Am I Understanding this completely?

HI Angie

You don't have a lot to lose, so the first thing I would do is change your goal from 2 pounds a week to 1 or 1.5.

Second when you eat the cals is not an issue - if you are hungry after your run, eat. If not, don't bother. It's not the end of the world to eat below you cal goal now and then, just don't make a habit of it

Also, while MFP asks for your workout goals, it doesn't take that into consideration when setting your cal goals, so you need to log and eat them. Edited to add, that goes for your regular jog - not your day-to-day activities. For example, i log the gym, walking for exercise and a big houseclean, but I don't log walking around the shops, walking my kids to school, day-to-day housework etc etc)

Finally, with that amount of daily activity you need to make sure you fuel your body. Plenty of good fats and calroei dense food (avocado, nuts, PB etc)

As to the mall - up to you whether you log that as extra cals. Maybe it was intensive shopping?

If you set your level to active then you don't eat back calories. If you want to track exercise separately and eat it back then choose sedentary. You've probably set far too aggressive of a goal if you only have a little to lose. Figure out what your BMR is and at least eat over that.

Thanks for the quick responses. I will recalculate for 1.5/wk. 1 lb/wk is alittle too slow for me. Its difficult for me to eat much because I am so busy with work and by time I get home, its late and Im not even hungry anymore. So no logging my work/daily stuff- thats good to know and that has been what I've been doing anyway. I just log my jogs and intense shopping like nicleed said haha.

Can you take little snacks, like almonds etc to eat while you are on your feet?

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

your cut is taken from your TDEE - total daily energy expenditure.. not your BMR which is what you burn if your in bed all day. You do not eat less than your BMR If you use the roadmap you get a single daily number and do not chase after your exercise since it will be built in.

If you set your level to active then you don't eat back calories. If you want to track exercise separately and eat it back then choose sedentary. You've probably set far too aggressive of a goal if you only have a little to lose. Figure out what your BMR is and at least eat over that.

But if the op is on her feet 32 hours a week for her job, she is probably active, even before exercise...

No doubt! People who claim to be sedentary but aren't are not doing their bodies any favors.

I only count exercises that I get into exercise clothes for and only if it is on a machine (elliptical, tredmill and bike). I do not count normal walking around or a few squats as extra calories burned.

Okay so my BMR is about 1600 and my TDEE is about 1970. So I need to eat 1970 a day and that already includes my excersize with the eaten calories and the only time I should eat more is if I go below 1600 from burning calories? Why does Mfp not already do this and gives me such a low calorie diet is my BMR is at least 1600? And now that I set my calorie intake to 1970 MFP is telling me that I won't drop weight but rather keep the same. I get the roadmap but I'm wondering why it contradicts with MFP? I've lost a pound as of today over a week of eating 1270 a day. If I switch, should I eat 1600 on non workout days? Or is the 1970 regular days then added calories for only excersie days ? Thanks!

If you eat your TDEE (1970), you will maintain your weight. If you eat less than that you'll lose, and if you eat more than that you'll gain. Make sure your TDEE reflects your actual activity levels AND workouts, because with this method you don't factor your workouts into calories you can eat back. Once you figure out your actual TDEE and cut, you eat that regardless.

MFP gives you such a low calorie diet because you want to lose weight at a faster rate. At your size, you don't need to lose weight that fast because you're probably losing more muscle than fat. Slow and steady wins the race.

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

your cut is taken from your TDEE - total daily energy expenditure.. not your BMR which is what you burn if your in bed all day. You do not eat less than your BMR If you use the roadmap you get a single daily number and do not chase after your exercise since it will be built in.

.

Okay so my BMR is about 1600 and my TDEE is about 1970. So I need to eat 1970 a day and that already includes my excersize with the eaten calories and the only time I should eat more is if I go below 1600 from burning calories? Why does Mfp not already do this and gives me such a low calorie diet is my BMR is at least 1600? And now that I set my calorie intake to 1970 MFP is telling me that I won't drop weight but rather keep the same. I get the roadmap but I'm wondering why it contradicts with MFP? I've lost a pound as of today over a week of eating 1270 a day. If I switch, should I eat 1600 on non workout days? Or is the 1970 regular days then added calories for only excersie days ? Thanks!

Cut about 20 percent from your TDEE and eat that - and don't eat back exercise cals. ANd please recheck your TDEE - if you are on your feet 32 hours a week I doubt it is that low. My BMR is around 1450 and my TDEE is 2250 - and I don't have a physical job, just chasing kids and doing planned exercise. And I am considerably older that you

Okay so my BMR is about 1600 and my TDEE is about 1970. So I need to eat 1970 a day and that already includes my excersize with the eaten calories and the only time I should eat more is if I go below 1600 from burning calories? Why does Mfp not already do this and gives me such a low calorie diet is my BMR is at least 1600? And now that I set my calorie intake to 1970 MFP is telling me that I won't drop weight but rather keep the same. I get the roadmap but I'm wondering why it contradicts with MFP? I've lost a pound as of today over a week of eating 1270 a day. If I switch, should I eat 1600 on non workout days? Or is the 1970 regular days then added calories for only excersie days ? Thanks!

If you eat your TDEE (1970), you will maintain your weight. If you eat less than that you'll lose, and if you eat more than that you'll gain. Make sure your TDEE reflects your actual activity levels AND workouts, because with this method you don't factor your workouts into calories you can eat back. Once you figure out your actual TDEE and cut, you eat that regardless.

MFP gives you such a low calorie diet because you want to lose weight at a faster rate. At your size, you don't need to lose weight that fast because you're probably losing more muscle than fat. Slow and steady wins the race.

If you eat your TDEE that was figured using yoru CURRENT weight what hte poster said is true - if you calculated yoru TDEE based on your goal weght, then eat your TDEE.

Woops, I forgot to change it back to active, now it is at 1520. So I should track my exercise, and eat if hungry after to replenish or not if I am not hungry?

If you ate under 1300 for a week and only lost 1 pound, then your BMR might not be as high as you think it is. I would suggest eating at the 1520 level that MFP gave you here, and not eat back any exercise cals unless you do a really hard workout that burns an extra 300-400 cals, and then only if you are extra hungry. If you jump to eating 1600 plus exercise cals, you may not lose anything, or could possibly gain over time. See how your body responds after a couple of weeks, if you are losing slower or faster than you'd like, then bump it up or down a bit to compensate. A lot of this is trial and error.

ETA
Here is a different BMR calculator that puts your BMR around 1500
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

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

your cut is taken from your TDEE - total daily energy expenditure.. not your BMR which is what you burn if your in bed all day. You do not eat less than your BMR If you use the roadmap you get a single daily number and do not chase after your exercise since it will be built in.

.

Okay so my BMR is about 1600 and my TDEE is about 1970. So I need to eat 1970 a day and that already includes my excersize with the eaten calories and the only time I should eat more is if I go below 1600 from burning calories? Why does Mfp not already do this and gives me such a low calorie diet is my BMR is at least 1600? And now that I set my calorie intake to 1970 MFP is telling me that I won't drop weight but rather keep the same. I get the roadmap but I'm wondering why it contradicts with MFP? I've lost a pound as of today over a week of eating 1270 a day. If I switch, should I eat 1600 on non workout days? Or is the 1970 regular days then added calories for only excersie days ? Thanks!

Since you put your activity level as active, your TDEE is calculated higher. SInce you entered 2 pounds per week, that means your TDEE is 2270. (500 cals less per day per pound = 1000 cals below your TDEE= 1270 calorie level MFP gave you.
You should be losing 2 pounds per week at that level. Since you are so close to goal, weight loss is slower and you need a smaller deficit. So 1 pound per week would put your cal goal at 1720, giving you a 500 cal deficit per day. Since you entered active, you shouldn't add any extra exercise cals, as they are already factored in.

ETA
If you want to do the 20% cut from your TDEE (2270) then take off 454 cals, for about .9 pound per week, But don't add back any exercise cals.

Doing a quick calculation use scoobys http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ - and putting your exercise as moderate - I get a TDEE of 2467 and daily cals of 1973 (whichis a 20 per cent reduction)

So you are on the money, except I think you got confused about your TDEE.

And yes, eat that each day - that averages out your weekly expenditure. You might see a slight gain initially, but then it will drop off. And you will have energy, feel strong and be happy - rather than feel deprived And you will still lost about four pounds a month, which might not be as quick as you would like, but will be much more sustainable.

Yes so I did do it correct! I was confused since it gave me the 20% also and I just posted that. Thank you for helping me understand this. It just came as a shock to me that it was that high. Guess I was eating a ton of calories when I thought I was around 2500. 2500 obviously still puts weight on you. It sucks that it is only 4 lbs a week but I wanna do it right. The weight isn't horrible on me, but my face is very full and I don't feel very sexy ill look at the lifting for beginners since I was trying to jog thirty minutes a few times a week and that seems opposite of what a lot of ladies on here prefer weights to cardio.

As you get closer to a normal BMI you might want to drop the cut dowm to 10% rather than 20% and when you are within 5 lb og goal drop the cut to 5%. Also remember that you will need to recalculate your TDEE for every 10 lbs lost.

One other thing that is important is to look at the settings for your macros - you want to be getting at least 1 gm protein per lb of lean body mass - did you use your measurements to find your BF% for the most accurate BMR and TDEE calculations? You use that to find your LBM. Then set your macros so you get enough protein.

In my own journey I found that cardio only got me so far as far as BF% goes - with a lot of cardio I lost weight to a point but I lost a lot of muscle mass. Not good for maintaining an active metabolism nor for long term bone health. Since I started lifting heavy I am losing inches not necessarily pounds but the BF% is going down as is the clothing size. I am stronger and able to do much more without having to think if I will hurt myself if i reach for, lift or try a new activity! Should have started sooner!

A balance of both is best - cardio for cardiovascular health, heavy lifting for bone health, balance and strength.