MFP calorie calculator too low?

skyegsd
skyegsd Posts: 14
in Getting Started
Hi guys,
I have used a different website in the past for my calorie counting, anyways I put my stats in MFP and it says I should eat 1310 calories a day. Keep in mind I am 28 years old, 159 lbs, and 5'8" female. I have a desk job, however I workout a minimum of 4 times a week (30 min cardio, 30 min weight training). I feel like I would be famished and starving only eating 1310 calories a day. I also dont' want to damage my metabolism by eating too few calories. Any thoughts?

Sheila

Replies

  • skyegsd
    skyegsd Posts: 14
    PS. Also put in the system that I wanted to lose 1 lb. a week, not 2?
  • MrsK20141004
    MrsK20141004 Posts: 489 Member
    Search in the forums for In Place of a Road Map and there are some calculators listed there that you may find better to calculate TDEE, BMR, etc... I have found MFP estimations low as well and am losing on 1700+ calories when MFP put me at 1200.
  • momjmd
    momjmd Posts: 296 Member
    what do you have your lifestyle set at? Sedentary, light, moderate??? This will make a difference. It has you eatting back your exercise calories so the amount that are using is your base amount - add your 200-300 calories a day for working out into it (at least that is generally what I get).
  • Saryas
    Saryas Posts: 1 Member
    I find the calorie calculator to be too low as well. I've maintained <120# eating 1600-1700 calories daily.
  • NadDrew
    NadDrew Posts: 56 Member
    I'm at 1460 calories a day but I eat my burned calories, I eat almost 2000 calories a day and it works for me...I'm 5'8'', I have a desk job too. I workout cardio and strenght 5 days a week, combine 60 minits daily.
  • christinemadden0223
    christinemadden0223 Posts: 175 Member
    It all depends on your goals. An easy way to look at it is that your body, for the most part, burns 10xyour weight calories just existing (so 1590 for you) per day. But to lose weight, you want to create a deficit (enter dieting and exercise). MFP tends to give you the minimum you should be eating- I like to think of it as the "fastest way to get there safely". It can be pretty extreme though. I see how I feel every day and just try to eat at any deficit at all that I can do comfortably. I weigh 148 so my max I try to eat is 1480 and my minumum is 1200. I put in MFP that I do nothing all day even though I work out regularly- I simply add exercise for the day each day and eat back those calories =) So basically, if you don't mind it taking a little longer, pick a goal weight. Mine is 135 right now so I try to average 1300 calories while eating back exercise. If I'm not that hungry I eat less and get there faster. If I'm starving I eat more and just try to make it so I won't gain.
    In the end though, do what feels right to you adn listen to your body. It will tell you if you are too low.
  • skyegsd
    skyegsd Posts: 14
    Okay very intersting, I know my BMR is roughtly 1550 so I was surprised even as "Sedentary" that the MFP calculator had me well below this. I really don't think I could sustainably do this eating less than 1550 especially while working out, I think I will stick to 1600 calories as a base and eat some of my workout calories burned and see how it goes. I've had a really tough time losing weight lately, not exactly sure why.
  • christinemadden0223
    christinemadden0223 Posts: 175 Member
    1350 whoops
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,096 Member
    Hi guys,
    I have used a different website in the past for my calorie counting, anyways I put my stats in MFP and it says I should eat 1310 calories a day. Keep in mind I am 28 years old, 159 lbs, and 5'8" female. I have a desk job, however I workout a minimum of 4 times a week (30 min cardio, 30 min weight training). I feel like I would be famished and starving only eating 1310 calories a day. I also dont' want to damage my metabolism by eating too few calories. Any thoughts?

    Sheila

    MFP calculates your calorie budget before exercise. It expects you to log your exercise and then it will increase your calories for the day (known here as "eating back your exercise calories"). Some people feel the MFP database overestimates calories burned for logged exercise, and only eat part of their exercise calories back. Other people don't like have varying amounts of calories depending on how much they've exercised, and they will just set a calorie goal based on some percentage below TDEE or some other method and log their exercises as "1 calorie."
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,096 Member
    Also, if you entered sedentary when you had MFP calculate the calories you need, you might want to consider changing it to lightly active. I entered sedentary when I first signed up (I have a desk job), and said I wanted to lose 1 lb a week, and I averaged a 2 lb a week loss for over two months. I did not let MFP adjust my calories down when I hit my first 10 lb weight loss, and so theoretically should only have been losing about 3/4 of a pound a week, but continued to to lose about 2 lbs a week. About a week or so I finally adjusted my profile to lightly active; I don't have enough data since the change to see if that it is enough in the real world to slow my weight loss to 1 lb a week, but based on my records of calories consumed and weight lost (from which I've calculated my TDEE before intentional exercise), I expect I'll still be averaging between 1.5 and 1.75 lbs loss a week for a while longer.

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