What do you do?? Eat the MFP Calories recommendations or ??

briannadunn

I was wondering what you do? I am eating the recommended amount of calories but I was curious what you do??

kimosabe1

i never eat all my exercise calories back because that defeats the purpose of exercise but I am not as picky on what I eat or if I go over my daily goal.

taso42

I did for a while, but I had to lie and tell it I was "Very Active" even though I'm mostly sedentary.. just to get the numbers to work.
These days I just base everything off my TDEE. The "bookkeeping" ends up being much simpler for me this way.

Either way works fine as long as you've fine tuned the base numbers to reflect reality.

taso42

i never eat all my exercise calories back because that defeats the purpose of exercise

Not if you have a deficit factored in. Don't you know how this website works?

Molly_Maguire

I eat what MFP recommended for me (1200) and I almost never go over, and I never eat back my exercise cals. Been at it for 8-9 months now, and clearly I'm getting good results, so it works for me.

kathleennf

I try to average out at or below the recommended number of calories on a weekly basis - meaning in practice I try to "save" a few calories on most days so that have some "extra" left for Sunday LOL. And yes I eat my exercise calories back. All of them. I've been on MFP for two years and it works well for me.

Desdemina

I eat what my doctor tells me to, which is less than MFP recommends. And I eat exercise calories back because your body needs a minimum amount of calories to function well. Plus, my doctor told me to With all the variety of conflicting recommendations on this site, I only trust what my doctor says.

Ressie1

MFP had me at 1500+ calories a day. My Dietician and Nutritionist both agreed that 1300-1350 is better for me. I do go over once in awhile but not too often. The extra calories you get for exercising help a great deal as well.

EpitomeOfSxy

MFP suggested I eat 1200 calories a day. That was too low for me so I increased to 1570 after two weeks of doing 1200. I feel better now and can do more intense workouts

Tryinonemoretime

MFP recommended 1200 and that is what I eat. I would rather be a little under than over. I eat back some of my exercise cals ( when I work out that is.......). I will admit that I eat about the same thing every week. Luckily I found things I really like and that I can deal with. I still experiment with the ingredients a little to perfect the taste. I am very rarely hungry and I am a big eater, always have been. Shiratake noodles have been a life saver for me!.

chelseabuns88

I try to stick to the goal MFP sets, but I never let myself go hungry and if I want something.. I have it, regardless of if it fits within my goal for the day or not.. it's working for me, I'm losing weight consistently and I don't feel deprived.. As for the exercise calories, I only eat them back if i'm hungry.. not just for the sake of it

Betty_Canada

I eat the 1500 calories I ended up with from HelloItsDan's "Roadmap" thread, because I found the MFP recommendations to be too low for me to be comfortable. (At some level, I have to be able to function without being constantly starving.) I'm pretty much a desk monkey, so I have it set to sedentary and put in anything over 15 minutes.

I eat back exercise calories *sometimes*, but generally only worry about it if I have a very high activity day (as I have the last few days) and the deficit would leave me UNDER 250-500 net - and then usually about half of them. (For example, today's "suggested" calories based on activity are somewhere around 2500, and I'll probably end up around 1800 if I have a bedtime snack, but my net will still be around 700.).

I also have different macros than they suggest. (25/35/40).

It's working for me. Eventually when I get some strength training going on, I might need to adjust.

-Betty-

79BigGirlBeauty

I try not to eat my "exercise calories" because in my mind it defeats the purpose of creating a calorie deficit. However, I find that different things work for different people. Honsetly, I don't think you should make a habit of eating your exercise calories but once in a while shouldn't hurt you.

neanderthin

I don't count calories or weight myself, I just make adjustments in food portioning depending on what goal I'm trying for, works well for me.

GabyG69

I always change it up but anywhere between 1200 and 1600..

healthylife56

I calculate my TDEE and decrease calories by 20% from that.

jzammetti

I calculate my TDEE and decrease calories by 20% from that.

I do the same. it works great and I can actually eat (1748 calories instead of MFP's 1200) and lose weight. After 3 months on MFP's suggestions, my loss stalled for 4 months until I upped my calories based on the TDEE method.

yoovie

i really don let MFP get involved in my food that often

AmyRhubarb

I used the tools & info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Then I set my calories and macros up here manually. Pretty much what the others have said about figuring TDEE and subtracting a percentage for my deficit. It's working great for me!

PikaKnight

Aside from Heliotsdan's In Place of a Road Map 2.0 thread..I'd also taking a look at this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/816542-let-s-hear-it-for-maintainenance

These are posts from MFP users that are maintaining after succeeding their goals. They've posted their weight and what they eat to maintain. Might be surprised at their calorie consumption.

es2189

I have a Body Media Fit, so I generally eat around 500 calories less than it says I burn each day - sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more.

CassieReannan

I customized my calories and macros as I think MFP's recommendations are too low. I also have a fitbit which I make sure I have a burn everyday so I get to eat more if I choose. I try to eat all my exercise calories back.

Elise_healthy4life

I eat at my base BMR and eat all my exercise calories definatley a big believer of eat more to lose more my body started having problem eating to few calories

briannadunn

Thanks all, I did figure out my TDEE and eat accordingly. I looked at a website that calculates it more accurately than the scoobie website and found that at 1 to 1.5 pounds a week on MFP is right where I should be. I guess I will continue to just have to lose 0.5 to 1.5 pounds a week and be happy with that, thanks again for the responses.

JustANumber85

I eat the recommended and dont eat exercise back.

jaz050465

My dietician has set me a plan which works out eating 150 less than MFP sets (1300) and no exercise calories. I wasn't losing when eating the MFP way b