confused by goal change - calories and fitness

avivan
avivan Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I have been using myfitnesspal for a little over 4 months now. I have lost 17 lbs which I am beyond ecstatic about. My first short term goal is to lose 35 lbs more, followed by an eventual goal of 50-60 lbs total.

I had initially set my goal at 1.5 lbs/week loss, with an estimated 3x/week @ 60 minutes of exercise. My net goal was around 1430 calories. I noticed that it had not changed at all even with the 17 lb loss. I thought I read somewhere that myfitnesspal automatically readjusts your goal as you lose weight, so I was a little confused by that.

I also started exercising a few weeks ago, so I decided re-adjust my goals this week. Initially, I just changed my fitness goal to 3x/week @ 30 minutes, which is what I have been doing now for the past few weeks. The result was that my net calorie changed to 1370 calories, which seems like a big cut, especially since I lowered the fitness goal. Does this make sense to anyone? That doesn't seem like a lot of calories to me so I then re-adjusted my goal to 1 lb/week loss. Now my net goal is 1620 which seems like a lot of calories. I am now super confused.

I understand you're supposed to eat the added calories you burn, but when you fill out the goal section of myfitnesspal, it seems like that goal of net calories assumes that you are working out at your fitness goal? I'm just looking for a little clarification. I'm okay with losing 1lb/week or more, but I just want to make sure I'm not going to screw myself over by eating too many or too few calories. I have the nutrition aspect down fairly well but adding the exercise component is taking a bit longer to get down.

Thank you!

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Hello! I have been using myfitnesspal for a little over 4 months now. I have lost 17 lbs which I am beyond ecstatic about. My first short term goal is to lose 35 lbs more, followed by an eventual goal of 50-60 lbs total.

    I had initially set my goal at 1.5 lbs/week loss, with an estimated 3x/week @ 60 minutes of exercise. My net goal was around 1430 calories. I noticed that it had not changed at all even with the 17 lb loss. I thought I read somewhere that myfitnesspal automatically readjusts your goal as you lose weight, so I was a little confused by that.

    I also started exercising a few weeks ago, so I decided re-adjust my goals this week. Initially, I just changed my fitness goal to 3x/week @ 30 minutes, which is what I have been doing now for the past few weeks. The result was that my net calorie changed to 1370 calories, which seems like a big cut, especially since I lowered the fitness goal. Does this make sense to anyone? That doesn't seem like a lot of calories to me so I then re-adjusted my goal to 1 lb/week loss. Now my net goal is 1620 which seems like a lot of calories. I am now super confused.

    I understand you're supposed to eat the added calories you burn, but when you fill out the goal section of myfitnesspal, it seems like that goal of net calories assumes that you are working out at your fitness goal? I'm just looking for a little clarification. I'm okay with losing 1lb/week or more, but I just want to make sure I'm not going to screw myself over by eating too many or too few calories. I have the nutrition aspect down fairly well but adding the exercise component is taking a bit longer to get down.

    Thank you!

    This is actually why I am a huge fan of including exercise in the calculation.. person who works out 3x a week and has a sedentary job is lightly active. Then you don't have to eat back exercise calories as your total goal is higher. If you post your height, weight, age and your workout routine I can run the numbers for you.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    You seem a bit sensitive if 1370 looks too few and 1620 too many - perhaps you should just split the difference and target 1500.

    The goal settings for exercise do not influence your calorie intake goal - only exercise done and actually logged increases your calorie goal to "eat back your calories"
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    MFP prompts you when you've reached a 10 lb loss from the last time you updated your diet / fitness profile. Some users will never see the "auto-prompt" because they change things every few pounds or get impatient and make a change at 9lbs, which resets the 10lb loss since last update counter meaning they have to get to 19lbs to get prompted.

    For the exercise calories try it... enter 0 minutes of planned exercise, then enter 3600 minutes of planned exercise. Your daily calorie goal is the same for both because MFP doesn't "believe" you on the planned exercise until it's logged as complete.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    For the exercise calories try it... enter 0 minutes of planned exercise, then enter 3600 minutes of planned exercise. Your daily calorie goal is the same for both because MFP doesn't "believe" you on the planned exercise until it's logged as complete.

    I don't believe me either until I actually log it as complete :laugh:
  • avivan
    avivan Posts: 45 Member
    This is actually why I am a huge fan of including exercise in the calculation.. person who works out 3x a week and has a sedentary job is lightly active. Then you don't have to eat back exercise calories as your total goal is higher. If you post your height, weight, age and your workout routine I can run the numbers for you.

    Height - 5'6"
    Weight - 215
    Age - 33
    Workout - 3x/week - 10 minutes of jogging at 4.5 MPH and 20 minutes of brisk walking (sometimes I work out more than this, but this has been my minimum the past two weeks).
  • avivan
    avivan Posts: 45 Member
    You seem a bit sensitive if 1370 looks too few and 1620 too many - perhaps you should just split the difference and target 1500.

    The goal settings for exercise do not influence your calorie intake goal - only exercise done and actually logged increases your calorie goal to "eat back your calories"

    Haha, I am definitely sensitive. I have a serious need to eat some kind of dessert (usually 50-100 calories/day) so if I lose that 100 calories it makes me feel like I have to give up dessert. Not really true at all I'm sure, but just my initial gut reaction of going from 1430 to 1370. That actually makes a lot of sense, but I guess it through me for a loop since I never readjusted my goal after losing 10 lbs.
  • avivan
    avivan Posts: 45 Member
    MFP prompts you when you've reached a 10 lb loss from the last time you updated your diet / fitness profile. Some users will never see the "auto-prompt" because they change things every few pounds or get impatient and make a change at 9lbs, which resets the 10lb loss since last update counter meaning they have to get to 19lbs to get prompted.

    For the exercise calories try it... enter 0 minutes of planned exercise, then enter 3600 minutes of planned exercise. Your daily calorie goal is the same for both because MFP doesn't "believe" you on the planned exercise until it's logged as complete.

    OK, so that explains it. I never got a prompt - but it could because I use the app primarily, vs. the full site. That is quite reassuring actually as a big concern of mine is that I would over-eat if I didn't exercise as often as I hoped to.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    That's what I like about MFP.. it gives me a calorie goal where i can lose weight without exercise, IF I exercise I get additional calories. It's helped me start losing weight, where with the dietitian / nutritionists I gained weight... they had a higher calorie goal daily but were expecting me to workout to build the deficit for weight loss and didn't tell me that.. if I wasn't exercising at the levels they wanted I should have been eating less.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    This is actually why I am a huge fan of including exercise in the calculation.. person who works out 3x a week and has a sedentary job is lightly active. Then you don't have to eat back exercise calories as your total goal is higher. If you post your height, weight, age and your workout routine I can run the numbers for you.

    Height - 5'6"
    Weight - 215
    Age - 33
    Workout - 3x/week - 10 minutes of jogging at 4.5 MPH and 20 minutes of brisk walking (sometimes I work out more than this, but this has been my minimum the past two weeks).

    I would have you eat around 1700- 1900 calories total, without eat exercise calories. Now where you would see improvement is if you started resistance training. RT can improve fat loss. Also i general adjust macros to 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Take the time and work through the steps in this link form Helloitsdan - it will help you understand the process and how to find your calorie target. If you are accurate with the info and you exercise routine frequency when you pick your activity level then you exercise burn is factored into you calorie target and you do not chase after it. Redoing your info for every 10 lbs lost if important because you will stall out in the end if you don't. This method includes body fat % in the calculations since the more lean body mass you have the higher your BMR will be. For sustained loss you need to eat more than your BMR (the amount of calories you body need if you were in a coma) and less than you TDEE( the total amount you burn in a day), Most people use a 20% cut from TDEE or 30% if obese and drop it to10- 15% as they get close to their goal weigh. This helps maintain loss with out to many plateaus. Making sure you are strength training - Stronglifts 5x5 or any of the New rules of lifting series are all programs.
  • crazygoog
    crazygoog Posts: 20 Member
    You seem a bit sensitive if 1370 looks too few and 1620 too many - perhaps you should just split the difference and target 1500.

    The goal settings for exercise do not influence your calorie intake goal - only exercise done and actually logged increases your calorie goal to "eat back your calories"

    Haha, I am definitely sensitive. I have a serious need to eat some kind of dessert (usually 50-100 calories/day) so if I lose that 100 calories it makes me feel like I have to give up dessert. Not really true at all I'm sure, but just my initial gut reaction of going from 1430 to 1370. That actually makes a lot of sense, but I guess it through me for a loop since I never readjusted my goal after losing 10 lbs.

    Roughly for most people a 1 mile walk equates to around 120 calories. Is there a way you could pick a point half a mile away from your home, and walk there and back everyday? Or do 1 mile on a treadmill extra per day (it doesn't take long). At least then you could still have your dessert because you have already burned 120 calories. My goal recently lowered by 80 cals per day as I hit the magic 10lb mark. I didn't adjust my food intake as I thought 1430 cals was low for a person with my appetite, so all I did was what i've told you. The 1 mile per day on top of any exercise you currently do will do the trick for you too.

    Good luck!
  • crazygoog
    crazygoog Posts: 20 Member
    You seem a bit sensitive if 1370 looks too few and 1620 too many - perhaps you should just split the difference and target 1500.

    The goal settings for exercise do not influence your calorie intake goal - only exercise done and actually logged increases your calorie goal to "eat back your calories"

    Haha, I am definitely sensitive. I have a serious need to eat some kind of dessert (usually 50-100 calories/day) so if I lose that 100 calories it makes me feel like I have to give up dessert. Not really true at all I'm sure, but just my initial gut reaction of going from 1430 to 1370. That actually makes a lot of sense, but I guess it through me for a loop since I never readjusted my goal after losing 10 lbs.

    Roughly for most people a 1 mile walk equates to around 120 calories. Is there a way you could pick a point half a mile away from your home, and walk there and back everyday? Or do 1 mile on a treadmill extra per day (it doesn't take long). At least then you could still have your dessert because you have already burned 120 calories. My goal recently lowered by 80 cals per day as I hit the magic 10 pound mark. I didn't adjust my food intake as I thought 1430 cals was low for a person with my appetite, so all I did was what i've told you. The 1 mile per day on top of any exercise you currently do will do the trick for you too.

    Good luck!
  • YoYo1951
    YoYo1951 Posts: 370
    bump for going back to. Still trying to find my way.
  • avivan
    avivan Posts: 45 Member
    You seem a bit sensitive if 1370 looks too few and 1620 too many - perhaps you should just split the difference and target 1500.

    The goal settings for exercise do not influence your calorie intake goal - only exercise done and actually logged increases your calorie goal to "eat back your calories"

    Haha, I am definitely sensitive. I have a serious need to eat some kind of dessert (usually 50-100 calories/day) so if I lose that 100 calories it makes me feel like I have to give up dessert. Not really true at all I'm sure, but just my initial gut reaction of going from 1430 to 1370. That actually makes a lot of sense, but I guess it through me for a loop since I never readjusted my goal after losing 10 lbs.

    Roughly for most people a 1 mile walk equates to around 120 calories. Is there a way you could pick a point half a mile away from your home, and walk there and back everyday? Or do 1 mile on a treadmill extra per day (it doesn't take long). At least then you could still have your dessert because you have already burned 120 calories. My goal recently lowered by 80 cals per day as I hit the magic 10 pound mark. I didn't adjust my food intake as I thought 1430 cals was low for a person with my appetite, so all I did was what i've told you. The 1 mile per day on top of any exercise you currently do will do the trick for you too.

    Good luck!

    Actually, I generally walk at least 1mile a day naturally. I have a desk job, but I park about about 1/4 of a mile away from my office, so I always walk at least .5 mile just to and from my car. I also walk to and from my car from home total of about 1/4 of mile/day, and around my office, which is very large. I take the stairs whenever I can, so I figure I'm getting about 1 mile/day most days of the week. I don't count it though, because it's part of my routine, and the majority of the time I am stuck on my butt in front of a computer.
  • avivan
    avivan Posts: 45 Member
    This is actually why I am a huge fan of including exercise in the calculation.. person who works out 3x a week and has a sedentary job is lightly active. Then you don't have to eat back exercise calories as your total goal is higher. If you post your height, weight, age and your workout routine I can run the numbers for you.

    Height - 5'6"
    Weight - 215
    Age - 33
    Workout - 3x/week - 10 minutes of jogging at 4.5 MPH and 20 minutes of brisk walking (sometimes I work out more than this, but this has been my minimum the past two weeks).

    I would have you eat around 1700- 1900 calories total, without eat exercise calories. Now where you would see improvement is if you started resistance training. RT can improve fat loss. Also i general adjust macros to 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.

    Psulemon - why do you adjust the macros that way? Just curious. I am hoping to start adding weight training to my regime very soon. I am taking this entire healthy-life-change-process very very slowly. I started counting my calories in April and even though I have not been perfect, I have still managed to lose 17 lbs. I have lost weight faster in the past, but have not kept it off. So this time around I am accepting my flaws and know that I cannot change overnight or even in a few weeks. As long as I keep raising the bar as I go, I am happy :).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    I adjust macros for a few reasons, first high protein diets are much more effective for weight loss but also more effective for muscle preservation. What people reallu want is fat loss. Muscle is what makes a body tight and lean. So i do high protein, moderate carb and fats. Also, you can reduce some water weight with less carbs. I have also found that people tend to eat a lot of processed foods more often when aiming for high carb diets. The more processed, the more sodium. Another thing that can slow weight loss.

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