Do you use MFP's calculator?

tschaff04
tschaff04 Posts: 296 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
To determine how many cals you are eating each day, do you use MFP's calculator based on the stats you put in or do you have another calc./site you choose to use? I find that 1200 cals seems to be the average given by the calculator on MFP and I don't know if that's just a normal number for a lot of people or that's just the number MFP gives out for some reason.
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Replies

  • imwithgizmo
    imwithgizmo Posts: 146 Member
    No, I use Scooby's Workshop.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I use their calculations, and they're working for me
  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    I use MFP and am at a little over 1500.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I use MFP and it seems to be working just fine.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    1200 is the default minimum. You probably said you wanted to lose more than a pound a week...and that's the number that will usually appear. I said I wanted to lose less than that a week...so I have more calories every day, plus exercise calories. Workin' for me!
  • tschaff04
    tschaff04 Posts: 296 Member
    Yes, I did say more than a pound a week. It defaulted for me 1200 cals and I have to add 500 to that. So I have 1700 cals.
  • vmekash
    vmekash Posts: 422 Member
    MFP's works for me. I'm at 1200 for now. I expect plenty more cals. for maintenance once I meet my goal. So, I'm toughing it out w/ the calories for losing this weight. Almost there...
  • fittrigirl2012
    fittrigirl2012 Posts: 9
    I found for me it was too low. I use this:
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
    And then once you get your BMR there is another link on there to figure out your actual daily needs with exercise/without. Good luck.
  • katiefridley
    katiefridley Posts: 151 Member
    I use their calculations, and they're working for me

    This!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    MFPs numbers are only as good as the settings you give it. If you are within 40 lbs of goal and telling it to set you to lose 2 lbs per week then chances are you'll see 1200 calories, many of the folks set for 2lbs per week at 1200 calories could well see 1200 set at 1lb per week, 1200 is the minimum calorie goal that MFP will assign. It's up to YOU to choose more accurate numbers, like if you got it to 1200 and manually added 500 extra to get to where you want why not just lower your desired rate of loss to get additional calories? 2lbs per week is 1000 calories a day deficit, 1lb per week is 500 calories a day so that change alone should (assuming 2lbs per week put you at 1200 calories instead of being some number below that that got increased to 1200 as the minimum) give you your 1700 calories.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    Nope I use TDEE/BMR to determine my range.
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
    NO! I do not.

    Not because they are faulty or bad, but because I want to come at weight loss and maintenance another way.

    I use shapesense.com and fat2fit.com because they take into account my body fat %. Lean body mass uses more energy that fat body mass and that makes a difference in calories....

    And, they provide ways to figure out what my body fat is.

    And, it does correlate with my scale at home that reads body fat. So, I guess I feel more confident with their numbers.

    Hope this helps you :smile:
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
    No. I eat at TDEE for my goal weight (130 lbs.) that is 1500 calories. I also use IIFYM so I eat .5 grams of fat and .8 grams of protein for my % of LBM and the rest of my calories from carbs. I am not a Nazi about this so if I am over or under a little I don't panic.. I have lost 21 lbs in less than one year without ever feeling deprived or hungry. I only wanted to lose 23 lbs so I am on track.
  • tschaff04
    tschaff04 Posts: 296 Member
    MFPs numbers are only as good as the settings you give it. If you are within 40 lbs of goal and telling it to set you to lose 2 lbs per week then chances are you'll see 1200 calories, many of the folks set for 2lbs per week at 1200 calories could well see 1200 set at 1lb per week, 1200 is the minimum calorie goal that MFP will assign. It's up to YOU to choose more accurate numbers, like if you got it to 1200 and manually added 500 extra to get to where you want why not just lower your desired rate of loss to get additional calories? 2lbs per week is 1000 calories a day deficit, 1lb per week is 500 calories a day so that change alone should (assuming 2lbs per week put you at 1200 calories instead of being some number below that that got increased to 1200 as the minimum) give you your 1700 calories.

    I add the extra 500 cals because I breastfeed. So I have to account for that. I am still losing around 2 pounds with those added 500 cals.
  • KeepGoingRhonda
    KeepGoingRhonda Posts: 527 Member
    I used to, but stopped losing, so changed to eat by my TDEE number and am now losing again.
  • tschaff04
    tschaff04 Posts: 296 Member
    What's TDEE?
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    No...I ate 1800 cals till i got down to about 210 pounds...now I eat 1600 cals which I will stay at till the losses stop :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I have in the past and it worked well for me - when I stuck to my cals.
    I've never had a calorie goal of 1200 per day and I'm not planning to start now - lost most of my weight eating 1500 - 1700 net (ie eating that amount plus exercise cals).

    I agree with the pp who says that the numbers you are are only as good as the info you put in.
    If you say you are sedentary (which many people are not) and want to lose 2 pounds a week when that's not realistic for your body you will get defaulted to 1200. It's not the average (it can't be, MFP won't recommend anything less!) but lots of people (smaller women especially) get that number because they ignore the recommended setting of "lose 1 pound per week" and are looking for a quick fix.
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
    What's TDEE?

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I did up until a few months ago, but I was only at 1200 when I set my weekly weight loss too high. Plus, once exercise calories are added, I was always around 1700-2000+.

    I'm now eating based on my TDEE, which is around 2300. MFP runs a little low for me.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I use MFP's calculations. 1320 for me - I checked w/another calculator once and it was so much lower. Well under 1200, so I'll stick w/MFP.
  • mordant57
    mordant57 Posts: 58 Member
    I tried MFP about a year ago and was getting 1200. I stopped using it because I was always ravenous. Starving ALL THE TIME. I am back on the plan and at 1480 I'm seemingly doing pretty well.
  • dena789
    dena789 Posts: 165 Member
    I use the figures here on MFP. I am set at sedentary (which I am) and a loss of 1 pound per week. My calorie goal right now is 1420 but I use that as the maximum daily allowance BUT I also NEVER eat less than 1200 a day. I know me and my weight loss will slow or stop if I eat too few calories daily. I have recently started to do a bit of exercise either walking or on the Gazelle and I eat back most of my exercise calories. This is what works for me - your mileage may vary.....
  • Erienneb
    Erienneb Posts: 592 Member
    Mfp has me at 1680 to lose two pounds a week but when I had metabolism testing done it put me at 1916. So I set it for 1800 with a higher protein amount and its working great for me.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    1200 is the default minimum. You probably said you wanted to lose more than a pound a week...and that's the number that will usually appear. I said I wanted to lose less than that a week...so I have more calories every day, plus exercise calories. Workin' for me!

    mine has me set at 1200 calories just to lose 0.6 pounds a week. i don't have a lot to lose though.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    MFPs numbers are only as good as the settings you give it. If you are within 40 lbs of goal and telling it to set you to lose 2 lbs per week then chances are you'll see 1200 calories, many of the folks set for 2lbs per week at 1200 calories could well see 1200 set at 1lb per week, 1200 is the minimum calorie goal that MFP will assign. It's up to YOU to choose more accurate numbers, like if you got it to 1200 and manually added 500 extra to get to where you want why not just lower your desired rate of loss to get additional calories? 2lbs per week is 1000 calories a day deficit, 1lb per week is 500 calories a day so that change alone should (assuming 2lbs per week put you at 1200 calories instead of being some number below that that got increased to 1200 as the minimum) give you your 1700 calories.

    If you are too close to your goal, mfp will tell you that you can't lose 1 or 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories. It will reset your pounds per week goal to 0.6 or so like it did for me.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    I have in the past and it worked well for me - when I stuck to my cals.
    I've never had a calorie goal of 1200 per day and I'm not planning to start now - lost most of my weight eating 1500 - 1700 net (ie eating that amount plus exercise cals).

    I agree with the pp who says that the numbers you are are only as good as the info you put in.
    If you say you are sedentary (which many people are not) and want to lose 2 pounds a week when that's not realistic for your body you will get defaulted to 1200. It's not the average (it can't be, MFP won't recommend anything less!) but lots of people (smaller women especially) get that number because they ignore the recommended setting of "lose 1 pound per week" and are looking for a quick fix.

    smaller women will get that number for any goal over a half a pound per week. it has nothing to do with ignoring the recommendation. the recommendation number of 1 pound per week was said to be too high for me.
  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
    Using MFPs. It's set to exclude the exercise until you log it.
    Other calculators have the exercise built in and that doesn't work with how I am using mfp
  • slshaw23
    slshaw23 Posts: 126 Member
    I said I wanted to lose two pds a week and it gave me 1320 cals a day
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    If you are too close to your goal, mfp will tell you that you can't lose 1 or 2 pounds a week on 1200 calories. It will reset your pounds per week goal to 0.6 or so like it did for me.

    While it does "say" that your "Projected Weight Loss 0.9 lbs/ week" from your my home > goals page "resets" it doesn't change that you set your profile to lose 2lbs per week. It just shows you what the 1200 calories will do for you, so someone set to 2lbs per week with projected loss of 0.9 could change to 1lb per week desired loss and they'd still have 1200 calories as that's still more of a deficit than they have room for.

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