Confused!!

samrichards22
samrichards22 Posts: 16 Member
edited 5:58AM in Getting Started
Hi there!! I finished entries yesterday and today on minus a few calories.. However it has said on both occasions if every day were like today you would b 11.5 in 5 weeks I'm currently 11.12 but minus to me means I've eaten too much ???

Replies

  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    nope,that just means if you ate everyday like you did yesterday and today(same foods,same amounts,etc) that you would be that weight. but its just an estimate. if it were accurate I would be at goal already and Im not. so dont worry about that thing telling you that.
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  • hlnebel
    hlnebel Posts: 71 Member
    If you've gone over your calorie goal by a few, you can still be losing weight. As long as you're not eating over your maintenance calories. Does that answer your question?
  • samrichards22
    samrichards22 Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks for the replies. How do I find out my maintenance calories?? It says 1,310 then food (what I've eaten) + exercise then the total is minus and in red ??? Sorry just new to it all so struggling
  • hlnebel
    hlnebel Posts: 71 Member
    What do you have your weekly loss set to? If you're trying to lose 1 lb. per week, for example, add 500 to your daily goal, and that would be your maintenance (500 x 7 days = 3500; 3500 calories in 1 lb. of fat).
  • GsKiki
    GsKiki Posts: 392 Member
    Don't worry about the estimates, for most people they are wrong.
    Just look at the tendency of them, if your weight is predicted going up or down.
  • totaldetermination
    totaldetermination Posts: 1,184 Member
    (this comment is if you are using the website, I'm not sure how it applys to the app)

    The big number next to your picture, and immediately below the words 'Calories Remaining' needs to be zero (or positive). It should not be red or negative. If the total is in red then you have eaten more than your allocated calories, which is why it is saying that you will gain weight.

    Once you are managing to keep that number green, then you can look into eating half your exercise calories. This means that at the end of the day that big number should be green and should be about half of the number above the word 'exercise'. eg if the number above the word 'exercise' is 400 then your big number should be 200. This is because it is very difficult to estimate the number of calories burned during exercise and so it is better to be a bit cautious and not eat as many as MFP says that you burned.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    In the guided setup, there is an option to Maintain current weight. You can use that, but if you want to enter a custom goal, go double check that with some other online calculators. They'll all be different, but they should be pretty close. Average those and enter that as a manual calorie goal.

    And you don't have to click the Finish button if you don't want to. It's really only there for motivation, and lots of people don't use it. Just pay attention to your calories remaining, and if you've go over, sit down and figure out why so you know what to change for the future.
  • samrichards22
    samrichards22 Posts: 16 Member
    Thank you all so much for your support
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