Why can't anyone agree on this?!

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  • flynnfinn
    flynnfinn Posts: 209 Member
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    because it is a personal decision. what works for others may not work for you. there are several paths to get to the end result here...the end result being weight loss. which path you choose is up to you. hopefully you choose a path that is sensible, that you will stick to until the end and that will allow you to maintain your weight loss.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Read the information you agreed to when you signed up for MFP.
  • Givemewings
    Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
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    OK - forget about the message boards and forget about everything that people say.


    NOW

    Think about the app/website you are using - MFP

    You input all your data into the system and it comes up with a calorie goal for you to eat to achieve the weight loss you asked for.
    When you exercise you also log this and MFP then re-adjusts your calorie goal for the day for you to eat to achieve the weight loss you asked for.

    Why do you think that the MFP system does this - just to confuse us? for the fun of it?

    Try this out all for yourself instead. When your day is finished and you click on the bottom to complete, if you have eaten near your calorie goal it will give you an anticipated weight in 5 weeks time, which will be what you asked for. Now add in your exercise and click to finish again and HEY it suddenly will give you an anticipated weight loss of much more than you asked for.

    In other words MFP has already created your deficit to lose the weight you asked for within the initial calorie goal. It doe not take into account exercise and the amount of fuel your body needs to perform that exercise until you log that you do it. This is why it adjusts your calorie goal for the day. Remember that the word GOAL is something we always aim for, not something we avoid or intentionally try to miss.

    If you are using MFP, method then you should follow that method and eat the amended calorie GOAL or as near as you can.


    This.
  • MUNCH42
    MUNCH42 Posts: 7 Member
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    Hi I have only been followin MFP for 2 weeks I have gone from 135 to 131 (4 pound loss) in 2 weeks and I have eaten most of my exercise calories back, so at the moment this is working for me. Hope this helps.
  • sozisfitnow
    sozisfitnow Posts: 209 Member
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    Eat half, problem solved, lol. :flowerforyou:

    I agree! remove margin for errors on exercise cals or food intake
  • Gypsum74
    Gypsum74 Posts: 21 Member
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    I think I've noticed a flaw in the whole 'you should eat back your calories' argument.
    Your daily 'break even point' which for me is about 2200 - BMRx1.2 for me takes account of a normal, lightly active, non exercise day.
    To lose 2bs per week - MFP says I should be eating 1200 per day.

    Yesterday I spent 2 hrs exercising and burnt off 900 calories according to MFP (seemed a bit optimistic but I'll go with it)

    So bingo according to MFP I should eat 2100 calories yesterday.
    BUT - what about deducting the two hours of normal break even calorie burning?? Ie 2200/24*2 = 183 calories... so realistically it should be 1917?

    Am I right? I realise it's not a huge difference in the scheme of things but is it a valid premise...?
  • PrincessNikkiBoo
    PrincessNikkiBoo Posts: 330 Member
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    I think I've noticed a flaw in the whole 'you should eat back your calories' argument.
    Your daily 'break even point' which for me is about 2200 - BMRx1.2 for me takes account of a normal, lightly active, non exercise day.
    To lose 2bs per week - MFP says I should be eating 1200 per day.

    Yesterday I spent 2 hrs exercising and burnt off 900 calories according to MFP (seemed a bit optimistic but I'll go with it)

    So bingo according to MFP I should eat 2100 calories yesterday.
    BUT - what about deducting the two hours of normal break even calorie burning?? Ie 2200/24*2 = 183 calories... so realistically it should be 1917?

    Am I right? I realise it's not a huge difference in the scheme of things but is it a valid premise...?

    The difference adds up. This is why I use a HRM and deduct my RMR from burns before eating calories back, MFP also way over estimated calorie burns for me.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    The MFP system is set up for you to eat your exercise calories back. If you look at the information you give for activity level when you set up the account, it doesn't include exercise, only activity at work, etc. You have to add in the exercise day by day.

    I think people worry because it's difficult to get an accurate estimate for your calorie burn from exercise. I think it's true that it's easy to overestimate, but you would have to overestimate by quite a lot to cancel out the deficit MFP has set for you. For instance, if you're set to lose 2lb a week, MFP has given you a deficit of 1000 calories a day. If you over estimate your hour at the gym as 300 calories when it was actually 200 calories (and eat the calories back) then you'll still have a deficit of 900 calories that day and should still be losing weight.

    Personally, I find it easier to do TDEE - 20%. (Roughly, you work out how many calories you burn in an average day including exercise calories. Then you substract 20% from that, and ignore exercise).

    Gypsum74, I'd assumed that MFP substracts an amount from the exercise calories to cover what you would have burned over that period of time at your normal activity level. But I have no idea if that's actually the case!
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    OK - forget about the message boards and forget about everything that people say.


    NOW

    Think about the app/website you are using - MFP

    You input all your data into the system and it comes up with a calorie goal for you to eat to achieve the weight loss you asked for.
    When you exercise you also log this and MFP then re-adjusts your calorie goal for the day for you to eat to achieve the weight loss you asked for.

    Why do you think that the MFP system does this - just to confuse us? for the fun of it?

    Try this out all for yourself instead. When your day is finished and you click on the bottom to complete, if you have eaten near your calorie goal it will give you an anticipated weight in 5 weeks time, which will be what you asked for. Now add in your exercise and click to finish again and HEY it suddenly will give you an anticipated weight loss of much more than you asked for.

    In other words MFP has already created your deficit to lose the weight you asked for within the initial calorie goal. It doe not take into account exercise and the amount of fuel your body needs to perform that exercise until you log that you do it. This is why it adjusts your calorie goal for the day. Remember that the word GOAL is something we always aim for, not something we avoid or intentionally try to miss.

    If you are using MFP, method then you should follow that method and eat the amended calorie GOAL or as near as you can.

    This^^^ if you are following MFP then you should eat your exercise cals back.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
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    I joined MFP because I was on a plateau for months. I joined at the end of December and since then lost 10 pounds which I am thrilled about. I'm 3 pounds away from my goal of 125 and now its going really slow but that's ok for me as I'm not in a rush. I workout 6 days a week and burn between 500-700 calories during my workout. I eat back about 2/3 of my exercise calories but if I'm extra hungry, I'll eat back all of them. About 1-2 times a week I may go over.
    Losing slow and eating well is working for me.

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