Does MFP account for this?

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  • Xenocat
    Xenocat Posts: 13
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    Great, thanks for all the replies... would have replied sooner, but I was doing my workout :P

    But yeah, I didn't start the thread to debate weather or not you SHOULD eat back exercise cals, I was just curious if MFP takes into account the calories you would have burned if you had done nothing at all.

    I love MFP.. I've lost 40lbs since 1 Jan 2011 thanks to this site. I just happened across that article today, and was curious how it applied to MFP's calculations.

    My personal take on the whole 'eat back cal's bit.. is do eat them back.. to a point. I try to maintain 1550/cals per day (which is in line w/ my BMR to loose 1.5-2lbs/week) Some days I eat back more than my exercise cals to come up w/ the number, some times I dont.

    I think the important thing is for people to educate themselves on what exactly MFP is calculating for you, instead of just blindly doing what the numbers say... if that makes any sense!

    Cheers!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    I think the important thing is for people to educate themselves on what exactly MFP is calculating for you, instead of just blindly doing what the numbers say... if that makes any sense!

    Indeed! Education is key. Seems very few do this. Hats off to everyone who does check their own numbers from time to time to make sure things are making sense.
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    So, let's do a real life example... because all your posts are making me second guess myself. My BMR is.... 1666. Now according to MFP, my intake should be... 1430 calories. Now you all say that included going to work, doing the dishes and laundry stuff. BTW, my activity is Active, I work in Surgery so we are always moving. Anyways, if I work out on the treadmil and burn 300 calories, MFP now makes my intake for today...1730, right? But that is over the 1666. How can I lose if my new intake is bumped up to over my BMR?

    Should I just trust the site knows what to do and not worry about it?
  • Xenocat
    Xenocat Posts: 13
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    So, let's do a real life example... because all your posts are making me second guess myself. My BMR is.... 1666. Now according to MFP, my intake should be... 1430 calories. Now you all say that included going to work, doing the dishes and laundry stuff. BTW, my activity is Active, I work in Surgery so we are always moving. Anyways, if I work out on the treadmil and burn 300 calories, MFP now makes my intake for today...1730, right? But that is over the 1666. How can I lose if my new intake is bumped up to over my BMR?

    Should I just trust the site knows what to do and not worry about it?

    Thats exactly why I some times eat them all back, and some times dont. It really gets confusing some times, but I just go by what feels right. If your cals to loose weight based on your bmr is 1666, then thats the number I'd shoot for, regardless of what MFP says. Eat back enough to hit that number for your total cals, and call it a day, imo.

    I came across several instances where eating back all my exercise cals would put me OVER my BMR rate to loose weight... One could make the arguement that you're eating too much, and thats why the numbers are off, but meh.. I just use my exercise to buffer the difference. My exercise is to build muscle and get fit, and buffer my caloric needs.
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    ok, so I am doing it right then. Thanks for the fast response! I usually eat back enough to make the 1430 total for the day and not whatever MFP tells me like in my example above.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    So, let's do a real life example... because all your posts are making me second guess myself. My BMR is.... 1666. Now according to MFP, my intake should be... 1430 calories. Now you all say that included going to work, doing the dishes and laundry stuff. BTW, my activity is Active, I work in Surgery so we are always moving. Anyways, if I work out on the treadmil and burn 300 calories, MFP now makes my intake for today...1730, right? But that is over the 1666. How can I lose if my new intake is bumped up to over my BMR?

    Should I just trust the site knows what to do and not worry about it?

    1666 is not your BMR it's your total calories burned in a day. Somtimes called TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). BMR is the number of calories you would burn in a coma. As long as we're not in a coma, we're burning more than BMR.

    So take take your 1666 + 300 exercise calories. On that day you burned 1966 calories. If you eat 1730, then you've eaten less than you burned aka you're at a calorie deficit.

    The math is dead simple. I think the more we talk about it, the harder it seems :)

    This blog post may also help:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/baisleac/view/net-calories-bmr-tdee-reference-96731
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    So, let's do a real life example... because all your posts are making me second guess myself. My BMR is.... 1666. Now according to MFP, my intake should be... 1430 calories. Now you all say that included going to work, doing the dishes and laundry stuff. BTW, my activity is Active, I work in Surgery so we are always moving. Anyways, if I work out on the treadmil and burn 300 calories, MFP now makes my intake for today...1730, right? But that is over the 1666. How can I lose if my new intake is bumped up to over my BMR?

    Should I just trust the site knows what to do and not worry about it?

    1666 is not your BMR it's your total calories burned in a day. Somtimes called TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). BMR is the number of calories you would burn in a coma. As long as we're not in a coma, we're burning more than BMR.

    So take take your 1666 + 300 exercise calories. On that day you burned 1966 calories. If you eat 1730, then you've eaten less than you burned aka you're at a calorie deficit.

    The math is dead simple. I think the more we talk about it, the harder it seems :)

    OH!!! "lightbulb moment"!!! so really if I add my TDEE calories + any exercise for that day... = 1966. Then MFP says I should have 1430 +300 = 1730... so as long as I am a negative then I am all good! I totally get it now!


    Thank you soooo much!
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    OH!!! "lightbulb moment"!!! so really if I add my TDEE calories + any exercise for that day... = 1966. Then MFP says I should have 1430 +300 = 1730... so as long as I am a negative then I am all good! I totally get it now!

    Thank you soooo much!

    BINGO! That is really all there is to it.

    But keep in the back of your mind that MFP's TDEE estimate for you might be a bit off, and there always a some margin of error in the way we log our food and exercise. But as long as we stay consistent and make changes gradually, we can eventually find our sweet spots.

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