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bigorange70
bigorange70 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went in and played with the numbers on my goals. I have had it set to 2 lbs per week loss for a long time. I am 10 lbs away from goal weight. I know alot will fuss but I like where I have it set and am not going to change it as I continue to steadily lose. I lowered it to .5 lbs a week to see what it would set my calorie goal to. It was 2080. I went back and put it at 2 lbs a week and now it says I can only get 1330 a day instead of the 1500 a day that it did have. My question is Why did it change and also I thought it automatically adjusted when you hit certain numbers to keep you on track? 45 male here and 5'10 weigh 170 CW and GW is 160. Thanks for any info.

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    It shouldn't let your goal go under 1500 if you are a male. I suggest contacting customer support.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    A loss of half a pound a week equates to a calorie deficit of 250 cals per day.

    2,080 + 250 = 2,330 cals per day (your TDEE or maintenance calories).

    A loss of 2 ponds per week is a calorie deficit of 1,000 calories per day.

    2,300 cals - 1,000 cals = 1,330 cals per day.

    That said the minimum recommend calorie limit for a man is usually set at 1,500 which is why it was the default before I assume.
  • bigorange70
    bigorange70 Posts: 60 Member
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    I will contact customer support and that is why I thought it was defaulted at 1500 but when it went below today i thought well that is why my weight loss has slowed because I was eating sometimes over 1500 with my exercise calories.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    Keep in mind that the 1500 was also based off your starting weight. When you changed things, it probably recalculated off your current weight. Obviously there would be a difference. From what I've seen, you're supposed to recalculate every 15-20lbs lost
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    capaul42 wrote: »
    Keep in mind that the 1500 was also based off your starting weight. When you changed things, it probably recalculated off your current weight. Obviously there would be a difference. From what I've seen, you're supposed to recalculate every 15-20lbs lost

    This. I mean, it shouldn't go below 1500 because you are a guy...but MFP doesn't automatically recalculate your calorie goals as you lose weight. YOU have to manually change your goal or update it to get it to give you a new calorie amount for your weight.

    Otherwise, it is probably accurate. That's why it's not recommended for people that close to goal to lose that much per week. It's hard to get in a good balance of nutrients, and it is highly likely the person will lose both fat AND muscle with that little left to lose and that ambitious a goal.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
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    bigorange70 wrote: »
    also I thought it automatically adjusted when you hit certain numbers to keep you on track?

    It doesn't do that. You need to manually refresh it from time to time.

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