Are your maintain CI goals accurate?

nyponbell
nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
edited November 19 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I'm not at maintenance levels yet (far from it!) but the other day when I weighed myself on my bathroom scale, I got to wondering about it. Because my bathroom scale is one of those "fancy" ones that calculates your BF% and stuff like that - on the scale, my "maintenance level" is about 1650. So I changed my goal to maintain on MFP, but it gave me 2300. And while I know that my scale isn't exactly accurate (it's not that fancy) and I know that MFP isn't either, that's still over 500 calories off.

Is my scale trying to get me to loose weight or is something else going on? Basically, I want to know how people who are maintaining use MFP's suggested calorie intake and if it works for them = is it accurate?

It would be good to know so that, if I have a bad day and go over my weight loss calories in goal, I can still make sure not to go over my maintain goal.

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Go by your own data not by estimations. What's your average calorie intake and how much weight a week are you losing?

    BTW the MFP number is actually 2300 + exercise calories. Do your scales know your activity level or just weight, gender and age. If not it's just a wild guess.

    I only used MFP's estimation as a start point when I started to lose weight and custom set my goal based on actual results after a few weeks. Exactly the same process as finding maintenance calories.
    The estimation was out by about 300 cals per day. Whether that's poor logging or I'm an outlier in terms of RMR compared to an average person my age/size - who knows?
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    @sijomial Thanks! I don't really know how I would custom set it, but that's not something I need to worry about for a while I think, but something to keep in mind for the future. :smile:

    The scale does not know my activity level, just my weight/height etc. So that's why I figure it's off by a lot, especially as I am fairly active during at least half the day.

    I just started logging again this week so I don't know what my consistent current weight-loss is yet, but I will look over the data once I have more to go on.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    When you plugged your info into MFP what activity setting did you use?

    Are you sure the scale isn't calculating your BMR or RMR rather than TDEE? If it is calculating TDEE you must be fairly small already. That's what mine is without exercise (usually around 2000 with exercise) and I'm 5'4" 125 lbs.

    All calculators are just a starting point anyway and you'll have to adjust over time. MFP turned out to guess low for me so I had to add calories later. Personally I would log as accurately as possible while losing, and then use that data to figure out how many calories to add.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Online version....
    Home / Goals / Change Goals / Custom / Continue

    IMHO many people place to much reliance and faith on calculators and gadgets.
    In the end it's only results that matter and that can be achieved as much through consistency as through accuracy.
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    @ILiftHeavyAcrylics I'm not small at all - I just got back to it this past week and I've got 50 pounds to lose. So I'm really jumping the gun here, but I like to know so that I can use it to help me stay within an acceptable CI even when I'm over my goal for the day.

    As for the Activity setting, I picked Lightly Active, as I work in a school and am on my feet a lot during the day.

    I think I'm just going to ignore what the scale says and deal with the maintain calories when I have to.

    @sijomial Thanks, found it. :smile:
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  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    nyponbell wrote: »
    I'm not at maintenance levels yet (far from it!) but I changed my goal to maintain on MFP, and it gave me 2300.

    Basically, I want to know how people who are maintaining use MFP's suggested calorie intake and if it works for them = is it accurate?

    It would be good to know so that, if I have a bad day and go over my weight loss calories in goal, I can still make sure not to go over my maintain goal.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight. Your calorie goal is activity level minus deficit.

    Once you switch to maintenance, your deficit will be zero. So if you were losing at an appropriate rate before, then you'll maintain just fine.

    You say you haven't been logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Until you do that, the accuracy of your calorie goal is irreverent.

    I've successfully maintained for almost a year. I did it by following the advice in the Sexypants post: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • AnnaFit4Life
    AnnaFit4Life Posts: 106 Member
    I've just recently joined MFP and was a maintainer when I joined. I am maintaining at approx 500 calories above what MFP projected for me.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    AnnaFit4Life wrote: »
    I've just recently joined MFP and was a maintainer when I joined. I am maintaining at approx 500 calories above what MFP projected for me.

    That reminds me! Food is fuel, and we should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight or maintain—never the minimum.
  • cenandra
    cenandra Posts: 267 Member
    I have been a maintainer for a long time going on 6 1/2 years now. For me to keep my weight off I have customized my own total calorie consumption. I can gain fairly easy, so do not use MFP's maintenance calculations their to high. As I age, my total calorie consumption needs to be readjusted as I go.

    Good luck to you in your journey!
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    You say you haven't been logging everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Until you do that, the accuracy of your calorie goal is irreverent.

    Um, when did I say that? I have just gotten started again, and I do log everything as accurately as I can and with total honesty. If you mean because I mentioned that sometimes I have bad days, I mean in terms of what I eat, not in terms of not admitting to it. I am fully aware.

    And I'm not talking about my calorie goal at the moment. My question is about the maintain level that MFP sets; because when I do have a day when I'm over my CI goal (for weight loss) I want to make sure that I'm at least below that.


  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I was trying to say that once you've been logging for several months, switching to maintenance is easy peasy.

    It takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. For example, anyone can put anything in the database, so it's full of junk data. It takes time to learn to identify accurate entries.

    There's a steep learning curve for logging, but very little for maintenance. You simply start eating 250 more calories every day.

    I forgot to mention the trial & error part of maintenance: your weight will fluctuate. So it's important to choose a goal range rather a goal weight. (For example +/- 2.5 or 3 lbs.)

    Again, I'm so sorry for not choosing my words more carefully.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    MFP gives me 2,460 light active (without exercise)...so it looks pretty close...I maintain on about 3,000 calories with exercise.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    AnnaFit4Life wrote: »
    I've just recently joined MFP and was a maintainer when I joined. I am maintaining at approx 500 calories above what MFP projected for me.

    That reminds me! Food is fuel, and we should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight or maintain—never the minimum.

    You have just put succinctly my philosophy to weight loss :smile: I like cookies.... if I can eat them and still lose weight, why should I stop eating them?

  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    @editorgrrl It's ok. I guess I'm just sensitive because this time I actually am doing it honestly without lying to myself.

    I try to stick with things I can scan the bar code of (though that's not always accurate, in which case I input it myself) or what the Swedish FDA says about veggies and fruit. I'm a vegetarian and don't really eat much ready made meals, so it's easier for me maybe? I've not found it too much of a problem, although I get what you mean about what other people might put in for nutrition and calories.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Then maintenance will be easy. I would trust MFP over your scale, give it several weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

    It's really as simple as changing your goal from .5 lb. per week to maintenance.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    I have been maintaining for 6+ yr and find MFP accurate with my base maintenance calories.
    I do have to spend time adjusting for exercise expenditure when I start a new programme though. This is due to my height, weight, and age (short, light, and old) being a bit outside the normal range.

    Cheers, h.
  • patrikc333
    patrikc333 Posts: 436 Member
    MFP is very accurate for me, I lost in the way I should have had and I'm maintaining in the way I should, just following MFP indication

    I won't trust a scale for calories prediction

    set your MFP reference and then see how it goes, you might need some adjustments especially if you are very active though, depending on what you want to do
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    MFP is very accurate for me also, but I didn't just dive in and trust it when I started maintanance. I upped my calories a little every week, until my weight began to hold steady. I also have a fitbit, which is pretty close to MFP, it gives me a little more on my more active days though.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    MFP is close enough for me - I have lost 2# on maintenance over 2 months, and recently on vacation for 2 weeks I calculated I should have gained 1.5 to 2# (eating 400-500 calories over what FB said I burned every day) and actually gained .6 # but it could be that either my tracking is not quite right, or FB isn't giving me enough CO. I am still following the MFP recommendations but not I am not freaking out if I am a few hundred calories over in any given week at this point.
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
    Thanks for all the advice! I like to plan well in advance, and I also wanted to have a kind of "back-up" calorie goal for when I have a bad day and I go over my goal, so that I at least don't gain anything.
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