New here, got a numbers question

hilldiggity

Hi, I'm Hillary. I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area and glad to be here.

Now, here's my question:

On "MY HOME" page my goal is set as 1210, but on my "FOOD" page, my goal is 1666 (oooh! Evil calories! lol). I'm 5'7", 37 and weigh 230lbs 1666 sounds like the more reasonable number, so why would the other, lower, number show up? Anyone else have this issue? Do I just ignore what's on the HOME page?

Thanks!

Lexi507

Is MFP adding calories for exercise? MFP bakes the weight loss goals into your calorie count and then wants you to eat back any exercise calories. My calorie goal is ~1300 and I can get 200-600 calories from exercise.

hilldiggity

Is MFP adding calories for exercise? MFP bakes the weight loss goals into your calorie count and then wants you to eat back any exercise calories. My calorie goal is ~1300 and I can get 200-600 calories from exercise.

So I shouldn't be eating 1200 and exercising, but eating, say 1500 and burning 300 in exercise?

lifesigns64

So confused about this as well

Nic620

Eat your exercise calories.

aryya

Is MFP adding calories for exercise? MFP bakes the weight loss goals into your calorie count and then wants you to eat back any exercise calories. My calorie goal is ~1300 and I can get 200-600 calories from exercise.

So I shouldn't be eating 1200 and exercising, but eating, say 1500 and burning 300 in exercise?

In not so many words
Basically MFP 'adds back' what you have burnt in cardio, so that if you have a day you exercise, you get to eat that same amount extra. If you have a day you don't exercise, you just eat the 1200, or whatever your normal number is. Or at least that's what i'm guessing it's telling you to do?

texastango

Hi, I'm Hillary. I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area and glad to be here.

Now, here's my question:

On "MY HOME" page my goal is set as 1210, but on my "FOOD" page, my goal is 1666 (oooh! Evil calories! lol). I'm 5'7", 37 and weigh 230lbs 1666 sounds like the more reasonable number, so why would the other, lower, number show up? Anyone else

Your "Home" page is showing the base calories (ie 1210) plus any exercise (ie 300 cals) = 1510 minus something you ate and recorded (ie 200 cals) 1510 - 200 = 1310 calories left to eat.


A conversation on how much is right for you gets rather involved so PM me for detailed answers. The bottom line is MFP uses a formula like Mifflin-St. Joer to calculate out your base metabolic rate (BMR) also known as your RMR (resting metabolic rate) - how many calories you burn if you do nothing - and then adjusts it for the average amount of activity you perform a week.

There are many reasons for not eating "all" your calories back.
Also realize that the types of calories you put in your body are important too.
Current trends are high protein (if normal kidneys), low carb, good fats (mono and polyunsaturated).

Ratios like 35Carbs/30Fat/35%Protein are not unheard of. Some do 40/30/30.

There are many qualifiers and it has to be personalized for your situation. Again, PM me if you have questions.

Hope this helped some.

lbmore33

Eat your exercise calories.

totally disagree but to each it's own....why work so hard to maintain to be within ur calories limit, then waste it away eating your exercise calorie...its a nice backup if you find yourself a tad hungry later but ((to me)) I dont understand why ppl would do this.

originalcookiemonster

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

Texastango is correct. This link will also explain this in case you want some extra explanation. It will also help you set up eating ENOUGH calories, and eliminate your need for eating back exercise calories. It spits out one useful number which I find so much nicer. (Typically I find its more efficient to do TDEE - 10 to 20% deficit.)

Best of luck!

originalcookiemonster

Eat your exercise calories.

totally disagree but to each it's own....why work so hard to maintain to be within ur calories limit, then waste it away eating your exercise calorie...its a nice backup if you find yourself a tad hungry later but ((to me)) I dont understand why ppl would do this.

There is science behind it but it is confusing to some. The goal is to be in control of your NET calories. I would suggest reading the link I posted to the OP, it will help clear confusion.

misskerouac

Eat your exercise calories.

totally disagree but to each it's own....why work so hard to maintain to be within ur calories limit, then waste it away eating your exercise calorie...its a nice backup if you find yourself a tad hungry later but ((to me)) I dont understand why ppl would do this.

It depends on how someone picks their calorie goal. mine is my TDEE -20% so I don't eat my exercise calories. But someone eating 1200 calories should eat their exercise calories back (for example 200cals) otherwise your body is trying to function properly on less than 1000 calories which is not enough

lbmore33

Eat your exercise calories.

totally disagree but to each it's own....why work so hard to maintain to be within ur calories limit, then waste it away eating your exercise calorie...its a nice backup if you find yourself a tad hungry later but ((to me)) I dont understand why ppl would do this.

There is science behind it but it is confusing to some. The goal is to be in control of your NET calories. I would suggest reading the link I posted to the OP, it will help clear confusion.

Like I said to each its own....I run so I burn alot of calories ((no way I could eat those back)) everybody metabolism isnt the same granted...guess whatever works for you................

AngelicxAnnihilation

Welcome to mfp

bpmartyr

Like I said to each its own....I run so I burn alot of calories ((no way I could eat those back)) everybody metabolism isnt the same granted...guess whatever works for you................

I run and burn a ton of calories and have no problem eating them back. My deficit is already met through diet. If I didn't eat calories burned running my deficit would be too high causeing more muscle loss than is acceptable to me. I don't want to look like a scrauny runner. I want to look lean and muscular. But ya, to each his own.

JustJennie13

In my OPINION.... your recommended calories is too low. Since you are new to calorie counting I am ASSUMING that your caloric intake was a lot higher before you started to log what you ate. MFP gives you a recommendation based on generalities that will ultimately make you lose weight... but too much too fast can also hurt you. I recommend doing this ~> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?page=4
It may be hard to understand at first but the links and guides are there AND the success stories! Best of luck to you.

gonzaloreyca

You eat your calories back to maintain or build muscle. If you don't eat your calories back you will lose a lot of muscle and not just fat. This will make it harder for you to exercise, make your metabolism go down, and make you unhealthier. The big bonus is you will lose MORE weight because if you are putting on muscle it takes much more than a pound of fat to build a pound of muscle so you will lose more pounds than your calorie counts expect.

This is oversimplified, but you get the drift.

hilldiggity

Thank you everyone for your input. I just made some adjustments to my profile and it says my NET CALORIES should be 1380. So after food and exercise I should have reached 1380 calories for that day, no? And a little less wouldn't hurt on those not-so-hungry days. Does this sound right?

hilldiggity

Thank you everyone for your input. I just made some adjustments to my profile and it says my NET CALORIES should be 1380. So after food and exercise I should have reached 1380 calories for that day, no? And a little less wouldn't hurt on those not-so-hungry days. Does this sound right?

Also the number on the HOME page and MY FOOD page match up, so I think it's fixed. Again, thank you all.