So confused!

LabMonkeySteph85

I just started on Monday. I keep moving my calories around because I am not sure where I should be. When I signed up, I put that I wanted to loose 2 pounds per week and MFP set me to 1200 calories a day. Then I am reading message boards that say you should not eat less than your BMR, which for me is 1514. So which should I set my calorie goal to?

Also, am I supposed to be eating my exercise calories so that my net is 1514? I do Zumba for an hour a day and walk for 30 minutes usually, so I am burning around 500 calories per day there. I have my diary public if anyone wants to look at it. And yes, I need to eat more fruits and veggies. I am working on it

Yaya1976

I feel your pain. I'm no expert. I have personally decided to eat the calories allotted to me from when I first started, which is 1210 per day. Now for me, that's more than enough. I don't ever eat back my exercise calories, again, my personal choice. At the end of the day you just have to do what works for you.

wswilliams67

What is your current weight and body fat %? I can run some numbers.

xFitnessFlirt

from what I was told your suppose to eat higher then your BMR but lower then your TDEE. I set mine at 1 pound per week so my calorie deficit has to be at least 500 everyday to lose a pound a week. which ends up 3500 calories total in a week. But for 2 lbs i think u have to have a calorie deficit of 1000 a day and I dont think thats very healthy.

vicktoria339

Hey the way i see it, the less i eat, the more weight i lose. On the other hand, if im hungry, i eat. Regarding my exercise, i have the extra cals there is i feel hungry later in the evening after dinner. I dont really pay too much attention to BMR or similar ...hope this helps! Wouldnt worry too much about what every one else says on the msg boards, just find what works for you :-)

wickedwendy6

Go to 'Help', select Web and then General. Have a read through there and it should all come together for you.

You're not alone, I remember feeling the same way when I first started.

elgray26

It all depends on how you set up MFP...

I put myself at lightly active. I coach tumbling and cheerleading, but I am not always spotting kids or being active at work. I put that I want to lose 1lb a week. MFP has me at 1410. According to websites my BMR is something like 1494.

Now because I have myself set at lightly active I do eat back my exercise calories. I try to NET 1200 at least if not more. I normally end up eating between 1500 and 2200 calories a day depending on the exercise I do. If i burn 900 calories in the day I try to eat at least 700-800 of those back.

If you set your MFP activity level based on the exercise that you plan to do I would not eat back exercise calories, but I would try to eat at least your BMR.

Many people on this site say to figure out your TDEE and your BMR and eat somewhere in between. Some say eat 20% less than your TDEE. Others say different things.

I would recommend you do some research on this and dont believe what everyone on MFP says. What works for them... May not work for you.

Hope this helps.

ceannesjourney

Please rememer that this is just my opinion, but I believe starting at 2lbs a week is too much. If you set it to 1lbs or even less per week, you will have an easier time with the counting of calories. Also, since you do so much exericise, you are already doing great work.

I did my set up/goals with how I'm living my life at the moment. I didn't try to figure out the BMR/TDEE or whatever a lot of people talk about--I just put in the numbers and then followed what was on my food page/tab. I believe you should eat back at least most of your exercise calories, but if you did your set up to include the exercised that you already do (example - active lifestyle), I wouldn't. I just make sure I eat up the calories on my food page (which adds your exerice calories). Try to meet the number there.

I hope this helps in some way.

divincenzo1

In regards to your calories you burn when working out...most people on MFP are split on this. I eat some of them back when and if I'm hungry....if I'm not hungry I won't eat them back. It really depends on you...you have to listen to your body...if you're feeling starved after workint out eat...if you don't you'll eventually crash.

wswilliams67

NEVER eat less than your BMR... EVER!

Think of it this way: If you were in a coma, your BMR is what the hospital would have to give you to keep you alive.

You need to figure out your ACTUAL TDEE not the MFP version. MFP is close, but it's off a couple hundred calories. I suggest http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm if you know your body fat %.

Calculate your TDEE at your average exercise level, then eat 500 calories less than your TDEE to lose 1lb/week, 1000 calories less to lose 2lbs/week.

- OR -

Calculate your TDEE as a sedentary person (no exercise) then eat back your exercise calories daily.

Rinse and repeat every 10 pounds of weight loss to stay on target since your BMR/TDEE will change as your body composition changes.

READ THIS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Hope that helps

Gramps251

I just started on Monday. I keep moving my calories around because I am not sure where I should be. When I signed up, I put that I wanted to loose 2 pounds per week and MFP set me to 1200 calories a day. Then I am reading message boards that say you should not eat less than your BMR, which for me is 1514. So which should I set my calorie goal to?

Also, am I supposed to be eating my exercise calories so that my net is 1514? I do Zumba for an hour a day and walk for 30 minutes usually, so I am burning around 500 calories per day there. I have my diary public if anyone wants to look at it. And yes, I need to eat more fruits and veggies. I am working on it

Check out this link for establishing your numbers:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

IronGirlShae

My nutrition teacher once told me to look up the weight we wished to be (either bigger or smaller) and check out how many calories someone that weight should eat. If you eat that number of calories your body will gradually become that weight. SO eating the amount for your current weight won't make the scale budge much at all.

ceannesjourney

My nutrition teacher once told me to look up the weight we wished to be (either bigger or smaller) and check out how many calories someone that weight should eat. If you eat that number of calories your body will gradually become that weight. SO eating the amount for your current weight won't make the scale budge much at all.

OMG! I'm so sorry to say this, but this is such poor advice--what if you currently weighed 300lbs and wanted to weigh 120? That would put the body in such a state! Try not to reduce your calories by more than 500 per day than what you were before--this will make life so much easier.

Please follow what other's have suggested and follow what MFP says about setting up.

LabMonkeySteph85

I weigh 174.2 and my body fat is around 34%. I can't remember exactly from when I had it checked a couple months ago.

wswilliams67

My nutrition teacher once told me to look up the weight we wished to be (either bigger or smaller) and check out how many calories someone that weight should eat. If you eat that number of calories your body will gradually become that weight. SO eating the amount for your current weight won't make the scale budge much at all.

This doesn't take body composition into account at all. Weight is just gravity's pull on your body. You should never want to lose 'weight'. Weight encompasses water, fat, muscle, bone, etc. You should want to lose FAT never muscle. Most dieters, sadly, lose more muscle than fat simply due to how the body consumes resources for energy.

200lbs at 9% body fat versus 200lbs at 30% body fat requires VERY different levels of caloric intake.

You have to do the math if you are serious about losing fat.

For example, Michael Phelps... the Olympic swimming champion? He eats 12,000 calories/day while training! The notion of simply cutting calories to drop weight is old science. It will work for about the first 40-50 pounds then you will hit a serious metabolic wall. It happened to me recently and it is a difficult thing to recover from the longer you let it go.

stephiegirl1215

Definitely read this thread
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

kendallggaylor

OMG, I'm so confused now! MFP set me up to eat 1,200 calories a day as well, and I'm also exercising! So....that's BAD??

wswilliams67

I weigh 174.2 and my body fat is around 34%. I can't remember exactly from when I had it checked a couple months ago.

Calculated at a moderate exercise level of 3-5 days/week to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 2317 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1817 Calories.

Calculated at NO exercise to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 1794 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1294 Calories. (too low for your BMR... stay at 1500 and eat back your exercise calories)

Recalculate after 10 pounds of loss.

Your BMR doesn't really support you losing 2 pounds/week so I wouldn't try it right now. If you were heavier or leaner and your BMR was higher then you could try for 1.5 to 2 pounds.

Just my 2¢.

Firefox7275

Eat more real food generally, less processed and ready made stuff, track fibre on your food diary. Ideally nine servings or fruits and vegetables in the full rainbow of colours, oily fish regularly, protein at breakfast, three servings of reduced fat dairy, lose the sugar and white refined carbs, processed meat. Your calories will naturally regulate themselves if you fill up on watery veggies, lean protein and fibre.

LabMonkeySteph85

I weigh 174.2 and my body fat is around 34%. I can't remember exactly from when I had it checked a couple months ago.

Calculated at a moderate exercise level of 3-5 days/week to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 2317 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1817 Calories.

Calculated at NO exercise to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 1794 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1294 Calories. (too low for your BMR... stay at 1500 and eat back your exercise calories)

Recalculate after 10 pounds of loss.

Your BMR doesn't really support you losing 2 pounds/week so I wouldn't try it right now. If you were heavier or leaner and your BMR was higher then you could try for 1.5 to 2 pounds.

Just my 2¢.

So just to make sure I have this right, I should be eating 1817 calories per day and disregard my weight loss calories completely in order to loose 1 pound a week? Couldn't I do 1317 a day in order to loose 2 pounds per week? I guess I don't understand why I can't do this since the minimum is 1200?

taso42

Check out this link for establishing your numbers:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

This is a good place to start.

Figure out your TDEE. Understand what it means. Once you've done that, you're more than halfway to success.

fakeplastictree

Check out this link for establishing your numbers:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

This is a good place to start.

Figure out your TDEE. Understand what it means. Once you've done that, you're more than halfway to success.

TDEE is the best way IMO. I've done the whole moving this around stuff too and got frustrated. Just figure out your TDEE and subtract what amount of calories you want from it. I did 500 at first and that put me at 1800 calories a day with exercising 5 times a week.

CorvusCorax77

So just to make sure I have this right, I should be eating 1817 calories per day and disregard my weight loss calories completely in order to loose 1 pound a week? Couldn't I do 1317 a day in order to loose 2 pounds per week? I guess I don't understand why I can't do this since the minimum is 1200?

I think it's all getting way too complicated. There are basically two ways in general to do this:

(1) TDEE - 15-20% ...Note that TDEE takes into consideration your exercise so you eat the same every day. This is the best route if you include weight training into your exercise, I think.

OR

(2) 1200 cals + exercise cals. This is what I did. What this means is you give yourself credit for any and all exercise. Did you go for a ten minute walk? LOG IT. This is good if you are doing mostly cardio.

Lemme tell ya, I started out at 174 lbs. I ate 1200 cals plus exercise cals. This motivated me to exercise more. That's how I operate. Some days I would want to eat high calorie foods (my friends are getting pizza! I want pizza!) so I'd calculate how many calories I would be eating over my goal and I'd run to burn them off. Some people say this doesn't work. Well. It worked fine for me. My BMR back then was 1562 and I netted 1200 every day. But i also liked to run so I usually ate about 1500 every day anyways. Now my BMR is 1392.

CorvusCorax77

and I hate to disagree with Taso and FakePlasticTree...but I'm just saying that when I started with the whole TDEE I was so confused. I went back to 1200+ and it worked for me.

Now that I"m also lifting heavy, it's a lot more complicated. Maybe i'd be better off now if I learned TDEE three years ago, but I'm just saying...it *can* and *does* work if you do 1200 +

wswilliams67

I weigh 174.2 and my body fat is around 34%. I can't remember exactly from when I had it checked a couple months ago.

Calculated at a moderate exercise level of 3-5 days/week to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 2317 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1817 Calories.

Calculated at NO exercise to lose 1 pound/week:

Estimated Base BMR: 1495 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 1794 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 1294 Calories. (too low for your BMR... stay at 1500 and eat back your exercise calories)

Recalculate after 10 pounds of loss.

Your BMR doesn't really support you losing 2 pounds/week so I wouldn't try it right now. If you were heavier or leaner and your BMR was higher then you could try for 1.5 to 2 pounds.

Just my 2¢.

So just to make sure I have this right, I should be eating 1817 calories per day and disregard my weight loss calories completely in order to loose 1 pound a week? Couldn't I do 1317 a day in order to loose 2 pounds per week? I guess I don't understand why I can't do this since the minimum is 1200?

The numbers I gave you are not MFP numbers and the minimum is not 1200 unless that is your BMR. Your BMR is your baseline. 1317 is less than your current BMR. Your metabolism will shut down eventually. You want to avoid that. If you want to go for more than 1lb per week, then try 1567 and do NOT eat back your exercise calories. That would be 1.5lbs/week and still keep your metabolism going. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, "eat to lose", but it's true (unless you are like 400+ pounds @ 50% body fat). Your body MUST have fuel or it cannot run efficiently.

I know you want to lose quickly, but seriously... be patient. You didn't gain overnight and you definitely will not lose overnight. If you get greedy and eat below your BMR you will stall out and sit at the same weight for weeks. Then you will get frustrated and quit. It's a slow process and if you do it right, you will be more fit, lean and able to maintain the losses over the long haul. The best reason for going slow is you will have a chance to change your lifestyle and eating habits. This too will allow you to keep the weight off over time.

CorvusCorax77

haha. NOw I"m the one being difficult...

For those who use TDEE, I have a question:

I don't do the same thing every day. Some days I run 13 miles, some days I dont' run at all and Ilift heavy for an hour, and some days I do jack. Eating the same calories all those days feels weird to me... I eat more when I run more. I eat more protein when I lift. And when I do jack, I eat less. What is wrong with this?

myownadvice

[/quote]

Quote: "So just to make sure I have this right, I should be eating 1817 calories per day and disregard my weight loss calories completely in order to loose 1 pound a week? Couldn't I do 1317 a day in order to loose 2 pounds per week? I guess I don't understand why I can't do this since the minimum is 1200?"
[/quote]

Because eating only 1317 a day puts you below your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs just to function properly). The 1200 is the absolute minimum that MFP allows, that doesn't mean it's a good number for you or anyone else in particular to shoot for.

wswilliams67

haha. NOw I"m the one being difficult...

For those who use TDEE, I have a question:

I don't do the same thing every day. Some days I run 13 miles, some days I dont' run at all and Ilift heavy for an hour, and some days I do jack. Eating the same calories all those days feels weird to me... I eat more when I run more. I eat more protein when I lift. And when I do jack, I eat less. What is wrong with this?

It's really up to each person. Some people like the bullseye accuracy of eat back the exercise calories, some like the ease of having a set number of calories and just being consistent with their exercise regimin. Personally, I'm the latter. I lift 2 days on, 1 day off and do cardio 7 days/week, 20 minutes on lifting days, 40 minutes on off days. With this regimin I know I'm burning roughly the same amount of calories per day so the TDEE with built in exercise is the easiest for me. If you are a sporadic exerciser then the sedentary TDEE + eat back would be a better solution.

I should also state that I am a Type 2 Diabetic and I must exercise at least 30 minutes/day to keep my blood glucose in check which is why I do cardio every day. I'm not a fanatic LOL!

Here's my personal experience:

When I started my journey @ 320 pounds I dropped my calories to 1500/day (no eat back). I dropped weight very quickly until I hit my 6-7 week mark @ 40 pounds lost. Then I hit a wall. My trainer told me I wasn't eating enough to support my current weight and activity level. She told me to up my calories, so I did... to 1750. Still no movement. So I finally ran my numbers... what a difference.

These are as of today at 270lbs @ 33% body fat... moderate 3-5 days/week exercise:

Estimated Base BMR: 2142 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 3320 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 2320 Calories. (TDEE-1000 for 2lbs/week of loss)

Since my exercise calories are 'built in' to my TDEE I don't have to eat them back and I just have to consume the 2320 calories per day. Since my BMR is 2142 it supports losing 2 pounds per week. As I get leaner my BMR will drop and eventually I will have to settle for 1lb/week. Plus, I GET TO EAT AGAIN! At 1500 calories I was starving all the time. At 2300 I have so much more energy and I am lifting twice the weight I was as 1500 calories and the fat is coming off again.

Every person is different. What I'm saying is calculating your TDEE is the first step. You have to know your baselines. Once you know that you can customize your journey around those numbers to best fit your lifestyle and what works for you.

CorvusCorax77

ws williams 67-

That makes sense. I think now that I'm lifting heavy and that isn't reflected well in the "calories burned" department it makes more sense to do TDEE. What i do now is try to eat no more than 1800 on my lifting days (TDEE at my goal weight with my current exercise level is 1811),on other days I do 1300+ exercise cals. On non lifting days, I try to run at least 3 miles and walk 30 mins which burns approx 350 cals so on those days I eat about 1650 cals. My BMR is 1392. One day a week, I don't run or lift, but I usually go rock climbing or surfing or some other such awesomeness on my "day off" and burn calories which I add to my 1300.

So I think I'm kinda doing what you say to do, only I do it in my own weird complicated fashion which makes perfect sense to me

myownadvice

haha. NOw I"m the one being difficult...

For those who use TDEE, I have a question:

I don't do the same thing every day. Some days I run 13 miles, some days I dont' run at all and Ilift heavy for an hour, and some days I do jack. Eating the same calories all those days feels weird to me... I eat more when I run more. I eat more protein when I lift. And when I do jack, I eat less. What is wrong with this?

It's really up to each person. Some people like the bullseye accuracy of eat back the exercise calories, some like the ease of having a set number of calories and just being consistent with their exercise regimin. Personally, I'm the latter. I lift 2 days on, 1 day off and do cardio 7 days/week, 20 minutes on lifting days, 40 minutes on off days. With this regimin I know I'm burning roughly the same amount of calories per day so the TDEE with built in exercise is the easiest for me. If you are a sporadic exerciser then the sedentary TDEE + eat back would be a better solution.

I should also state that I am a Type 2 Diabetic and I must exercise at least 30 minutes/day to keep my blood glucose in check which is why I do cardio every day. I'm not a fanatic LOL!

Here's my personal experience:

When I started my journey @ 320 pounds I dropped my calories to 1500/day (no eat back). I dropped weight very quickly until I hit my 6-7 week mark @ 40 pounds lost. Then I hit a wall. My trainer told me I wasn't eating enough to support my current weight and activity level. She told me to up my calories, so I did... to 1750. Still no movement. So I finally ran my numbers... what a difference.

These are as of today at 270lbs @ 33% body fat... moderate 3-5 days/week exercise:

Estimated Base BMR: 2142 Calories.
Estimated TDEE: 3320 Calories.
Estimated Daily Caloric Need For Weight Loss: 2320 Calories. (TDEE-1000 for 2lbs/week of loss)

Since my exercise calories are 'built in' to my TDEE I don't have to eat them back and I just have to consume the 2320 calories per day. Since my BMR is 2142 it supports losing 2 pounds per week. As I get leaner my BMR will drop and eventually I will have to settle for 1lb/week. Plus, I GET TO EAT AGAIN! At 1500 calories I was starving all the time. At 2300 I have so much more energy and I am lifting twice the weight I was as 1500 calories and the fat is coming off again.

Every person is different. What I'm saying is calculating your TDEE is the first step. You have to know your baselines. Once you know that you can customize your journey around those numbers to best fit your lifestyle and what works for you.

*LIKE* :happy:

CorvusCorax77

Quote: "So just to make sure I have this right, I should be eating 1817 calories per day and disregard my weight loss calories completely in order to loose 1 pound a week? Couldn't I do 1317 a day in order to loose 2 pounds per week? I guess I don't understand why I can't do this since the minimum is 1200?"

Because eating only 1317 a day puts you below your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs just to function properly). The 1200 is the absolute minimum that MFP allows, that doesn't mean it's a good number for you or anyone else in particular to shoot for.

ack. again. not to be complicated, but because now I am confused also....

as i have said, i already lost my weight (my profile pic is my before pic) and now i'm focused on body composition...

but like i said, when I started my BMR was 1562 and i ate 1200+. Now back then I'd run maybe 2 miles 2 or 3 x's a week so I was eating 1200-1400 cals a day. All under my BMR. I didn't die. My organs didn't fail. My thought is that my body got those extra cals from my fat which so obviously went away. I got my nutrients from the healthy food I ate.

What's wrong with what I did??

ETA: I do really want to understand this stuff, btw.