IIFYM vs MFP questions

EricDaPanda
EricDaPanda Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hello, I have a few questions regarding differences found in calculations between MFP and IIFYM.

For gaining weight at 0.5 lb per week, MFP has me at 2700 calories a day for light activity (student at college). On top of this, I generally go to the gym ~1 hour and do cardio ~30 minutes about 5-6 times a week, and adding this into exercise causes me to eat ~3300 calories a day for 0.5 lb / week gain.

IIFYM suggests that under 5 day a week exercise that I should eat 2556 calories a day or 2684 for cautious bulking. I understand IIFYM under cautious may be less than 0.5 lb / week, but even at 10% it is only 2884, which is much less than MFP calculates after exercise.

Can anyone help me to distinguish why there is such a large difference and what I should follow?

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,368 Member
    You're supposed to add exercise calories with MFP.
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    Pick a number between them, eat that for a few weeks. If no gain, bump it up and try again. Much better than any calculator, since those are just averages anyway and will not be right for many people.
  • EricDaPanda
    EricDaPanda Posts: 2 Member
    Yes, but with that addition it causes a difference by ~500 calories.
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
    MFP tends to overestimate burned calories from exercise. I would just go with the 2884 calories a day, add 100 to it if I'm not gaining, and keep adding to that if there is a lack of result.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Pick a number, wait, adjust as required, wait, adjust as required, wait, adjust as required, monitor.
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