Trying to make some sense!

2013queen

Ok just trying to make sense of things and wanted to pick some brains.
I weigh around 155 pounds and am 5'3 and 33 y/o. I am aiming to get to 126 pounds and trying to lose a pound a week (I would love that to be more, but lets be realistic here).

MFP sets me at 1370 cals a day.

I have worked out that over a week, I do (roughly obviously, I intend to get a HRM soon) 2025 calories worth of exercise (I do a lot), I work out 4 times a week, doing varying exercise classes and swimming.
If it takes a deficit of 3500 cals a week to lose a pound, do I then cut another 200 ish cals a day to make this happen, therefore on top of exercising, eat only 1100 cals a day?
This cant be right – what am I missing? I have heard people say that MFP sets you at a deficit in the first place. I know there are other things to take into consideration re: body fat etc, but I am just after a rough answer – should I cut more calories in what I eat or not?

amyllu

I think you will find that when you enter the exercises you are doing it will then record an EXTRA amount to your total each day so you will have that extra amount to eat...(.if that makes sense!)

Well done on all that exercise anyway.

sunsnstatheart

MFP automatically builds in the deficit based on what you enter (in your case "lose 1 pound per week") and expects you to eat back your exercise calories. Other calculators take a different approach. Trust the system and give it a shot for a few months before considering whether to make any adjustments. Others will have different experiences, but I've found over the last few months that the MFP calculation is spot on for me. I'm still refining my exercise calories though. If you need calculation help, there are some great help pages on here, so let us know if you need that. Good luck!

2013queen

so based on today's food and exercise - which I have prelogged, but will be sticking too - I havent yet put tonight's meal in as I have no idea what Im having, I SHOULD eat another 1240.... or do I take a couple of hundred off that to ensure a deficit!!!??

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/2013queen

sunsnstatheart

Your diary currently shows 1240 calories left for the day and yes that does give you a deficit of about 500 calories (because you are using "lose 1 pound per week" and 500 x 7 = 3500). And yes, I would suggest you eat those calories.

More information here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Edit to add: The one thing that really irritates me about the calculations though is that MFP automatically sets protein at the RDA. If you are active then this will not give you sufficient protein. I'm not saying you need to eat tons but active people do need more than suggested. I lift 4 days a week and try to make sure I get 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. This is probably too much given current studies on protein but it also doesn't hurt either (some where between RDA and that is fine). Just my 2 cents.

acogg

Yes, eat the exercise calories! That is what will give you the energy to do it all again tomorrow.

2013queen

Yes, eat the exercise calories! That is what will give you the energy to do it all again tomorrow.

well that is encouraging (I still dont understand where the weight loss will come from?) but it is an awful lot of calories to consume and I rarely hit it on exercise days.
However there are maybe 2-3 days a week, I dont exercise. Does it all balance out then? Should i exercise less or eat more?
I cant spread my exercise over 7 days as it just doesnt work with my family - for example on Monday I do 1 hour, Tuesdays, I hit the classes for 2.5 hours, tonight will be 1.5, and tomorrow is 2. I might swim over the weekend but other than that I have to stick to mon-thurs.

Just thinking out loud really!

sunsnstatheart

Again, the weight loss is built into the calories MFP gives you to eat even before it adjusts for exercise. Again, when it calculates your daily calorie goal it uses your goal (when you give it your information you choose a goal such as "lose 1 pound per week" and it reduces your calorie goal by 500 calories). Play around with it by trying "maintain" and you will see the difference in daily calorie goals.

acogg

Your base metabolic rate (BMR) is probably around 1650. This is what you burn just by being alive, no exercise. Add in exercise of 200 cals, to maintain you would eat 1850. To lose a pound a week you would eat 1350 to be at 500 cal deficit. It takes 3500 cals to equal one pound, gained or lost. If you are very fit, you will burn slightly more at rest, that's your bonus burn. lol