Not Losing Weight - MFP calorie counter correct?

dallas4u

I want to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week. The base calorie level for me is 1200. When I work out the MFP calorie level is at anywhere from 1700-2100 -so I follow it accordingly. I only started this about 3 weeks ago. I put on 40 lbs in the past year and didn't work out so I am rebooting .

Well, I have gained 2 lbs.

Any feedback on the calorie levels? On inactive days, should I stay right at 1200? On active days, should I stay at 1400-1600. I am weary about eating up to 2100 cals per day - especially when all the information out there says calorie cutting plus exercise is the key to weight loss.

I am hoping to drop 40 lbs by next fall.

concordancia

What are you doing to burn 500-900 calories a day?

Are you weighing and measuring your food? Are you logging everything you eat and drink?

Are you willing to open your diary?

dallas4u

I prefer to keep my settings private as I am extremely cautious w/ social networking sites. A typical active day, I will burn 700 on the elliptical and maybe take a bodypump or cxworks class (probably another 200 calories).

I log absolutely everything!!!!! I weigh and measure everything. I do NOT eat fast food and try to eat as clean as possible. I have dairy allergies so I don't drink milk or eat dairy. I have one cheat meal a week (usually Saturdays I will treat myself to prime rib and merlot).

I will tell you that usually I exceed proteins (according to the fitness pal calculator). I usually am lower on the carbs and fats.

cwolfman13

It sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to do in RE to eating back your exercise calories, etc...but here's the thing...do you weigh/measure your portions and ingredients or just eyeball? When I first started out, I wasn't really weighing or measuring anything...I'd have a grilled chicken breast and log it as a serving when in reality, the average chicken breast is closer to 2 servings. I was also just eyeballing thing like cereal...I'd just fill my bowl up and call that a serving, etc. The scale didn't budge obviously.

I didn't really start seeing results until I started weighing and measuring everything...I mean everything that goes into a recipe, etc. Also, if weight is an option, use it rather than the measurement...it's more accurate...i.e. when you just measure, you can cheat with a lot of stuff by just stuffing it down into the measuring cup...dicing it up smaller, etc.

Also, do you use specific recipes in the data base and specific products...if you make your own recipe are you using the recipe builder or are you using some generic, "homemade chicken soup" in the data base? I haven't had any problems with very specific items in the data base, but if you're doing a lot of estimating by using "homemade chicken soup"...well, that can cause a lot of problems because who knows who's recipe that was...how much of whatever they put in, etc. If you do a lot of your own stuff, you really need to use the recipe builder.

Lastly, you have to remember that weight loss is not linear by any stretch of the imagination...particularly if you're only a few weeks in, you don't have enough data points to know how much weight you've truly lost or if you've truly gained fat (you most likely haven't). Your body has very natural weight fluctuations throughout the day and from day to day. For example, I'm 5 Lbs heavier today than I was for my official weigh in 2 days ago...I assure you I didn't gain 5 Lbs of fat in 2 days. Per the math, it's pretty much impossible. For me, it's the fact that I had a very intense workout on Saturday after coming back from a week long break to nurse a minor injury...I'm sore as all hell today and my muscles are holding on to a ton of water for repair. You're going to have natural fluctuations with water retention/release as well as the timing of food in/food out. Also make sure that you're consistent when you weight in...i.e. same time and under the same conditions each time. This is because you can fluctuate substantially throughout the day...I'm usually heavier at 7:00 AM than I am at 5:30 AM even though I haven't done anything except shower and get ready for work...it's just the way it goes.

Also remember that 1 Lb of fat = 3,500 calories roughly...that's science, not opinion...it's the same for everyone. So, for you to have gained 2 Lbs of fat, you'd have to consume 7,000 calories over your maintenance level of calories for whatever period of time...this is why I know I didn't gain 5 Lbs of fat in 2 days...no way I could eat 22,500 calories in 2 days. When you're losing slowly at 1-1.5 Lbs per week goal, it can be difficult to really see the results right away because the body can easily have natural 5 Lb weight fluctuations...I didn't really start noticing much until I started weighing daily and plotting those numbers on a graph and looking at it over a long term trend..i.e. 4-6 weeks +.

newdaydawning79

Are you getting enough water and having regular bowel movements? These are both completely necessary for weight loss I've realized.

dallas4u

I weigh things like steak, fish, chicken, and pork. I have a digital scale. Other things I eat - I measure (like cereal) or buy in premeasured cups. I am strict with serving sizes. Since I cannot have dairy, I drink almond milk and I measure 8 oz with a cup, etc.

This is clearly a trial and error process and I am not a patient person. Maybe in 2 months, I will have a different perspective.

Just frustrated today!

mum212

are you eating you excersize calories back????, i dont eat them all back i try to leave at least 700 uneaten.

dallas4u

Are you getting enough water and having regular bowel movements? These are both completely necessary for weight loss I've realized.

Bowel movements very regular lol TMI, right? I drink 32 oz of water at work and probably up to 64 oz during workouts.

drusilla126

Good job for eating your exercise calories back. What's your height, weight and age? I would bet you should be eating more than 1200 calories. Plug your numbers in here and get a better idea http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/. MFP often defaults to 1200 calories if you put in that you want to lose 2 pounds per week.
I started thinking 1200 calories was the way to go and it wasn't. Now I eat 2300 on an average day when I work out.

dallas4u

are you eating you excersize calories back????, i dont eat them all back i try to leave at least 700 uneaten.

Probably so. That is why I put this question out there. I am thinking maybe I shouldn't exceed 1600 on an active day. Definitely trial and error process.

deevatude

are u sure your calculating ur exercise calories correctly?

its very hard to burn 700 calories on an eliptical, even for an hour

thankyou4thevenom

How do you know how much you're burning? Are you using the gym equipment to tell you because it's usually vastly incorrect. If that's the case invest in a HRM and you'll get a much better reading.

Are you keeping an eye on your measurements? I would certainly suggest doing this. Sometimes you might not lose anything but you'll get smaller. It actually means you're gaining muscle which is a good thing.

If you're doing that much work you're also ripping up your muscles, so you might be retaining water. Make sure you're 1) drinking enough and 2) giving yourself a rest day. You really need time to recover from session like that.

dallas4u

I am 5'1" and weigh 161 . I weighed 121 lbs after in April 2005, I went on Jenny Craig at the 1500 calorie level and worked out. Kept it all off until my parents died (then started eating and drinking wine like a fish).

I tried to go back on Jenny Craig last fall , but just couldn't stomach the food anymore. I burned out on it big time!!! I just cannot eat prepacked food anymore.

1ConcreteGirl

Okay, the problem does not appear to be with the calorie counter.

I believe the problem is that you do not know how many calories you should be eating. The MFP calculator is not accurate unless you know how to handle your body, and MFP doesn't teach you much in that regard from the get-go.

Put your age, height, weight, etc. into this calorie calculator and it will give you the correct number of calories to eat. Calculate it for TDEE-20% for fat loss.

When it asks for your activity level, you can do it one of two different ways. If you would prefer to see all the calories you burned, log those, and eat them back (I do it this way, I find it motivating), calculate it with your activity level at desk job with little exercise.

If you would prefer not to log your exercise, and just eat a set number of calories every day regardless of exercise, calculate it with the appropriate amount of exercise you do every week.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

dallas4u

I am definiely thinking about getting am HRM. I found one that has a calorie count and HR monitor

dallas4u

Question: Can you manually adjust the calorie calculator on MFP?

spacepunk

The other thing is that maybe you're not burning as many calories with the work outs as you think. The info on the treadmill or even here at myFitnesspal are just averages, and since everyone is a little different, the amounts might not jive. For example, I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes at 4mph, and that shows up as around 250 calories on the treadmill screen and here. But when I did my pre-training physical with my docs, I was actually burning somewhere between 180-190 calories for the same workout. I think if you try to stick to 1200 calories per day, with only +150/200 on the days where you workout hard at the gym, you'll start to see better results.

Best of luck! I know how frustrating it is to put in a ton of work and not see the desired results, but knowing more about how my body actually functions has really helped.

1ConcreteGirl

Question: Can you manually adjust the calorie calculator on MFP?

Yes, you can. Go to "my home" then "goals" and choose manual settings.

bumblebums

Have a look here--from your stats and other things you've said, I gather you are a woman, so this is relevant.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

SusanaLdn

Good job for eating your exercise calories back. What's your height, weight and age? I would bet you should be eating more than 1200 calories. Plug your numbers in here and get a better idea http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/. MFP often defaults to 1200 calories if you put in that you want to lose 2 pounds per week.
I started thinking 1200 calories was the way to go and it wasn't. Now I eat 2300 on an average day when I work out.

^^ This. I don't think most people eat enough - myself included, for too long! I was gaining weight for eating too little, and the forums are full of stories like mine, It takes time to click, it seems!

Compare your mfp stats to this: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/ . Read every word, do every calculation. Stick to it for a week. see how it goes. Best of luck!

DebbieLyn63

I am 5'1" and weigh 161 . I weighed 121 lbs after in April 2005, I went on Jenny Craig at the 1500 calorie level and worked out. Kept it all off until my parents died (then started eating and drinking wine like a fish).

I tried to go back on Jenny Craig last fall , but just couldn't stomach the food anymore. I burned out on it big time!!! I just cannot eat prepacked food anymore.

If you had good success with 1500 cals and working out, then try that again. Only this time, you will be preparing your own meals and work on maintenance when you get close to your goal. The exercise calorie counters can be so far off for many people.

SmartAlec03211988

You can open your diary without divulging any personal information that you don't want out there... we might be able to pinpoint something based on what's on there. Open it?

alexroet

I think everyone's advice on here is spot on, and it sounds like you're doing all the right things- it's probably just a matter of time. Super frustrating I know, but, if you're still up after a couple months- then you need another re-eval. But anything can happen in a few weeks. And a HRM is helpful for exercise too. I'm not sure how much I trust mine (it generally tells me I'm burning more than I'd think), so to be safe I generally try to err on the side of underestimating calories out and overestimating calories in.

SusanaLdn

You can open your diary without divulging any personal information that you don't want out there... we might be able to pinpoint something based on what's on there. Open it?

Yes, I also don't see what an open diary would tell us about you except... what you eat. Pretty hard to track you down on that
Go on, it makes it a lot easier to help you out

hiyomi

Maybe its simple weight fluctuations?

keeponkickin

Please take a look at this and start here. Never eat 1200 if you don't have to.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8017-in-place-of-a-road-map

MacMadame

I find the MFP exercise database to be too high. For one thing, it tells you how many calories an average person would burn during that time, not the net burn. But you've already accounted for the base calories in your daily calories.

For example, if you run for an hour and run 6 miles, most women's net burn is 600 calories but MFP will probably tell you more like 700 to 1000 depending on how you input it into the database.

A lot of people only eat back 1/2 of their exercise calories to start with until they get an idea of how accurate the numbers are. Why not try that and see if it work better for you?

twinketta

IMO it sounds like the exercise cals are maybe over estimated?

Or you are eating a little bit over what you think you are eating.

when I was 175 lbs I thought I didn`t eat a lot and that I was working out hard at the gym and could not understand how my weight kept going up. Then I got real honest about it all and the weight started coming off slowly but surely.

KenosFeoh

OMG; that scoobyworkshop calculator can't be right. It says I should be eating 2100 calories to lose TDEE-20%. Nonononononononono! That will never work. Never in a million years!

CoraGregoryCPA

I'm against eating your exercise calories. You can easily calculate your exercise calories wrong. Plus it has never worked for me in the past.

I recommend not eating your exercise calories, or eating half back and see what happens.

DebbieLyn63

OMG; that scoobyworkshop calculator can't be right. It says I should be eating 2100 calories to lose TDEE-20%. Nonononononononono! That will never work. Never in a million years!

Yeah, the Scooby calculator seems to work for the very athletic, but for you average middle aged chubby lady, it is very over inflated! It figures your BMR strictly by weight, without taking into consideration your body fat %, which makes a huge difference to those whose BF% is above or below average.
The activity levels on there also seem to be better fitted to those who are very active thru out the day.

I use the Karch Mcardle BMR calculator and for me, it is much more accurate. It takes your BF% into account.