i just do not understand this calories thing!!!

chichic77
chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
in Getting Started
when i start my day it says i have 1680 calories. since i started mfp i have been slightly under and when i finish my diary it always says that i am under my goal. but in the morning when i look back at it, it has me with a negative number in the red and it says my daily goal was only 1200??? why does that change?? take yesterday for example when i finished my food diary it said i was under calories, and said i'd have lost 12 pounds in 5 weeks if every day were like today, and now it says if every day were like that day i'd lose only 3 in 5 weeks. what are net calories? i worked out and had a good burn for the day (according to my tracker it says i burned 2767 for the entire day.... so what i burned through the day and what i took in there is a huge deficit. so what's the deal here??
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Replies

  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
    Open your diary so we can see, the option is in settings.

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  • Meredith8684
    Meredith8684 Posts: 681 Member
    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.
  • SweeDecadence92
    SweeDecadence92 Posts: 218 Member
    Yeah, I 2nd open the diary.

    It sounds like your overall deficit was maybe higher on the day you didn't exercise. Even if you exercise, if you have a smaller deficit you you'll lose less weight because your better meeting you bodies energy demands.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.


    it's not just a few. it is by a lot. i do wear a tracker that i have synced to this account here on mfp. i just do not understand how any of this works and i am getting frustrated.
  • Loopy_1980
    Loopy_1980 Posts: 18 Member
    Maybe it's a glitch? I've been playing around with my calorie goal lately, and I noticed yesterday that I had a different goal on my mobile app than on the website. I just went back into the settings on both and adjusted them and they are now the same.

    EDIT: I obviously didn't understand what you meant judging from the other replies... ignore me!! :)
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You've set your activity level too high.

    Here's how calorie adjustments work:

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex, height & weight, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (not including exercise). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    Walking, 4.0 mph, very brisk pace 30 318
    Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace 45 314
    Withings calorie adjustment N/A -1,112


    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity? that is yesterdays exercise report.


    also i am not sure what my diary would show. it tells me in the am i have 1680 calories and when i close it out at night it says i am under and then when i look back it only has 1200 as my calorie goal. i am opening it now so you can see.
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
    Do you have a fitbit, or wearable fitness device? Sometimes if you settle down early in the evenings it will overestimate the amount you will expend, and you'll lose a few calories. If that's the case it should be within 20 or so, don't worry about it. That amount of calories would not make any difference in your weight loss journey.


    it's not just a few. it is by a lot. i do wear a tracker that i have synced to this account here on mfp. i just do not understand how any of this works and i am getting frustrated.

    I have a body media fit. I plug it in to the computer in the mornings when I get up and upload my data. I'll upload the data again after I get home from work and let it make any adjustments before I eat dinner. If I've been really active that day, it'll give me more calories to eat. If it's been a mostly sedentary day, it'll take calories away and i can work that into my meal plan. Like someone else said, if you go to bed earlier or get up later than usual, you'll lose calories too.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    You've set your activity level too high.

    Here's how calorie adjustments work:

    When you set up your MFP account, you specified an activity level: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided MFP used your answer, plus your age, sex, height & weight, to estimate how many calories you burn every day (not including exercise). Then you set your weight-loss goal, and MFP subtracted the appropriate deficit to calculate your daily calorie goal.

    Once you link an activity tracker to your MFP account (via the "Apps" tab at the top of every page), you start getting calorie adjustments. If your tracker says you burned more calories than MFP estimated, you get a positive adjustment (meaning more calories to eat). If you enable negative calorie adjustments http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings and you burn less than the MFP estimate, you will lose calories. (But negative calorie adjustments will never drop your daily calories below 1,200.)

    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment? i don't think i understand that....
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
    I don't think you are supposed to be logging your exercises on mfp. Your device should be adding those in and it looks like you're duplicating them.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    Edited to add:
    You've set your activity level too high.
    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment?
    If you disable negative calorie adjustments, then you won't be eating at a deficit. Set your activity level to "sedentary."
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    I don't think you are supposed to be logging your exercises on mfp. Your device should be adding those in and it looks like you're duplicating them.

    GAH! that is what i thought and i was told that mfp would adjust it and it wouldn't be duplicated :/
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    i am connected. should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    i also have my activity set to sedentary. i am out of work right now and aside from cleaning and running errands i don't do much during the day. but i do workout 5-6 days a week for an hour.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    I use my FitBit One with MFP but do *not* have negative calorie adjustments enabled. I have MFP set to sedentary because I sit at a desk for 8+ hours per day. If the FitBit estimates my TDEE is higher than what MFP estimates my TDEE for the day, then I will get a positive calorie adjustment from my FitBit. This prevents those unexpected red numbers and helps to keep my daily calorie goals steady throughout the day.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
    If there's an option to log bicycling in the Withings Pulse, you should do that. The data is way more accurate than MFP's one-size-fits-all guesstimates. (That's what I do with my Fitbit Flex & Jawbone UP.)

    Edited to add that I Googled Withings & biking and found this:
    https://withings.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201490347-How-does-the-Pulse-measure-my-activity-while-I-am-on-my-bike-
  • christa279
    christa279 Posts: 222 Member
    Yes, just log your spin bike workouts since you aren't wearing your device then.


    I have the FitBit One and, if I log an exercise and put in the time I started it and duration, it doesn't double log it. I'm not sure how it works for other devices.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    should i just add the spin bike workouts? i take my withings off when i am on the spin bike or else it shows that i am on a major fast and long run lol.
    If there's an option to log bicycling in the Withings Pulse, you should do that. The data is way more accurate than MFP's one-size-fits-all guesstimates. (That's what I do with my Fitbit Flex & Jawbone UP.)

    Edited to add that I Googled Withings & biking and found this:
    https://withings.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201490347-How-does-the-Pulse-measure-my-activity-while-I-am-on-my-bike-


    thanks, runkeeper is good if it was an outdoor biking activity. i have a heart rate monitor and will just log that into mfp and not wear my withings during.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    Yes, just log your spin bike workouts since you aren't wearing your device then.


    I have the FitBit One and, if I log an exercise and put in the time I started it and duration, it doesn't double log it. I'm not sure how it works for other devices.

    thanks, there is no way to log it into this device, the only downfall for it.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    should i be adding exercises here or just letting my withings pulse sync all my activity?
    Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/apps/show/139 and do not log any step-based activity (including walks & runs).

    Edited to add:
    You've set your activity level too high.
    so should i not have it enable the negative calorie adjustment?
    If you disable negative calorie adjustments, then you won't be eating at a deficit. Set your activity level to "sedentary."

    it is at sedentary....
  • christa279
    christa279 Posts: 222 Member
    I didn't mean I log on the device app, but I log in MFP and put the start time and duration. I only do that to track the type of exercises I am doing, so I know I did an actual workout that day and wasn't just counting my steps around the house.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    If none of our suggestions help you, try the Withings help desk:
    https://withings.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    I didn't mean I log on the device app, but I log in MFP and put the start time and duration. I only do that to track the type of exercises I am doing, so I know I did an actual workout that day and wasn't just counting my steps around the house.

    hmm, when i log an exercise here it doesn't give me the option to put an actual time....
  • jellybeanhed313
    jellybeanhed313 Posts: 344 Member
    If you are wearing your fitbit(or the like) you don't need to log your exercise because it is already accounted for in your total steps/calories burned for the day.

    If you have it synced with the fitbit site, do you have your calorie goal set as 1200 on that site. If it is synced, it will pull all of the information from fitbit.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    If you are wearing your fitbit(or the like) you don't need to log your exercise because it is already accounted for in your total steps/calories burned for the day.

    If you have it synced with the fitbit site, do you have your calorie goal set as 1200 on that site. If it is synced, it will pull all of the information from fitbit.

    my tracker doesn't have a calorie goal. i am seriously confused as to why it would go from 1680 to 1200 overnight. i am just going to give it a week and play with settings and see what works i guess.
  • bradXdale
    bradXdale Posts: 399
    Are you walking on a treadmill or out & about? Just wondering because I saw where you had logged walking at 4mph for 30 minutes. I train on a treadmill that goes by the MPH (1-10) and 4mph is a slow jog for me.

    Just wondering! It's really easy when starting off to trust the MFP exercise settings and you can be over estimating how much you are actually burning.

    I know it can be miserable and confusing but you will get it right, just keep toying with things until you find out what works best for you!
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    OP - totally unrelated to your question, but I wanted to point out that your ticker says 16 Pfund lost..
    Am I the lost one? Or is it a glitch?
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    OP - totally unrelated to your question, but I wanted to point out that your ticker says 16 Pfund lost..
    Am I the lost one? Or is it a glitch?

    that's exactly what it says. i don't know why it says that.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    Are you walking on a treadmill or out & about? Just wondering because I saw where you had logged walking at 4mph for 30 minutes. I train on a treadmill that goes by the MPH (1-10) and 4mph is a slow jog for me.

    Just wondering! It's really easy when starting off to trust the MFP exercise settings and you can be over estimating how much you are actually burning.

    I know it can be miserable and confusing but you will get it right, just keep toying with things until you find out what works best for you!

    speed walking for me.
  • chichic77
    chichic77 Posts: 24 Member
    OP - totally unrelated to your question, but I wanted to point out that your ticker says 16 Pfund lost..
    Am I the lost one? Or is it a glitch?

    i guess it was a glitch. i just customized it. i didn't know i could.

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