concern with the "goals" in MFP

BobcatGirl110

I'm starting to be concerned about the goals....it has you put in your age, height, current and desired weight (regardless of how long you take to get to the desired weight) and it keeps saying 1200 calories. Well if I listen to what's being said about TDEE then that's way below what that says...it is becoming confusing to say the least. Here is what I know...when I started it said I could eat 1500 calories. I did...lost weight. I recalculated and it said 1200...so I did that and lost nothing....logic says go back to eating more....which seems to be supported by the TDEE calculation....sigh....do wish it were easier to understand

SusanMPreston43

Still having trouble wrapping my head around what TDEE is and how it goes with my weight loss.....

Francl27

Are you on the 1 lb a week setting? It just seems odd to me, I have 60 lb to lose but it gives me 1450. Keep in mind though that MFP seems to assume that you also exercise, so you wouldn't eat 1200 most days.

marypatmccue

I'm starting to be concerned about the goals....it has you put in your age, height, current and desired weight (regardless of how long you take to get to the desired weight) and it keeps saying 1200 calories. Well if I listen to what's being said about TDEE then that's way below what that says...it is becoming confusing to say the least. Here is what I know...when I started it said I could eat 1500 calories. I did...lost weight. I recalculated and it said 1200...so I did that and lost nothing....logic says go back to eating more....which seems to be supported by the TDEE calculation....sigh....do wish it were easier to understand

MFP is famous for the 1200 calorie diet... It works for some, but I argue that it's completely NOT maintainable for the rest of your life. And... that's kind of the point right?

Calculate your TDEE and your BMR.
Eat above BMR, but 10-20-% below TDEE.
Lift weights, and do cardio if you want, it's arguable beneficial for weight loss.
Track your food, and be consistent.
By doing it this way, you don't even need to worry about eating back your workout cals, it's already "calculated" fo you.

Good luck.

marypatmccue

Still having trouble wrapping my head around what TDEE is and how it goes with my weight loss.....

This should help.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912914-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

EmmaKarney

Still having trouble wrapping my head around what TDEE is and how it goes with my weight loss.....

You total daily energy expenditure - think about that.... it's the calories that you burn off going about the daily business/exercise.

Eat less than this = lose weight

How much less = rate at which you lose weight

Couldn't really be any simpler - I don't know why it causes such confusion.

ZyheeMoongazer

Just about every female starts on MFP with 1200. I stopped using the "guided" goal setting long ago. I use Scooby's calculator to find my goal and manually set MFP.

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

Like a previous responder said: Find BMR and TDEE set goal somewhere in between. 10-20% is the normal deficit, but if 5% is the biggest deficit you can handle right now, then do it. No one says you have to do what everyone else is.

rpantusa

do you eat back any exercise calories? if you eat too few calories you will stop losing weight as well because your body will go into starvation mode. I do not eat all mine back, but some of them. Maybe this will help.

seena511

MFP just isn't very good about making sure that you eat at least your BMR. pretty much any woman of any age, height, weight, or activity level is going be recommended 1200 calories if she choooses the 2lb/week option. for this reason a lot of people just figure out their TDEE-x% and enter that goal manually.

sab1157

I have also had some issues with this situation. Decided to change my activity level from sedentary to light. I mean, I do not sit around all day and most days take at least a 30 min. walk, usually longer and do some strength exercises 3x a week. After reading several posts, thought it would be a good idea to up my caloric intake and see what happens.

Here is another thing.....we all love the support we receive from our friends here on MFP, but is it counterintuitive to "praise" each other when we are under our caloric goals for the day? Not complaining.....just wondering.

ZyheeMoongazer

I have also had some issues with this situation. Decided to change my activity level from sedentary to light. I mean, I do not sit around all day and most days take at least a 30 min. walk, usually longer and do some strength exercises 3x a week. After reading several posts, thought it would be a good idea to up my caloric intake and see what happens.

Here is another thing.....we all love the support we receive from our friends here on MFP, but is it counterintuitive to "praise" each other when we are under our caloric goals for the day? Not complaining.....just wondering.

I would agree being under your goal isn't always a good thing. It depends how much you are under. The same goes for being over, its not always bad to be over.

I wish the message on the news feed would call out if you were within a certain range of your goal +/- 100 calories or something.

cai1961

I had the same concern, I initially had 1200 but noticed with all the comments that the people who were eating less weren't losing as much as the people eating 1500 calories. As long as we eat the right foods. I'll try different things until I find what works for me.

We can do this, good luck!!!
Carol

Mokey41

Still having trouble wrapping my head around what TDEE is and how it goes with my weight loss.....

You total daily energy expenditure - think about that.... it's the calories that you burn off going about the daily business/exercise.

Eat less than this = lose weight

How much less = rate at which you lose weight

Couldn't really be any simpler - I don't know why it causes such confusion.

^^^^This. Great simple explanation.