New to my fitness pal and I have some questions

opierrepaul
opierrepaul Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, I just discovered this website through youtube fitness guy Chris Jones and I see how awesome it is because of how it flips the whole dieting thing on its head. because as long as you get your macros down you should be on track to your fitness goals. However there are some things that I don't fully have a grip on yet.

1.I'm a 22 year old male who is 6'0 tall and 275 lbs. I work in retail as a cashier although i stand around for a large part of my day also do a decent amount of walking and lifting boxes come closing time. I also go to the gym 5 times a week and lift weights and do cardio. Twice a week I play basketball for anywhere from 2 to 3hrs. What should I mark down as my daily activity level on my profile?

2.currently i'm trying to lose 1.5 lbs a week and marked my activity level at active. MFP gave me a daily calorie allowance of 2920 and that seems kind of high to me based on the information I provided should I change my activity level to lightly active or sedentary?

3.Does my fitness pal track how many calories are burned during weightlifting exercises? and if so what about body weight exercises i.e. (crunches,pull-ups,push-ups)

4.So far I have been actually hitting my macros except i've been going way over my sodium allowance. Will that negatively effect my weight loss goals for the week?

All answers would be very much appreciated, and good luck to everyone on here trying to get fit!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Your daily activity is without exercise...so I would say lightly active

    You are 275lbs...so 2900 seems reasonable to me...I lose weight on 1900 and I am about half your size..and a woman.

    You can change your activity level if you want, just make sure you log your exercise calories and eat back 50-75% of them.

    To track weight lifting log it under cardio (search strength training) for bodyweight look for circut training

    Sodium is not an issue unless you have a medical condition. No it won't effect your weight loss. If however you are consistently way over on sodium you could retain water which masks weight loss.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    If your kidneys work and you don't have high blood pressure the sodium will look after itself.
  • IrisR05
    IrisR05 Posts: 4 Member
    i am also new to my fitness pal , if someone can explain to me how it works that would be awesome ,im thinking im not getting it .. the total is what I been recording all day what I consumed , then of course my goals ,, heres the part im having trouble with m, there is a remaining of and it shows me the numbers , do I have to match my goals for that day ? then the other part is it show with an * you've earned so much extra calories from the exercises today .. Do do I eat those extra calories for that day ? or not , do I have at least what my goal is and match it ? i am so confused ..
    thank you for anyone that can help with this ..
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    We are all required to eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day to keep our bodies from going into starvation mode, where our metabolic rate slows down, making it all the harder to lose weight.

    Now for example if you set your goal weight and entered your profile correctly, MFP has given you the calories to lose weight based on losing 1 to 2 pounds per week (with no exercise). If you're working out and MFP tells you that you haved earned so many calories burned, it doesn't mean you have to eat them back, only that you can if you want.

    The ONLY time MFP will actually tell you to eat more calories, is if you didn't meet the 1200 requirement, and you won't get scolded for burning a couple of hundred of those, after it's in your digestive system.
  • matai808
    matai808 Posts: 14 Member
    I'm on my second week and I learned that the calorie intake given by MFP includes your activity level. So if you just eat your calorie goal and do nothing else you will lose your desired weekly weight. I was given great advice from another user to go online and check what my BMR is and start from there. MFP gave me a calorie goal of 1220 a day and I choose sedentary for activity level but I was actually walking 3 miles a day which would bring my calorie intake down to the 700 level and I started getting bad headaches and feeling dizzy. I wasn't eating enough due to putting in the wrong activity level. After checking my BMR I was given 1700 calorie intake. I'm currently at 1400 and have lost my desired 2lbs/wk. If after a week you have not lost weight than lower it by 100-200 calories until you get the weight loss you desire in a week.

    Secondly you should download one of the free apps on this website and sync it to your MFP account so it will automatically update your calorie goals for the day. For example I use the mapmywalk app and it records and synch my workout to my MFP account. If you are able too take a look at my profile. I don't have anything locked.

    Third, I learned that planning and preparing your meals in advance has helped me tremendously. It's time consuming but it prevents me from eating everything and anything.

    I'm not an expert by any means. Just wanted to share some of the things I have learned through trial an error and from the support of friends on this site ????????
  • matai808
    matai808 Posts: 14 Member
    I'm on my second week and I learned that the calorie intake given by MFP includes your activity level. So if you just eat your calorie goal and do nothing else you will lose your desired weekly weight. I was given great advice from another user to go online and check what my BMR is and start from there. MFP gave me a calorie goal of 1220 a day and I choose sedentary for activity level but I was actually walking 3 miles a day which would bring my calorie intake down to the 700 level and I started getting bad headaches and feeling dizzy. I wasn't eating enough due to putting in the wrong activity level. After checking my BMR I was given 1700 calorie intake. I'm currently at 1400 and have lost my desired 2lbs/wk. If after a week you have not lost weight than lower it by 100-200 calories until you get the weight loss you desire in a week.

    Secondly you should download one of the free apps on this website and sync it to your MFP account so it will automatically update your calorie goals for the day. For example I use the mapmywalk app and it records and synch my workout to my MFP account. If you are able too take a look at my profile. I don't have anything locked.


    Third, I learned that planning and preparing your meals in advance has helped me tremendously. It's time consuming but it prevents me from eating everything and anything.



    I'm not an expert by any means. Just wanted to share some of the things I have learned through trial an error and from the support of friends on this site ????????

    Sorry, I meant MFP does NOT include exercise in its daily calorie intake

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