Other weight loss calculators tell me different!

ashleighe0126
ashleighe0126 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
So I was looking online too see if my calories per day (1580) was the same on other calculators for weight loss. They all tell me a way higher amount. Why is this?

Replies

  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    You'll get a higher calorie budget from calculators that factor in exercise from the start rather than adding it as you do it, the way MFP does. It works out to about the same.
  • ashleighe0126
    ashleighe0126 Posts: 5
    But it did ask me about exercise too....
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    hard to say without knowing

    - which calculators you used.

    - what details you are putting in
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    But it did ask me about exercise too....

    The way MFP sets your calories is confusing. The exercise is not figured in at all. You are expected to add exercise on a daily basis, and earn more calories from it. You can change the setting to zero exercise and it will stay the same- it's purely to set a goal for yourself.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
    The more you weigh the more calories you should eat from my understanding, because it takes more cals to operate a body that is heavier (either from muscle or fat). Also when you exercise, you should eat more too.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    But it did ask me about exercise too....

    Yeah, but the software uses that to set your exercise target for the week, not to set your base calories. You don't get credit for the calories burned until they are logged.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Personally, I rarely if ever eat the added exercise calories. My baseline is plenty and have a hard time some days even making that. I have had day with a net zero because of swimming and circuit training in the same day.
  • ashleighe0126
    ashleighe0126 Posts: 5
    I see, thanks guys.
  • chelovik
    chelovik Posts: 200 Member
    The important element is to keep to the same calculator all the time. Different calculators will give you data that varies. If you consistently use the same tools to monitor progress then you get a more accurate picture of where you at. For example I weigh myself as soon as I bet up and get ready for work. I use the same scale which happens to be the fitbit aria scale. It works for me. Too many sources can make you confused
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    There are numerous formulas used among all the various calculators to estimate BMR, RMR and TDEE. With that comes different variables within the equation that will result in varying degrees of prediction.

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