Welcome to MFP. Don’t worry, there’s cliff notes.

Cliff notes:

About Calculating Calories:
If you use MFP to calculate your daily calorie goal, you should be logging exercise and eating back those cals. MPF calculates based on BMR/NEAT and additional cals burned through exercise are not accounted for in its calculations.

If you use a TDEE calculator for your daily calorie goal, it HAS to include exercise (there’s no such thing as a sedentary TDEE or TDEE without exercise). This method factors exercise into the calculation so there is no need to eat back your exercise cals.

Both methods work, pick one based on your preference for eating and logging.

About Tracking Calories Burned:
There are 3 main ways to track calories burned: heart rate monitors (HRMs), cardio machines, websites (like MPF). ALL of them simply estimate cals burned based on some pre-set formula. There is no guarantee that any is going to be more accurate than any other. I don’t care if one of them knows your life’s story and has met your parents… just because it “knows you” doesn’t mean it’s going to be more accurate than any other method. They are just estimates, and with estimates comes some degree of trial and error.

What You Should Be Worrying About
Your focus should be on the following
- maintaining a reasonable daily calorie intake (slight surplus to gain, slight deficit to lose)
- maintaining reasonably balance macros (fats, carbs, protein)… you body needs all of them to function properly, so no need to fear any of them despite what the media, Dr. Oz, etc might have you believe.
- get some exercise. Ideally a mix of cardio (whatever you like) and resistance training (whatever you like), but just get moving. Exercise helps every aspect of your health.
- sustainability… try to do these things in a way that you can sustain. No need to cut out chocolate or wine or pizza or whatever completely, especially if it means you can’t sustain the diet long term. No need to do a ridiculous workout routine, especially if you can’t sustain it long term. This is a long term process, and the key to success is long term consistency.
- there is no need to worry about smaller details, especially if you don’t have the bigger goals under control.



Full version:

First of all, this thread is intended for the average MFPer… someone who is looking to lose some weight, look a little better, and get a little healthier. If you’re competing or have the nuances of body building down pat, you probably don’t need any of what I’m about to say.

This thread also assumes no significant health or dietary issues.

OK, onto the good stuff…

So you’ve decided to put some time and effort into getting healthy, huh? See there, first sentence… time and effort. If you’re not ready to put in the time and give the effort, then turn around now. There are no short cuts. You’ll have stretches where you work your *kitten* off for no progress, and other times where you do virtually nothing and see significant (relatively speaking) progress. Progress is not linear. Progress is not easy. Progress is not quick.

If you’re still reading, good.

There are 3 big topics that seem to draw the most attention from people.
- How to calculate their daily calorie goal
- How to calculate calories burned
- What they should/shouldn’t be eating/doing

I’ll attempt to address all 3 in a reasonably complete, fairly straight forward, and hopefully clear way.



How to calculate your daily calorie goal
There are 2 ways to do this. One way factors in your exercise/workouts. The other way doesn’t. Both ways work, and assuming you do the calculations using reasonable numbers, you should get roughly the same number of total daily cals with each method. The differences come in how you log and how you eat.

The MFP method
MFP does not factor in exercise when calculating your daily calorie goal. The number you get from MFP is based on your BMR and NEAT cals (more info on those terms here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510406-tdee-is-everything). MFP calculates a calorie deficit (this deficit is what leads to weight loss) based on your typical lifestyle/job. As such, the number MFP gives you will be on the low end, but you are expected to eat back the calories you burn during exercise. For example, MFP tells you to eat 1500 cals per day, which you do. Then you exercise and burn an additional 300 cals. With this method you are expected to eat back those cals, so you eat an additional 300 calories, giving you 1800 total cals for the day. On days you don’t work out, you stay at the baseline 1500 calories for the day. This keeps your calorie deficit (the key to weight loss) consistent regardless of your workouts.

TDEE – 15%
The other approach is to base your daily calorie goal on your TDEE (see link above), then subtract a certain percentage to create a calorie deficit, the eat that number of calories every day regardless. The TDEE approach factors your exercise into the calculation (usually referred to as your activity level or activity setting). If you don’t factor in exercise, you aren’t calculating TDEE. There’s no such thing as a sedentary TDEE, or TDEE without exercise. TDEE NECESSARILY includes exercise.

Sorry, got a little carried away there.

Because the TDEE method includes exercise in the calculation, the calorie goal you get from this method will be higher than the one you get from the MFP method. BUT, with this method, you don’t eat back your exercise cals (because exercise is already accounted for in the calculation). With this method, you would have a daily calorie goal of 1800 regardless of workouts. Assuming you chose a reasonable activity setting, things will balance out over rest days and workout days, so don’t worry about over eating on rest days or anything else – it’s accounted for in the calculations.



How To Calculate Calories Burned
The short answer is that you can’t “calculate” cals burned. You can estimate through calculations, but you’ll never know for sure. So many people want to work with exact numbers… it just doesn’t work that way. Ultimately, everything is just an estimation. Heart rate monitors, cardio machines, websites, etc all use calculations to estimate calories burned. And there are lots of different formulas used for these calculations. As such, you can’t say that one method is going to be more or less accurate than another. A lot of people assume that because an HRM costs $100 (or more) that it’s inherently more accurate than the treadmill at their gym. Maybe, but maybe not. There is no one device that is, across the board, more accurate than any other.

So what is one to do? Estimate. Pick a source for exercise cals. Use an HRM. Use the machines at the gym. Use MFP’s numbers. Whatever, but pick one and use it consistently. After about 4 weeks, compare your actual results to your expected results. If you expected to lose and did lose, then you’re estimates are probably fairly accurate. Keep going. If you expected to lose but didn’t, then your estimates are off (eating more than you think, burning less than you think, or some combination of the two) and you need to tweak something. Pick a different source for calorie burns. Use the same source, but only use half of what it suggests for your burn, etc. Now repeat the process (go 4 weeks, compare actual to expected results, tweak as necessary).

Once you find a method of estimating where the actual results match the expected results, then you’re set.



Do This, Not That.
If there’s anything more hotly marketed than diet fads and exercise programs, I don’t know what it is (ok, maybe ED pills, hair loss fixes, skin/beauty products, etc). Everyone and anyone has an opinion on what’s healthy and what isn’t, on what you should be eating and what you should be avoiding. Everyone from certified nutritionists to coworkers to scammers on TV. Everyone. Know what? In the bigger picture, none of them are right. There is no 1 right answer. Anyone who says there is is either ignorant or trying to sell you something.

Whole grains or processed? Paleo or Atkins? Ice cream and pop tarts or organic lettuce and locally raised chicken? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t much matter.

Yes, you want a reasonably balanced diet for a variety of reasons. Sure, greater health concerns may push you towards organic or whatever else. But to simply lose a little weight, look a little better and get a little healthier, it doesn’t really matter.

Here is what does matter…

First, your primary goal should be a reasonable daily calorie goal… a modest deficit to lose weight or a modest surplus to gain weight. Second, you should try for a nice balance of fats, carbs and protein. *gasp* Yes, I said fats AND carbs. Your body needs all 3 to function properly. None of them lead directly to weight or fat gains. They aren’t evil. Make friends with them and you’ll be happier and healthier. Last, get some exercise. Ideally a good mix of cardio and strength training, but just get up and do something. The more time you spend away from the couch/TV/refridgerator, the better off you’ll be. Cardio has a number of health benefits, and due to the high calorie burns can be a great crutch for creating the all important calorie deficit if you’re diet isn’t where it should be. Strength training also has a variety of health benefits and is the key to looking strong and fit and toned.

How you chose to do those things is entirely up to you. Want to try out paleo? Go for it. Want to do intermittent fasting? Have at it. Going vegan? OK. Want to run 6 days a week? Great. Want to live in the gym and sleep with the free weights? Cool.

There are lots of ways to skin this particular cat. You need the right number of cals, you should have a decent balance of fats, carbs and protein, and you should be getting some exercise. How you do all that is up to you. How you choose your approach should be dictated by sustainability. The best diet or the best workout (as if there is such a thing) means nothing if you can’t sustain it long term. Going back to what I said earlier… this is not a short or quick process, so you need to be thinking long term. You should be making decisions that cater to long term sustainability. I’d rather see you kick butt in a “less efficient” exercise routine than half *kitten* and eventually quit on a great routine. I’d rather see you “eat dirty” but hit your calorie and macro goals than go vegan/organic/whatever and burn out in a month. Make sense?


OK, I think that about covers everything. OK, so not really everything, but I think that’s enough for now. Hopefully this serves as a good intro to the MFP world.






Oh, and eat more bacon.