Confused about MFPs Calorie Calculations

MrsGSR

When you originally work out how many Calories you need to maintain your weight, you put in how active you are, so it takes that in to account. But then when you work out and log the workout it takes them into account again, so surely your eating the work out calories twice?

I haven't explained that very well lol. Basically (I've made up these figures) I have to eat 2000 Kcals a day if I was lightly active to maintain. I put in that I work out 3 times a week, and it tells me I need to eat 2400 Kcals to maintain. Then when I work out those 3 times I log it and eat back the Calories, so I've eaten them twice? I'm eating 2800 Kcals, 2400 net. But to maintain I only need 2000 net, so I'm eating 400 too many.

I've confused myself, does any of that make sense?

zentha1384

If you are going to put it in exercise don't put in the activity level

es2189

Yes, that makes sense. You can choose how you want to handle it. The only time I would choose a more "active" activity level than "sedentary" and still log exercise is if I were working a job where I am on my feet regularly and exercise on top of that. If you work a sedentary job but workout, I would suggest either choosing a sedentary lifestyle and separately logging your exercise, or choosing one of the levels of active lifestyle and then not logging exercise. Personally, I prefer to log exercise, because since I'm not exercising every day, I don't want to be eating back extra calories on off days.

gypsybree

I put sedentary and then log my exercise.

At lightly active you can't log the exercise.

because yes, you're right you would be eating them twice.

MrsGSR

I put sedentary and then log my exercise.

Yeah, that's what I've done, I was just wandering if I was missing something!

californiagirl2012

When you originally work out how many Calories you need to maintain your weight, you put in how active you are, so it takes that in to account. But then when you work out and log the workout it takes them into account again, so surely your eating the work out calories twice?

I haven't explained that very well lol. Basically (I've made up these figures) I have to eat 2000 Kcals a day if I was lightly active to maintain. I put in that I work out 3 times a week, and it tells me I need to eat 2400 Kcals to maintain. Then when I work out those 3 times I log it and eat back the Calories, so I've eaten them twice? I'm eating 2800 Kcals, 2400 net. But to maintain I only need 2000 net, so I'm eating 400 too many.

I've confused myself, does any of that make sense?

Everyone is different. You have to experiment. The estimate is just a starting point. You may have to notch up and down say by 100 calories to find what is right for you and check with your doctor of course.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Some people will say you need to eat more. Some people will say you need to eat less. Only you can decide or check with your doctor. But what would make the most sense? Taller people have more room in their calorie budget to go up or down. Shorter people like me have less room and get frustrated with "eat more" because that typically does not work for us. If you are confused about it don't just listen to any of us, do some research and get approval from your doctor, then just do what you need to do and tune the rest of us out.

It really depends on your RMR. If you are short like I am then your RMR is really just above the 1200 limit so you really don't have much room for a calorie deficit and going up is less likely to work. If you are taller you will have a higher RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit. If you are short it can be hard to have a deficit at 1200 or above so your only option is to check with your doctor. I did and he agreed and had me go down.

Exercise is to make your lean body mass pretty, strong, and healthy (especially lifting weights).

A calorie deficit is to lose fat. A calorie budget keeps your fat level where you need to be, either losing fat or maintaining.

Nothing else really matters much.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

sasley

yep you're double counting. Unless you have an active job - ie on your feet all day, lots of activity, put yourself as sedentary. Also don't use the database to calculate your calorie burn - use a HRM if you've got one - if you are using HRM don't forget to take out BRM calories before adding. Counts on DB seem to be very overstated, actually they don't tell you how hard you should be working to achieve the burn. I have found if I do 60 minutes spin 4 times a week and eat no more than 1,500 calories per day, I will lose 2lb per week. BTW db gives be about 750 calories for 60 minutes spin - HRM says 350!! Clearly I am not working hard enough

Princess4u324k

I kinda had the same question...now bear with me because I'm terrible at explaining what I mean...and tend to ramble...but I'm sure someone will understand anyway LOL

So my job is quite active (housekeeper) and I feel like when I just meet my goal I'm always hungry and dont lose any weight...but if I log all of my hours of work as exercise then I feel like eating back those calories is way too much...so I just log about half of my work hours as exercise...it seems to balance out those days...and I actually start losing weight (by eating more?? I can handle that!!)...its just a bit confusing sometimes to me that I would have to log my work as exercise... even tho I put in that I am very active...and eat back all those calories to lose weight...

Not even sure I knew where I was going with that once I started typing...I hope it makes sense to someone :-P

es2189

I kinda had the same question...now bear with me because I'm terrible at explaining what I mean...and tend to ramble...but I'm sure someone will understand anyway LOL

So my job is quite active (housekeeper) and I feel like when I just meet my goal I'm always hungry and dont lose any weight...but if I log all of my hours of work as exercise then I feel like eating back those calories is way too much...so I just log about half of my work hours as exercise...it seems to balance out those days...and I actually start losing weight (by eating more?? I can handle that!!)...its just a bit confusing sometimes to me that I would have to log my work as exercise... even tho I put in that I am very active...and eat back all those calories to lose weight...

Not even sure I knew where I was going with that once I started typing...I hope it makes sense to someone :-P

From what you said, I would assume that you are eating too many calories. That being said, you seem to be losing, so that's all that matters!!

MrsGSR

I understand that everyone is different, I keep fiddling with my Kcals until I lose, I added 100 cal a day to my goal and am losing again I've been registered for a while and changed to Sedentry so I could log exercise, I've only just started using the forums though!

I am doing exercising, including weights, and I am taking measurements once a week as well as weighing and noticing a difference

Princess4u324k

I kinda had the same question...now bear with me because I'm terrible at explaining what I mean...and tend to ramble...but I'm sure someone will understand anyway LOL

So my job is quite active (housekeeper) and I feel like when I just meet my goal I'm always hungry and dont lose any weight...but if I log all of my hours of work as exercise then I feel like eating back those calories is way too much...so I just log about half of my work hours as exercise...it seems to balance out those days...and I actually start losing weight (by eating more?? I can handle that!!)...its just a bit confusing sometimes to me that I would have to log my work as exercise... even tho I put in that I am very active...and eat back all those calories to lose weight...

Not even sure I knew where I was going with that once I started typing...I hope it makes sense to someone :-P

From what you said, I would assume that you are eating too many calories. That being said, you seem to be losing, so that's all that matters!!

I thought I was eating too much too when I stopped losing weight...so I ate less and still didnt lose any weight...but then I had a few days where I wasnt logging my food and I'm almost positive I was over eating but didnt care cuz I was not losing weight anyway (just got frustrated)...but then when I weighed in at the end of the week I was down 2 pounds...so I started loging food again and I was way over my calories by like 200...so I started logging about 2-3 hours of my work as "exercise" and it seems to be just right for me

I guess it just goes to show that every one is different and that the goal is just a starting point and that you have to adjust to what works for you...and when you plateau you have to re-adjust to what works again...