It just isn't adding up for me?

the 1200 is pre exercise ..as soon as u log in exercise done , it gives you more calories..and expects you to use them !. hope that helps

Yes. 1200 is right. but when you exercise and add your calories burned to your exercise diary you get those calories back to eat. so at the end of the day if you burn 1000 calories you can actually eat 2200 calories because 1000 of them will be burned from exercise.

This is from several posts yesterday, and I just copied and pasted it for convenience sake, so ignore the parts about exercise that dont pertain to your situation. But the BMR stuff is important MFP sets your calories based on what you tell it. If you told it you want to lose 2lbs per week, its gonna go as low as 1200 calories. But thats not necessarily healthy or the right thing to do. Really...check out your BMR and stick to it:


Short answer: Try Searching this topic, as it has been discussed ad nausea here on the site.

Longer (but not nearly long enough) answer:
Your body requires a certain number of calories in order for you to simply exist. In order for you eyes to blink, your heart to keep beating, your hair to keep growing, your organs to keep functioning, you have to feed it a certain number of calories. This number is called your BMR. (Use the tool on this site to check your BMR...I bet its close to what your nutritionist siggested) For example, my BMR is about 1490 calories. So say I lay in bed allllll day, motionless. I would require 1490 calories just to keep my body alive in a coma-like state.
The second I get out of bed, walk across the room, open the door to the bathroom, brush my teeth, pee, weigh myself, turn on the hot water,and hop in the shower...I have burned calories. Minimal...but still enough to start cutting into the 1490 my body needs in order to fuel its most basic functions.

So if I eat my BMR of 1490 a day, I am only giving my body enough to do its basic functions.

MFP gave me 1200 calories based on my desire to lose 2 lbs a week. At my height and current weight, losing 2 lbs per week is not reasonable, but I wanted to lose FAST. And the lowest MFP will set someone's calories is 1200 (For many good reasons). 1200 is sort of an arbitrary number at this point but no one should really eat LESS than 1200, and there are likely very few people who could eat 1200 calories for the rest of their lives and maintain weight or stay satisfied. (opinion...sorry) I lost 20+ lbs eating 1200 cals a day. Wahoo! Yeah me!! Right? WRONG. The second I started eating "normal" again, I gained all 20+ lbs back, PLUS MORE. It might "work" in the short term, but for many here, 1200 calories isnt the lifestyle change needed to STAY healthy and thin.

OK, back to the exercise thing. If I eat my 1500 (1490) cals today, my body will already be at a deficit for weight loss since I got out of bed, functioned, walked, lifted my toddler countless times, etc. So if I were to workout and burn 500 calories this afternoon, my body would be at an even greater deficit, and risk pushing my body to panic. Once your body panics and your metabolism worries that you are not feeding it enough, you will start to store fat at a faster rate. Your body and metabolism will try to hang onto any extra store of fat in preparation for an upcoming "famine".

Another way to look at it: If you eat 1200 calories and then exercise 500 calories away, you are only holding onto 700 calories for your body to draw from for energy, organ function, eye blinking, etc etc. Its just not enough for your body to exist on without causing longterm troubles.

It took me a looooong time to "get" this. I still have to consciously remind myself to eat my calories in order to lose weight. It seems counter-intuitive...but it WORKS. When I eat my BMR and at LEAST half my exercise calories, I lose weight. When I only eat 1200 calories, I am miserable, hungry, and i might lose some weight initially...but i gain it alllll back with a few extra for fluffiness.

Bottom line: eat more, keep moving, lose more, keep it off
BMR + exercise calories = longterm success



Hope that helped!

Also, if yuo put your goal as "lose 2 lbs per week" then MFP will set your calorie goal accordingly. That is why it gave you 1200 cals rather than your BMR.

I have mine set to sedentary with 3 workout days for 40 minutes (I actually workout 4 or 5 times a week). I'm 237lbs and my daily calorie goal is 1630.

Hi, we have similiar height and weight and age. I am 38. I am consuming 1200-1400 per day. I am fully satisfied, but have had to change what I eat.

I try to eat alot of chicken breast and fish and loads of veggies, fruits. Alot of calories can be cut out from baking rather than frying and steaming veggies.

I try to get at least 30-50 minutes of excercise per day and I dont eat past 7 PM.

I was discouraged at first because I weigh more now than I did at full term pregancy 18 years ago. I weighed 180 at full term and lost most of it. Over the years, I have slacked off the exercise and at times have been so busy at a desk that I did basically NO excercise. This is the main reason for my weight gain.

I think that some people truly have a slow metabolism and MUST exercise several times a week to lose/maintain weight. A great example is my sister who is 18 months older and she has always been slim. She eats whatever she wants but doesnt gain any weight. She is 5"6 and has maintained 120 all these years even after two children.

I am down to 226 now but it has been tough, I have just decided to be heavily commited to eating healthy and exercise. I want to get down to 160-170 and keep it off.

Hi there.

Sorry but I can't help you because the info you've been given sounds really confusing.
I tend to just take the daily calories that I am allowed here and just try to always go under them even if I have excercised.

Hope someone else has some better info for you.

Best of luck.
Brenda

im with her! i tried to follow your 'given advice' and my calories were over 2500! no way i would lose weight like that!

figure out wha tis right for you. And remember that Fitness Pal is making a PREDICTION when it says 1.2 lb. You may find that you lose more. You may also find you cannot get in all the calories that your nutritionist is suggesting. When you are eating healty, that really is quite a bit of food.

Less is not necessarily better, in terms of eating enough and losing weight. 1200 calories isn't really enough for most people, long term.

That said, I don't know where your professional got that calculation. My RMR is 1800 (tested in a lab). I only burn about 300 more calories a day because I am very sedentary (two desk jobs). I know this because I wear a fitbit that measures my steps, energy output and calculates my calories. Right now I'm not working out, but I've found that I don't really burn as much as the machines or MFP say I do at focused exercise (working out). So my multiplication factor is around 1.2 - ie: 1800 x 1.2 = maintenance for me.

My suggestion is to try different calorie goals to see what works for you. Start with an offsite calculator and add the activity factor for how active your lifestyle is, then subract 20% to get a deficit to lose weight.

Decent Calculator - http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Activity Factors:

•If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
•If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
•If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
•If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
•If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Note that this includes exercises so you wouldn't add that on top of it.


34 yrs old, 5'7", 240 pounds = 1,854 BMR
Assume lightly active activity factor = 1854 x 1.375 = 2,549 Maintenance (TDEE)
20% deficit = 509
Calorie goal = 2,039

MFP will subtract 500 from TDEE to achieve a goal of 1 pd a week loss, 750 for a 1.5 loss and 1000 for a 2 pd a week loss.

See if you put the settings in MFP to the above - lightly active, 1 pound loss, and see if MFP doesn't come close to 2000 calories a day as your goal.

I don't think what your nutritionist has set you up with is enough of a calories defificit to loose much weight. I'm trying really hard to loose a pound a week right now. I'm working out 4 times a week and burning 400 to 500 calories each time. My calorie amount on here is around 1450 calories a day so sometimes im even below 1200 after exercising and get that warning that its too low so i have to eat some more. To me my own daily goals seem pretty strict and limited but stil i havnt been loosing more then a pound a week.
I think if your commited long term to seeing results then you'll have the ability to try different approaches but i know i wouldnt loose any weight with what you dr has recommended

Go with your nutritionist. What s/he is telling you sounds correct.

For example, MFP has me eating 1200 calories/day as well. But when I did a body comp test I found out that my BMR is around 1940. My 500 calorie a day deficit would put me at NET calories - 1440, not 1200. That being said, the whole 3500 calories = 1 lb. is true, but many factors to consider when you're losing weight so that deficit won't necessarily mean you're losing 1 lb/week.

MFP is a guide. A loose one. Your best bet is to go with what your nutritionist is recommending and adjust as you go along to figure out what works for you. Besides, you aren't paying MFP for individual nutritional advice, but you are paying your certified nutritionist. I'd listen to him/her.