MFP calorie suggestion vs. PiYo calorie suggestion

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Sam_Lam88
Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm starting PiYo and was reading over the papers that came with my DVD's last night. If I go by their calculations, I should be eating 2220 calories. MFP has me at 1200. I know that I should be eating more because I'll be working out more, but I know that the PiYo workouts cannot possibly be burning 1000+ calories in a 25 minute video. For those who have followed a program like this, did you just ignore their calorie suggestion completely and just keep on doing what you were before? Or should I be shooting for somewhere in the middle of the two?

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  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight, and learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly.

    Read the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    What are your stats? MFP goal is dependent upon what you entered in when you set it up. It could very well be you chose a weight loss plan that is too aggressive.
  • Sam_Lam88
    Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
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    I am logging everything I eat and tracking honestly (I only drink water). I'm just trying to figure out what exactly my calorie goal should be...
  • Sam_Lam88
    Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
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    I'm currently 5'4" and weigh 220 as of yesterday morning. I'm down from 237 when I started tracking on May 15. I'd like to lose as fast as possible while staying healthy (so 2 lbs/week).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    It's because you picked a 2 pound a week loss, which is pretty aggressive. I'd switch to one pound a week, personally.

    I do ignore Beachbody food recommendations though because they typically ask me to eat too little. To be fair though, PiYo doesn't really burn a ton of calories anyway.
  • Sam_Lam88
    Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
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    I haven't been struggling at all with the 1200 calories. I was just surprised to see it differ by over 1000 calories/day.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I'd like to lose as fast as possible while staying healthy (so 2 lbs/week).

    The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off—that's just the way the human body works. Undereating will not get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, it usually leads to bingeing.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I'm currently 5'4" and weigh 220 as of yesterday morning. I'm down from 237 when I started tracking on May 15. I'd like to lose as fast as possible while staying healthy (so 2 lbs/week).

    2 lbs per week - for a while anyway - is a reasonable goal. But that calorie goal seeems a bit low. The PiYO number seems quite high though.

    In the end, they're all just estimations anyway - trial and error is going to give you the best answer. So maybe set a goal of 1500 or so for a few weeks, and see if you're getting the results you want. Adjust a bit up or down at that time if necessary.

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I haven't been struggling at all with the 1200 calories. I was just surprised to see it differ by over 1000 calories/day.

    Food is fuel, and we should all be looking for the maximum number of calories at which we lose weight—never the minimum.
  • Sam_Lam88
    Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
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    editorgrrl wrote: »
    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I'd like to lose as fast as possible while staying healthy (so 2 lbs/week).

    The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off—that's just the way the human body works. Undereating will not get you to goal any more quickly. In fact, it usually leads to bingeing.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.

    I have quite a bit to lose. I don't think you're quite understanding my question. 2 lbs/week is a drop in the bucket for me right now. I'm not trying to undercut to make it go faster. I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating in a healthy way without undereating or overeating.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I don't think you're quite understanding my question. 2 lbs/week is a drop in the bucket for me right now. I'm not trying to undercut to make it go faster. I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating in a healthy way without undereating or overeating.

    What I'm trying to say is trust your MFP calorie goal for a few weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.
  • Sam_Lam88
    Sam_Lam88 Posts: 57 Member
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    editorgrrl wrote: »
    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I don't think you're quite understanding my question. 2 lbs/week is a drop in the bucket for me right now. I'm not trying to undercut to make it go faster. I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating in a healthy way without undereating or overeating.

    What I'm trying to say is trust your MFP calorie goal for a few weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.

    Right, I have been trusting my MFP goal, but I'm asking about how to adjust it accurately with a new fitness plan in place. I have not been working out for the month and a half that I've been tracking so far.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I have been trusting my MFP goal, but I'm asking about how to adjust it accurately with a new fitness plan in place. I have not been working out for the month and a half that I've been tracking so far.

    When you log your exercise, you're given more calories to eat. Your default MFP calorie goal is activity level minus deficit,
  • sheltol
    sheltol Posts: 120 Member
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    PiYO has the nutrition guide to help you determine the calorie you need for PiYO. MFP is good for tracking your calorie/macros but use the guide that came with your program.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    editorgrrl wrote: »
    SLampear8806 wrote: »
    I don't think you're quite understanding my question. 2 lbs/week is a drop in the bucket for me right now. I'm not trying to undercut to make it go faster. I'm trying to make sure that I'm eating in a healthy way without undereating or overeating.

    What I'm trying to say is trust your MFP calorie goal for a few weeks, then reevaluate your progress.

    Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.

    Right, I have been trusting my MFP goal, but I'm asking about how to adjust it accurately with a new fitness plan in place. I have not been working out for the month and a half that I've been tracking so far.

    The way the MFP plan works is you add back in exercise calories. So you'd log something for PiYo and for other exercise you do. At 1200 I'd probably eat most of it back, but PiYo likely doesn't burn that much anyway, since it's not really cardio, right? It's probably in the database already, or you could log pilates or something like that.

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