Getting my head around MFP

lauragreenland
lauragreenland Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

A relative newbie here... Just trying to get my head around how to use the MFP calculator as best I can. It hasn't necessarily been the best week to start this, with a girly night in involving pizza and snacks, Easter Sunday and a wedding reception - but life goes on and I don't intend on never eating another unhealthy thing! I just need to get things back on track as my wedding in September is rapidly approaching!

For me so far, it's been shocking to find out just how many calories and nasties were hiding in food that I used to consume without thinking twice. Common sense would tell me that those things weren't good for me, but I guess I didn't realise the scale of things, and just how many calories were sneaking in.

I've been attempting a healthier outlook since last year and have lost just under a stone (having gone through a couple of waves of fitness/exercise/healthy eating, and then falling off said bandwagon on a few occasions).

I've been using the calculator to input my daily meals but am struggling a little bit with regards to the calculator and what I should be aiming to achieve. Am I right in saying my goal of 1330 should be achieved with Food - Exercise = 1330 ??

Using Saturday as an example, I did a 40 minute work out on the exercise bike (comprising of sets) plus Level 2 of 30 Day Shred - which is classed as Circuit Training for 20 mins. According to my calculator, this left me with 999 calories still to go, despite consuming 987 throughout the day.

I can honestly say that I didn't feel hungry and I thought food wise, I did pretty good. Late breakfast/early lunch was roasted cherry tomatoes, traditional ham, 2 poached eggs, and salad, followed by some fresh mango. Then I had an early dinner after my workout which was a salad again, but with a tin of pink salmon, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. I also had a low fast raspberry yoghurt, a large orange, a plum and tea.

But, presumably, having 999 calories left is not a good thing?! Should I have consumed more? Sorry for sounding like an irritating newbie but some direction would be helpful.

I am 5ft 8, currently 10st 6 - aiming to lose around half a stone, hoping to tone up and generally increase my overall fitness.

Be nice - I'm clueless!

Thanks,

Laura

Replies

  • petefromguelph
    petefromguelph Posts: 84 Member
    Hi! I have had success (20+ lbs lost) on the TDEE - 20% method talked about at length on these forums. I would definitely do that instead of the preset numbers on MFP. The posts will walk you through how to set that up. I found things were getting too confusing when I was adding in my exercise into my diary. The TDEE method is working wonders... a food scale is my best friend and I log religiously and portion everything. Take it for what its worth but its working for me... I am sure others will post some helpful links...
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Okay, there are a couple of things to be aware of here.


    1200 calories is the bare minimum recommended for a sedentary woman and most people should actually be eating more than this. This has less to do with weight loss and more to do with making sure you're getting enough nutrients into your diet. It's harder to get enough protein and fat as well as the various vitamins and minerals your body needs if you're eating at such a low calorie level.

    In addition to be deficient in something, the less you eat the more likely you are to lose lean muscle mass along with the fat. This leads to many dieters being disappointed with their new body shape once they reach their goal weight.

    If you want to lose weight, and be healthy, and look great at the end of the process, then you should be striving to eat as much as possible while losing instead of as little as possible.

    All of that said, you also have to be careful that you're logging your food accurately. Most people are eating more than they realize because of inconsistencies in their logging methods. It can take some getting used to, but double-check the accuracy of the entries you're using and the accuracy of your own measuring methods (a food scale would be ideal). And if you're using MFP's estimates for calorie burns then you should be aware that they have a tendency to overestimate certain exercises, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you should. Aim for about 50-75% of those exercise calories.

    These are three really great posts that I think anyone new to the boards should read:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • angel_of_harmony
    angel_of_harmony Posts: 188 Member
    This site is setup to take in account your activity level, amount of exercise you plan on doing each week and how much weight you would like to loose. These selections can be found by clicking the settings link at the top of any page and click "Update diet and fitness profile". Once you have the correct settings, click the green "update profile" button and My fitness Pal will take care of the rest. Your daily limit takes these settings into account automatically, so when you work out, yes you will be able to eat more each day. In order to achieve your weight loss goal, make sure you do not go over the new adjustment including the exercise you did that day.

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