How are my calories being calculated?
mrssberman
Posts: 9 Member
Hi there,
I'm Stephanie, and I'm pretty much brand new to myfitnesspal. I'm in my early 30's, and I've put on about 30ish lbs in the last 8 years or so. It's time to take them off.
I'm confused about how my calories are getting calculated. Because I'm a stay-at-home-spouse (no kids), and I teach piano (sitting, mostly), I chose "Sedentary", however, I do try to get out and walk 20 minutes a day, so I don't know if that is enough that I should actually pick "Lightly Active" (and not log my walking), or if I should stick with Sedentary and log my walking? Anyone know?
Also... I'm really confused by the number of calories I'm supposed to be eating. My goal is 1,370 calories for today, and I've eaten 520 (breakfast & lunch). Dinner will probably be somewhere around 600 calories, which leaves me with ~350 calories still to eat. But I'm not a snack eater. Never have been. How in the world am I supposed to eat all my calories? Or am I supposed to? I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
Help!
I'm Stephanie, and I'm pretty much brand new to myfitnesspal. I'm in my early 30's, and I've put on about 30ish lbs in the last 8 years or so. It's time to take them off.
I'm confused about how my calories are getting calculated. Because I'm a stay-at-home-spouse (no kids), and I teach piano (sitting, mostly), I chose "Sedentary", however, I do try to get out and walk 20 minutes a day, so I don't know if that is enough that I should actually pick "Lightly Active" (and not log my walking), or if I should stick with Sedentary and log my walking? Anyone know?
Also... I'm really confused by the number of calories I'm supposed to be eating. My goal is 1,370 calories for today, and I've eaten 520 (breakfast & lunch). Dinner will probably be somewhere around 600 calories, which leaves me with ~350 calories still to eat. But I'm not a snack eater. Never have been. How in the world am I supposed to eat all my calories? Or am I supposed to? I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
Help!
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Replies
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mrssberman wrote: »I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
No you weren't.
I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but no one puts on 30 lbs eating 1,000 calories per day. Like the vast majority of the population, you're underestimating your caloric intake.
Get a food scale, and weigh all solid foods. Use measuring cups to measure out all liquids. I can guarantee you you're eating a lot more calories than you think.0 -
ceoverturf wrote: »Get a food scale, and weigh all solid foods. Use measuring cups to measure out all liquids. I can guarantee you you're eating a lot more calories than you think.
OP you're gonna see about 70 bajillion variations of exactly this, and it's absolutely solid advice.0 -
I would suggest that you set your activity level at sedentary and then log any additional exercise. You can reassess your activity level after about 6-8 weeks of logging.mrssberman wrote: »I'm confused about how my calories are getting calculated. Because I'm a stay-at-home-spouse (no kids), and I teach piano (sitting, mostly), I chose "Sedentary", however, I do try to get out and walk 20 minutes a day, so I don't know if that is enough that I should actually pick "Lightly Active" (and not log my walking), or if I should stick with Sedentary and log my walking? Anyone know?
Also, you might only want to eat a portion (25%-75%) of your exercise calories since MFP and workout machines can overestimate them.
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Get a food scale. There's a video somewhere on here where it shows how people wildly underestimate how much they're really eating. If I find it I will post it.
edited to add video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KA9AdlhB18o 0 -
I do not understand how you can say that. I put EXACTLY what I ate into myfitnesspal, and that is what it said. (I eat basically the same thing, every day.)ceoverturf wrote: »mrssberman wrote: »I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
No you weren't.
I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but no one puts on 30 lbs eating 1,000 calories per day. Like the vast majority of the population, you're underestimating your caloric intake.
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mrssberman wrote: »
I do not understand how you can say that. I put EXACTLY what I ate into myfitnesspal, and that is what it said. (I eat basically the same thing, every day.)ceoverturf wrote: »mrssberman wrote: »I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
No you weren't.
I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but no one puts on 30 lbs eating 1,000 calories per day. Like the vast majority of the population, you're underestimating your caloric intake.
If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
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Because you said you put on 30 pounds. Unless you started out at around 50 lbs and are 5 years old, you're eating more than 1,000 calories per day (and if by some chance you are only eating 1,000 calories per day, there's an entire population of scientists who would like to study your body to determine how it's creating energy/mass out of virtually nothing).
That said, if you open your diary, we might be able to help you point out errors or ways to make your logging more accurate.0 -
MFP gives you a deficit before exercise. So it's 1370 + any logged workouts (if you haven't logged anything already).
MFP uses estimates for calorie burns....pretty generous ones. Most people knock off 25-50%.
Re: 1,000 calories. MFPs minimum is 1200 (based upon nutritional needs). So if you are gaining at 1,000....you are eating more than you think, or you have some underlying medical condition.
Do you weigh or measure your portions? Also, you have to be careful of which items you use in the database...a good portion are incorrect.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets/p10 -
mrssberman wrote: »
I do not understand how you can say that. I put EXACTLY what I ate into myfitnesspal, and that is what it said. (I eat basically the same thing, every day.)ceoverturf wrote: »mrssberman wrote: »I've always eaten about 1,000 calories a day, even while I put on 30lbs, so I'm not sure how eating more is actually going to help me lose weight?
No you weren't.
I'm not trying to be mean or snarky, but no one puts on 30 lbs eating 1,000 calories per day. Like the vast majority of the population, you're underestimating your caloric intake.
Everyone who's been in your shoes can understand how he could say that. User Error is simply the first hurdle to surpass.0 -
How am I supposed to weigh a recipe, say, of like a skillet dish, or something like that? I put the recipe into MFP as a recipe, said it serves 4, and that I ate one serving of it. How is that wrong?strong_curves wrote: »If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
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mrssberman wrote: »
How am I supposed to weigh a recipe, say, of like a skillet dish, or something like that? I put the recipe into MFP as a recipe, said it serves 4, and that I ate one serving of it. How is that wrong?strong_curves wrote: »If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
Did you weigh/measure each ingredient?0 -
Yes, of course, we followed the recipe exactly.ceoverturf wrote: »Did you weigh/measure each ingredient?
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mrssberman wrote: »
How am I supposed to weigh a recipe, say, of like a skillet dish, or something like that? I put the recipe into MFP as a recipe, said it serves 4, and that I ate one serving of it. How is that wrong?strong_curves wrote: »If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
Weigh each ingredient before it goes into the pan / skillet / whatever. You're eating more than 1k calories, or you're the first exception to the 1st law of thermodynamics in 165 years.0 -
Use the recipe builder, located here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/boxmrssberman wrote: »
How am I supposed to weigh a recipe, say, of like a skillet dish, or something like that? I put the recipe into MFP as a recipe, said it serves 4, and that I ate one serving of it. How is that wrong?strong_curves wrote: »If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
Enter each ingredient and the amount (weight) that you used. Cook the whole recipe and then weigh the finished product. Either enter 4 as the servings and divide the finished weight by 4, or enter the entire weight in grams as the serving size.
Example (with completely made up numbers): You make mashed potatoes with 500g of baking potatoes, 1/4 cup of milk, and 2 tbsp of butter. The finished bowl of mashed potatoes weighs 600g. You eat 200g of mashed potatoes.
Either enter 600 as the serving size and log your 200 servings or enter 3 as the serving size and log one serving. I always note the serving size in the title (ie per 1g or 100g or 200g per serving)
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mrssberman wrote: »
Yes, of course, we followed the recipe exactly.ceoverturf wrote: »Did you weigh/measure each ingredient?
Following a recipe doesn't always mean you weighed everything.
A very common example.
Recipe calls for 1 lb of ground beef.
I don't know about you, but when I go to the meat counter and ask for a pound of ground beef, somehow I always end up with about 1.1 lbs of meat.
If you input "ground beef 1 lb" into MFP, but you actually added 1.1 lbs of beef to the recipe, now suddenly your accuracy is off.
It may not seem like much, but multiply that by every ingredient in every recipe, and suddenly you're eating 300-400 more calories per day than you think.
But honestly, at this point all we can do is guess. If you really want specific answers, you'll need to open your diary.
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You're right, that doesn't seem like much, but I can certainly see how it would add up after awhile. I know that we've run into that same ground beef example that you've given.ceoverturf wrote: »It may not seem like much, but multiply that by every ingredient in every recipe, and suddenly you're eating 300-400 more calories per day than you think.
Do you have a recommendation for a good, inexpensive food scale?
I just feel so hopeless and upset right now. I need to lose 30lbs, and my husband needs to gain about 20, and I don't know how to make that happen without driving us both (but especially him) crazy.
Am I really supposed weigh/measure spices like basil, garlic, etc? (sugar, salt, vinegar, etc I understand measuring, but the spices.... really?)
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Look up the spices. Most of them have almost no calorie/carb profile. 10 calories in spices a day just won't matter. You can walk for 5 minutes and burn that.
I really suggest you measure and track for 30 days, but not change a thing. That will give you a realistic profile of how you normally eat and you'll start seeing where you're going wrong. You can track every nutrient if you want, but make sure you're tracking carbs, protein, and fiber daily. Once you're altering your food, stick to the MFP numbers and you'll slowly start seeing some action.0 -
I just picked up a cheap OXO food scale from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and it has worked well for me.mrssberman wrote: »
You're right, that doesn't seem like much, but I can certainly see how it would add up after awhile. I know that we've run into that same ground beef example that you've given.ceoverturf wrote: »It may not seem like much, but multiply that by every ingredient in every recipe, and suddenly you're eating 300-400 more calories per day than you think.
Do you have a recommendation for a good, inexpensive food scale?
I just feel so hopeless and upset right now. I need to lose 30lbs, and my husband needs to gain about 20, and I don't know how to make that happen without driving us both (but especially him) crazy.
Am I really supposed weigh/measure spices like basil, garlic, etc? (sugar, salt, vinegar, etc I understand measuring, but the spices.... really?)
Everyone has to determine the accuracy that works for them, but I don't weigh my spices. I'll measure them if I usually do in the recipe, but I don't when I just season up some meat with salt/pepper/garlic.
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mrssberman wrote: »
You're right, that doesn't seem like much, but I can certainly see how it would add up after awhile. I know that we've run into that same ground beef example that you've given.ceoverturf wrote: »It may not seem like much, but multiply that by every ingredient in every recipe, and suddenly you're eating 300-400 more calories per day than you think.
Do you have a recommendation for a good, inexpensive food scale?
I just feel so hopeless and upset right now. I need to lose 30lbs, and my husband needs to gain about 20, and I don't know how to make that happen without driving us both (but especially him) crazy.
Am I really supposed weigh/measure spices like basil, garlic, etc? (sugar, salt, vinegar, etc I understand measuring, but the spices.... really?)
Personally I don't worry about spices...but certainly all meats, vegetables, sauces, etc.
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Does anyone know if this is a good scale?0
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http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Elegant/dp/B004164SRA/ref=pd_sim_79_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=16G924ET2960XK4V857C
I use this scale. It's accurate for me and super easy to use. When you get yours change the unit to grams and put a nickel on it. It should read 5 grams. If it doesn't then it is not working properly.0 -
Oh good! You use the same one I just posted! I'll have to get it. Great tip about the nickel, thank you. 0
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Yay! This didn't have to reach page two!0
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Hahaha... I take it that is a good thing?shrinkingletters wrote: »Yay! This didn't have to reach page two! 0 -
mrssberman wrote: »
Hahaha... I take it that is a good thing?shrinkingletters wrote: »Yay! This didn't have to reach page two!
It means you didn't fight people and tell them how mean and stupid they were for telling you that human error is to blame when it comes to the inaccuracies of your food logging (because 99.999999% of the time that's the case and a food scale will remove that human error).
Also I would weigh things like sugar because that is a calorie dense item that adds up quickly - If I add 2 tsp to each of my 3 cups of coffee that's 90 calories I wasn't counting. Salt I track as close as I can because sodium and I are not pals, and if I'm retaining weight more than I feel I should be I can look back and say "Oh yeah, I was over quite a bit on my sodium 4 of 7 days last week.. that explains it."0 -
Use the recipe builder, located here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/boxmrssberman wrote: »
How am I supposed to weigh a recipe, say, of like a skillet dish, or something like that? I put the recipe into MFP as a recipe, said it serves 4, and that I ate one serving of it. How is that wrong?strong_curves wrote: »If you aren't using a food scale to weigh every single thing you eat/drink you could be eating more than you realize.
Enter each ingredient and the amount (weight) that you used. Cook the whole recipe and then weigh the finished product. Either enter 4 as the servings and divide the finished weight by 4, or enter the entire weight in grams as the serving size.
Example (with completely made up numbers): You make mashed potatoes with 500g of baking potatoes, 1/4 cup of milk, and 2 tbsp of butter. The finished bowl of mashed potatoes weighs 600g. You eat 200g of mashed potatoes.
Either enter 600 as the serving size and log your 200 servings or enter 3 as the serving size and log one serving. I always note the serving size in the title (ie per 1g or 100g or 200g per serving)
In this example you should weigh the butter in grammes and measure out the milk in ml in a jug0 -
shrinkingletters wrote: »Yay! This didn't have to reach page two!
Still on page 1.
My example for weighing things.
Sustagen, says 3 teaspoons or 15g is a serving. I put 3 teaspoons then I decided to weigh it.
To get to 15g it was more like 5 teaspoons. Maybe my teaspoons aren't actually teaspoons
Weighing things eliminated a lot of estimations.0 -
Weigh everything on your food scale and to keep you both sane...here is how i do it.
I cook for two,,
Same meals only my husband gets a bit more than me... the bigger piece of meat a bit more potato etc
When i make salad i make two bowls lettuce tom and cucumber for both of us..the same just like some other things..but his gets the ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing..mine the bolthouse dressing.
He has cheese over it mine not.
So it is the small things and changes that makes the different that he can gain weight and you lose weight.
You eat just less than you use too. You can eat everything you ate before..but less!
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@merkavar ...wow...awesome profile change ...congratsshrinkingletters wrote: »Yay! This didn't have to reach page two!
Still on page 1.
My example for weighing things.
Sustagen, says 3 teaspoons or 15g is a serving. I put 3 teaspoons then I decided to weigh it.
To get to 15g it was more like 5 teaspoons. Maybe my teaspoons aren't actually teaspoons
Weighing things eliminated a lot of estimations.
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