My story on adding more calories and seeing results

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  • CassieReannan
    CassieReannan Posts: 1,479 Member
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    When I started I followed MFP and their 1300 calorie goal.. I was 254lb and starving! Gained some knowledge and upped my calories to 1900 and have been around 1800 since then.. I did have a few horrible months when I stupidly changed my goal to 1600 and stalled. I am finally getting back to where I was before.
  • LupitaWins12
    LupitaWins12 Posts: 92
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    When I started I followed MFP and their 1300 calorie goal.. I was 254lb and starving! Gained some knowledge and upped my calories to 1900 and have been around 1800 since then.. I did have a few horrible months when I stupidly changed my goal to 1600 and stalled. I am finally getting back to where I was before.


    good job, u got this!!!!
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
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    I upped my calories to 1850 for almost a month and didn't lose anything, despite my Katch-McArdle BMR supposedly being 1813. I'm going back to very slowly losing at 1550 I guess. Perhaps I'll get a RMR test to see what the problem might be because this is getting depressing.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    so basically what MFP tells you is wrong? I worked out the TDEE/BMR thing tonight and my BMR is about 1800 but MFP told me 1370...

    Not exactly. MFP expects you to eat your exercise calories back.

    This^

    Also a lot of people don't choose a weekly goal rate that matches how much they have to lose. The more aggressive goal of 2lbs/wk is more suited to those with a lot to lose.

    _____
    There are also 2 ways to set up your exercise rate. You can either set the activity rate to match your daily life and then add in the exercise and eat the calories back OR you can set the activity rate a little higher to INCLUDE what you will do for exercise for the week. People who have committed routines often go the latter route. I do it the first way but now that I am more consistent, I may eventually change it. It is pretty much the same thing.

    MFP can be a bit off on the exercise calories so if I'm not wearing an HRM, I just change it to reflect about 75-80% of the value that MFP tells me to be on the safe side.
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works

    Remember to give it at least a month before you adjust.
  • lmatney12
    lmatney12 Posts: 3 Member
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    The problem with the MPF calculation is that is assumes your body is a certain % fat and muscle and calculates the calories from that. The more muscle you carry the more calories your body burns just by sitting around (BMR). If you go below the BMR on a consistent basis your body goes into survival mode/ starvation mode and holds onto any calories you eat, because, for lack of better words your cells are afraid they won't get fed again. My BMR when I first started this, as read in a Bod Pod was 1475, I lost no weight and gained 2.5% muscle and my BMR increased to 1554. I shoot for 1600 calories a day.

    I hope this helps. I'm not an expert in exercise physiology, but I like to think I understand this a little. :)
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    With exercise calories, I eat around 2000-2300 per day to lose.
    There is no need to eat at 1200-1300 in most cases to lose weight and in fact, it can prove detrimental.
    If you can lose with more food, why not do that? Unless you are a glutton for punishment or feel some sense of power from seeing the low number.
    It does and will lower your bmr if you consistently eat too little as your body will adapt to it, and that will be a real bummer once you decide you want to maintain.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works

    Remember to give it at least a month before you adjust.

    i've lost 6 kg in 5 weeks the other way so this makes me a bit nervous...
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    so basically what MFP tells you is wrong? I worked out the TDEE/BMR thing tonight and my BMR is about 1800 but MFP told me 1370...

    well put it this way. I entered my data for MFP, selected the option to maintain my weight, and it told me to eat 1500 cals/day

    I actually maintain on more like 1800-1900 calories a day, and I lose weight on 1500 cals/day (based on real world results)

    There are different ways to calculate calorie needs, the Katch McArdle calculator predicts that I'd maintain my weight on 1870 calories a day, which is much closer to my real world results than the calculator that MFP uses - although as someone mentioned MFP expects you to log exercise then eat back exercise calories, so I can't really say that their calculator is wrong, just that basing my calorie goals on Katch McArdle (which includes exercise calories) plus not eating back exercise calories works best for me. (i.e. TDEE +/- 15% depending if I'm bulking or cutting)

    Also the MFP calculator will ask you how much weight you want to lose each week and will give you a number based on that answer so long as it's not less than 1200 cals/day, regardless of whether it's less than your BMR and regardless of whether this is a sustainble level of fat loss.

    If your BMR is 1800 cals/day you definitely want to be eating more than 1300 calories. So long as you stay under your TDEE number, you'll still lose weight.

    How much to subtract from your TDEE: for the last few lbs when you're already lean, 10-15%; for most people 20%; for the very obese 30%. This is because the more fat you have to lose, the less risk there is of losing lean tissue and slowing your metabolism, so the more you have to lose the bigger the deficit can be. If you're already fairly lean then you have to be very conservative about it.
  • bnatasha2
    bnatasha2 Posts: 6 Member
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    I love the way the MFP works because if something is not working you can twick it to see what will work for you because everbody is different. I love the fact that I can link my Body Media Band (BMB) with MFP because it keeps me knoest with my calories burned because just like someone else mention MFP can be off. With MFP and BMB I've been consistantly lossing 1 to 2 pounds per week on a 1300 calorie diet that I usually always go over.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    so basically what MFP tells you is wrong? I worked out the TDEE/BMR thing tonight and my BMR is about 1800 but MFP told me 1370...

    well put it this way. I entered my data for MFP, selected the option to maintain my weight, and it told me to eat 1500 cals/day

    I actually maintain on more like 1800-1900 calories a day, and I lose weight on 1500 cals/day (based on real world results)

    There are different ways to calculate calorie needs, the Katch McArdle calculator predicts that I'd maintain my weight on 1870 calories a day, which is much closer to my real world results than the calculator that MFP uses - although as someone mentioned MFP expects you to log exercise then eat back exercise calories, so I can't really say that their calculator is wrong, just that basing my calorie goals on Katch McArdle (which includes exercise calories) plus not eating back exercise calories works best for me. (i.e. TDEE +/- 15% depending if I'm bulking or cutting)

    Also the MFP calculator will ask you how much weight you want to lose each week and will give you a number based on that answer so long as it's not less than 1200 cals/day, regardless of whether it's less than your BMR and regardless of whether this is a sustainble level of fat loss.

    If your BMR is 1800 cals/day you definitely want to be eating more than 1300 calories. So long as you stay under your TDEE number, you'll still lose weight.

    How much to subtract from your TDEE: for the last few lbs when you're already lean, 10-15%; for most people 20%; for the very obese 30%. This is because the more fat you have to lose, the less risk there is of losing lean tissue and slowing your metabolism, so the more you have to lose the bigger the deficit can be. If you're already fairly lean then you have to be very conservative about it.

    okay this is confusing me even more now. my TDEE is 2500 so i'll stick to the 1800 for now. I'm excercising back about 300-500 a day ish anyway

    ** ETA thanks but there is too much to this and it really is overwhelming, and theres always someone telling you you're not doing it right :s
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    What I said is regurgitated info too. I'm not an expert. Take it however you wish. :)

    As far as conflicting information, that's gonna always be there. The deal is to do as much research as you can and make the best informed decision you can and try it out. You can always change it.

    I mostly went on the side of eating as much as I can get away with because I have done this before with a several year maintenance track record and know that the more I adapt it to what I can handle later, the easier it is to keep going with it. I have always understood that this should not be a quick fix but something you apply through life. It should also be something that progresses through life too. Our goals change, what matters to us changes, and what we become efficient in vs. struggle with also changes. It's not all about weight loss itself. Because it is a progressive journey, even through maintenance, we won't all be exactly on the same path at any given point. That's okay. (Not related to the original post. I'm just spouting off randomly now).
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    so basically what MFP tells you is wrong? I worked out the TDEE/BMR thing tonight and my BMR is about 1800 but MFP told me 1370...

    well put it this way. I entered my data for MFP, selected the option to maintain my weight, and it told me to eat 1500 cals/day

    I actually maintain on more like 1800-1900 calories a day, and I lose weight on 1500 cals/day (based on real world results)

    There are different ways to calculate calorie needs, the Katch McArdle calculator predicts that I'd maintain my weight on 1870 calories a day, which is much closer to my real world results than the calculator that MFP uses - although as someone mentioned MFP expects you to log exercise then eat back exercise calories, so I can't really say that their calculator is wrong, just that basing my calorie goals on Katch McArdle (which includes exercise calories) plus not eating back exercise calories works best for me. (i.e. TDEE +/- 15% depending if I'm bulking or cutting)

    Also the MFP calculator will ask you how much weight you want to lose each week and will give you a number based on that answer so long as it's not less than 1200 cals/day, regardless of whether it's less than your BMR and regardless of whether this is a sustainble level of fat loss.

    If your BMR is 1800 cals/day you definitely want to be eating more than 1300 calories. So long as you stay under your TDEE number, you'll still lose weight.

    How much to subtract from your TDEE: for the last few lbs when you're already lean, 10-15%; for most people 20%; for the very obese 30%. This is because the more fat you have to lose, the less risk there is of losing lean tissue and slowing your metabolism, so the more you have to lose the bigger the deficit can be. If you're already fairly lean then you have to be very conservative about it.

    okay this is confusing me even more now. my TDEE is 2500 so i'll stick to the 1800 for now. I'm excercising back about 300-500 a day ish anyway

    ** ETA thanks but there is too much to this and it really is overwhelming, and theres always someone telling you you're not doing it right :s

    You may have better luck asking questions in the group section. The general forums have a lot of well meaning people purporting myths as facts.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833500-what-do-i-do-common-sense-cliff-notes


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/840082-a-sad-realization?hl=sad
  • boostnerd
    boostnerd Posts: 32
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    I'm going to chime in for a bit... One thing to remember is that MFP calculates for you to loose weight on its own without any excercise. If you set that too agressive and you excercise as well you will put yourself into a caloric deficit so hard that your body tries to make up for it, in tern making it even harder to loose weight!
  • LupitaWins12
    LupitaWins12 Posts: 92
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works

    Yay..! DOn't forget to add in exercise!!! <3
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works

    Yay..! DOn't forget to add in exercise!!! <3

    add in excercise? i already excercise...lol
  • daydream_believer
    daydream_believer Posts: 332
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    thanks for the post! i am currently in the process of increasing calories for this reason. x
  • sabimausl85
    sabimausl85 Posts: 219 Member
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    ladies,
    thanks

    this might be my blog.
    i just started 3 weeks ago. lost 9 pounds the first week, since then, stuck at the same Freaking weight... MFP has me at 1230calories a day. should i keep sticking to it for a little longer? or just add some more calories a day?
    the next 5 days my period will start and i will try to cook every day (means eat more than 1230 a day) so maybe this ll end my plateau? or any other ideas?
    oh yeah and i dont exercise and drink at least 2 liters a day.
  • LupitaWins12
    LupitaWins12 Posts: 92
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    okay, upped my calories for the last couple days... feels like i'm constantly eating lol. hopefully it works

    Yay..! DOn't forget to add in exercise!!! <3

    add in excercise? i already excercise...lol

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