Is MFP Calorie Goal Accurate?

hoosierxheart
hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am doing a Diabetes Prevention Program. We are focusing on lowering fat intake. I love using MFP. As a matter of fact, my doctor suggested I use it if I couldn't afford Weight Watchers. Am I the only one who feel that the Calorie Goal set by MFP is a bit unrealistic though? Mine seems a bit low. Thanks in advance?

Replies

  • demetric55
    demetric55 Posts: 3 Member
    yeahhh, the numbers were really low for me as well. how many calories is it recommending for you?
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    It is recommending 1300 calories!!! I started out at 265, and I'm down to 253. I'm a big girl. :P That just seems really low though!
  • SKME2013
    SKME2013 Posts: 704 Member
    What did you put in as your weekly weightloss goal?
    Stef.
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    2 lbs a week.
  • ofccat
    ofccat Posts: 284 Member
    What are your goals set at for per week weight loss? What about for activity level? I have had to play around with calroic intake to get to what worked for me.
  • JJHnIOWA
    JJHnIOWA Posts: 48
    For women, it's so tough, they seems to set every woman's calories at 1200. My wife is about the same weight as you, and i think her shooting for 1600 is a good, realistic caloric goal.

    I'm assuming your TDEE is between 2000 and 2200 if you get a bit of exercise.

    Therefore, 80% of 2000 is 1600, and would mean you would lose a bit over a pound a week if you are only 5 ft tall, closer to 2 lbs a week if you are 5"4 or 5"5, something like that and get some exercise.

    So, i guess my advice is the same as i give my wife. Around 1600 calories would probable be a good goal, and don't feel bad about hitting 2000 every so often.

    1200 is tough, and might be setting yourself up for failure, I know it would for me.

    Use scooby'sworkshopcalculator to get more accurate calculations for you. GOOD LUCK!
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    Thank you!! I'm 5'7". Since I set my goal on MFP, I have NEVER hit my 1300 goal, but I've also never gone over 2,000. :)
  • sjaykay13
    sjaykay13 Posts: 74
    I seem to have the same stats as you, MFP calculates my daily calories burned to be much less than actual, I got a fitness tracker to get the actual number. 1600 has been working great for me, and I continue to hit 1000 calorie deficit (- 2lbs per week)
  • JJHnIOWA
    JJHnIOWA Posts: 48
    sorry, had to recalculate your numbers a bit, i edited my post, 2200-2400 was a bit high for you i think. Scooby was giving me about 2000 TDEE with a sedentary lifestyle.

    So, try not to eat anything more than that, anything lower, and you're on the track to losin weight!

    Again, a good healthy goal for you is probably around 1600. If you hit 1200 or 1300 a day great, if you push 2000, don't feel bad either.
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks!! I wish there was a way we could put in our own Calorie goals! ;) Is there?
  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
    Yes you can. click on my home, then goals. Click on change goals then select custom.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    2 lbs a week.

    That would mean that MFP is giving you a 1000 calorie per day deficit...it's a huge deficit...thus your paltry calorie goal. To boot, your calorie goal assumes no exercise...just your day to day stuff...so MFP is assuming that your theoretical maintenance without any exercise is around 2300 calories. With exercise it would be more...thus the reason you're supposed to eat back exercise calories with MFP...

    You could 1) not make your loss goal so aggressive; 2) keep it aggressive but make sure you're exercising and eating plenty of those calories back; 3) customize your own calorie goal.

    2 Lbs per week is an unrealistic calorie deficit for the vast majority to sustain for a long period of time.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Here is how MFP works.

    It calculates the calories you need for your daily life NOT including exercise. Then when you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, it deducts a flat amount of calories from it (but only to a minimum of 1200 total calories). It will deduct 1,000 calories for 2 pounds per week, 500 calories for 1 pound per week, etc.

    Choosing 2 pounds per week isn't a reasonable goal for everyone, only people who have a significant amount of weight to lose should choose this setting.

    Now, notice above, the calculation does not include exercise. This is so you would lose weight just by diet alone without any extra exercise. When you do exercise, it adds more calories in for you to eat. You are still maintaining the correct calorie deficit to lose weight when you eat more for exercise.
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    Thank you Onaughmae!! This is EXACTLY what I need to do, in order to stay on track with the Diabetes Prevention Program I'm participating in! :smile: :flowerforyou:
  • hoosierxheart
    hoosierxheart Posts: 14 Member
    Here is how MFP works.

    It calculates the calories you need for your daily life NOT including exercise. Then when you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, it deducts a flat amount of calories from it (but only to a minimum of 1200 total calories). It will deduct 1,000 calories for 2 pounds per week, 500 calories for 1 pound per week, etc.

    Choosing 2 pounds per week isn't a reasonable goal for everyone, only people who have a significant amount of weight to lose should choose this setting.

    Now, notice above, the calculation does not include exercise. This is so you would lose weight just by diet alone without any extra exercise. When you do exercise, it adds more calories in for you to eat. You are still maintaining the correct calorie deficit to lose weight when you eat more for exercise.

    Thank you all so much for explaining it to me!! :)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    2 lbs a week.

    change it to 1.5 or 1lb/week and you will get 250 to 500 more/day, or exercise, when you exercise you get to eat those cals back.
  • ashzacher
    ashzacher Posts: 114 Member
    Good luck! Sounds like you are on the right track. :)

    Just a personal note - I am 5'4" about 150 lbs, and MFP set my calorie goal to 1300 to lose 1.2 lbs/week. I was doing my best to eat 1300 cals/day, while eating back most of my exercise calories. I constantly felt bloated and huge even though I was doing what MFP told me. I checked out my TDEE and BMR, and it turns out my BMR is close to 1500. Since I exercise often, I upped my daily intake to 1600, whether I exercise or not, and I have seen changes already.
  • flutterbye811
    flutterbye811 Posts: 86 Member
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    check this out, hopefully it'll help! :)
  • claireszydelko
    claireszydelko Posts: 38
    Ok so now I'm confused, i'm reading different things about calories.
    I weigh 267lbs and MFP have given me 2100 calories a day at a 2lb a week loss. I'm 5ft 7''. i was told to eat my calorie goal for the day and sometimes ''could'' eat 1/2 my calories back i earn in exercise. But now i'm confused about wether i should aim for a few hundred lower??? or if my daily calorie goal is accurate?
    Grrrr lol

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