was having a really tough time with losing weight, and was beating myself up. She suggested that instead, I find something I enjoy doing to work out, and do it 3 times a week... and then go for a walk the other 4 days. So far it has not only improved my self esteem, but it has trained me true self control and portion size. Now I eat approx 200 cal at breakfast, 2 snacks of approx 100 cals, and then 500 for lunch, and 500 for dinner. I have lost 5 pounds so far in the past month... but getting myself to the place I wanted to be mentally was what took so long. I would suggest not counting your workouts as a deficit. It's only negative reinforcement, and you will end up hating your work out time. Hope this helps!

This is actually the closest to what I believe in! I'm all for not stressing and doing what will work for life! I'm actually asking this question for a lot of my friends who are very concerned over that "magic" number and for those days when my mood is low over the fact that I have plateaued for months. I generally feel really good about how I'm feeling and looking but I would like to figure out how to move those last 15-20 lbs. Thank you so much for your answer, and I hope a lot of people see it!

Psufilmgirl

The whole "eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight" is not accurate, and that came right from the mouth of a certified trainer. If you are losing weight doing that, then, and this is what diet and fitness trained people explained to me, you are not losing fat. First you lose water weight, then you lose muscle mass. your muscles cannot build when you don't give them enough fuel.

The most accurate way to calculate what you should be eating is to find you BMR, then subtract 500 calories from that. Then keep recalculating as you lose weight.

I did this, because after losing 8 pounds in two weeks, I stopped. I upped my calories and within a week, I was down 2.5 pounds, and I'm still losing.

The whole I can only eat this many calories and I need to spend two hours on the treadmill every day is really not the healthy way to lose weight and keep it off.

And these aren't my opinions, they are things that I adopted because professionals told me. Eat whole grains, protein, and fat, lift weights, do a little cardio(use a HRM to make sure your heart rate isn't too high) and you will lose steadily each week and you will learn habits that will keep the weight off long term.

caroliiine86

between 130 and 300, I started MFP since 1 month

SmallerBecky

I appreciate your answers, thank you! I asked this specific question BECAUSE I know that there are many theories and opinions about whether 1200 calories is too low or too high, etc. I have been at this since September and I've lost a decent amount of weight just doing all kinds of different ideas. For some reason, I never really believed in the calorie goal number that MFP gave me and I tried to justify other ideas to allow me to eat more because I work out hard (cardio and lifting heavy free weights at this point) six days a week. I asked this question because I wanted to know how many people have success doing what MFP recommends--nothing else at this point! I wasn't asking for advice on how to lose faster; I was asking who this worked for. Believe me, I have asked for advice from various places over these past few months and I appreciate everything everyone has told me! This time, I'm just asking for experiences with following the MFP rules. Thank you so much! You guys are great!!

bluberrygoo

The whole "eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight" is not accurate, and that came right from the mouth of a certified trainer. If you are losing weight doing that, then, and this is what diet and fitness trained people explained to me, you are not losing fat. First you lose water weight, then you lose muscle mass. your muscles cannot build when you don't give them enough fuel.

The most accurate way to calculate what you should be eating is to find you BMR, then subtract 500 calories from that. Then keep recalculating as you lose weight.

I did this, because after losing 8 pounds in two weeks, I stopped. I upped my calories and within a week, I was down 2.5 pounds, and I'm still losing.

The whole I can only eat this many calories and I need to spend two hours on the treadmill every day is really not the healthy way to lose weight and keep it off.

And these aren't my opinions, they are things that I adopted because professionals told me. Eat whole grains, protein, and fat, lift weights, do a little cardio(use a HRM to make sure your heart rate isn't too high) and you will lose steadily each week and you will learn habits that will keep the weight off long term.

Then I should be eating around 756 calories, or even less if I go by mfp bmr for me.

mmstgr

I use what MFP set for me. I find it's good for me. Just remember nothing is set in stone. You can always adjust something if it's just not working out for you.

potluck965

I went with the MFP settings with great success. If there was a situation where I couldn't weigh my food and count exact calories I did tend to overestimate calories so a to be on the safe side. With exercise I did the opposite and underestimated calories burned if necessary.

Worked for me. I pretty much went on totals, though and didn't bother with the nutrient breakdown.

I wish maintenance were as easy to calculate.

alyson820

Mine's set for 1330, but i aim for 1200 a day and then allow myself a spike day every two weeks. Since I'm saving 130 cals/day, it adds up and I can splurge once in a while without gaining!

SmallerBecky

The whole "eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight" is not accurate, and that came right from the mouth of a certified trainer. If you are losing weight doing that, then, and this is what diet and fitness trained people explained to me, you are not losing fat. First you lose water weight, then you lose muscle mass. your muscles cannot build when you don't give them enough fuel.

The most accurate way to calculate what you should be eating is to find you BMR, then subtract 500 calories from that. Then keep recalculating as you lose weight.

I did this, because after losing 8 pounds in two weeks, I stopped. I upped my calories and within a week, I was down 2.5 pounds, and I'm still losing.

The whole I can only eat this many calories and I need to spend two hours on the treadmill every day is really not the healthy way to lose weight and keep it off.

And these aren't my opinions, they are things that I adopted because professionals told me. Eat whole grains, protein, and fat, lift weights, do a little cardio(use a HRM to make sure your heart rate isn't too high) and you will lose steadily each week and you will learn habits that will keep the weight off long term.

Then I should be eating around 756 calories, or even less if I go by mfp bmr for me.

I was thinking something like this too. I think she meant to find your total daily expenditure and subtract 500 from that, because my BMR is only 1460. Honest mistake!

Psufilmgirl

The whole "eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight" is not accurate, and that came right from the mouth of a certified trainer. If you are losing weight doing that, then, and this is what diet and fitness trained people explained to me, you are not losing fat. First you lose water weight, then you lose muscle mass. your muscles cannot build when you don't give them enough fuel.

The most accurate way to calculate what you should be eating is to find you BMR, then subtract 500 calories from that. Then keep recalculating as you lose weight.

I did this, because after losing 8 pounds in two weeks, I stopped. I upped my calories and within a week, I was down 2.5 pounds, and I'm still losing.

The whole I can only eat this many calories and I need to spend two hours on the treadmill every day is really not the healthy way to lose weight and keep it off.

And these aren't my opinions, they are things that I adopted because professionals told me. Eat whole grains, protein, and fat, lift weights, do a little cardio(use a HRM to make sure your heart rate isn't too high) and you will lose steadily each week and you will learn habits that will keep the weight off long term.

Then I should be eating around 756 calories, or even less if I go by mfp bmr for me.

I was thinking something like this too. I think she meant to find your total daily expenditure and subtract 500 from that, because my BMR is only 1460. Honest mistake!

Yes, if you go to a BMR calculator website, it should be accurate. The one on MFP isn't what I use. My trainer told me to eat 2300 last night calories a day and that is way too much for me!

But yes, everyone has their own way that works for them. But especially if you are lifting, eat more. I just started reading this book called The New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. It's pretty interesting and it was recommended by some ladies on this site!

MissMaryMac33

1200 is too low for most people and not sustainable anyway... I'm not sure why people think that's some magic number. Even if I choose to lose 1lb a week my daily is 1400 - I'm only 5'4".

Unless ou are 75+ lbs overweight, you should never choose to lose 2lbs a week anyway -- and people do that even when they only have 10 lbs to go.

You should reset your numbers every time you go down 10 lbs.... and adjust your amt to lose weekly as well. The less you have to lose, the less you should aim to drop per week.

Currently I have my daily at 1400 -- my protein is 40%, carbs 30%, fat 30% and lowered my sodium to 2000 instead of 2500. Want to get sodium under 1500 eventually.

I exercise with an HRM with a chest strap and becasue I know the number is pretty accurate (I;'m not using some random website "guess" for me) I eat at least half if not most of those back.

Remember: you're not trying to torture yourself, you need to come up with a plan that you can actually live with once you hit your goal --- and I doubt that will ever be 1200! I think my maintain number is about 1700-1800/day..

psuLemon

I deviated from MFP completely. I use Katch McArdle to calculate my caloric needs. MFP under estimates my needs by 300 calories as my BMR is higher due to more muscle mass than the average person my size. If you have a muscular frame, then MFP will be light.

lmarshel

I started with MFP in June of last year. I had been counting calories for some time and using another site to track everything, but the phone app with barcode scanner was too good to pass up! So I switched to using MFP last year. I knew I had another 30 or so pounds to lose and was not in a hurry, so I set my goal for .5 pounds per week. I try to eat exactly the number of calories MFP recommends, and I update my goal every month or so. I do not, however, lose .5 pounds every single week. My body tends to hold on to the weight and then drop a couple pounds all at once. I do eat my exercise calories back, and have recently started using a HRM to be more accurate with those calorie calculations. Turns out I actually burn MORE than MFP allows, on average.

And I am now only 4 pounds away from my goal. That new wardrobe is callling to me!! It's worked just fine for me.

katkins3

Yes, I kept the 1200 calorie goal. Wear a HRM to be sure my calories from exercise are as accurate as they can be. I eat just about ever exercise calorie back. I've been on MFP since Memorial day 2011, have gone from 230 pounds to 175 so far. My weight loss has been very steady. I only weigh myself once a week on Sunday morning.
I'm 61. I do Jazzercise 6 days a week, weight training three days a week, Tai Chi three days a week and usually walk around the local park with my husband either Sunday or Saturday, depending on the weather.
Today was Jazzercise in the morning. Weight training, Tai Chi and swimming after lunch. Now I'm going to take a NAP!

SmallerBecky

I deviated from MFP completely. I use Katch McArdle to calculate my caloric needs. MFP under estimates my needs by 300 calories as my BMR is higher due to more muscle mass than the average person my size. If you have a muscular frame, then MFP will be light.

Yes, I have a more muscular frame as well. I think this is why I strayed from MFP calculations. I always felt like what they set for me was way too low. I do P90X using heavy free weights and then I do the occasional extra 3-mile run on top of the program.