Need advice on setting calorie goal

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  • MsBuzzkillington
    MsBuzzkillington Posts: 171 Member
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    If MFP is telling you to eat 1900 calories to lose a pound a week, you should be eating 1900 calories, especially since you exercise on a regular basis.

    Sometimes the less you eat, the slower you lose. I would recommend eating 1900.
  • benevempress
    benevempress Posts: 136 Member
    edited April 2016
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    You said you need to "reevaluate your calorie goal to make sure you are in a deficit." An excellent plan if you aren't losing as you expect and you actually know how many calories you have been consuming. But you don't, for several reasons:

    You have log days that are blank.
    You have a lot of food that was prepared by a factory (did you know that they can legally be up to 20% heavier but not lower than the advertised weight?). If you are really trying to get your logging tight and accurate, you're going to have to weigh this stuff too.
    You have a lot of restaurant food that you can't be sure of the calories. Even if Dunkin Donuts tells you that a muffin has 240 calories (for example, not saying you ate a muffin from DD), did YOUR muffin have that many, or was it bigger or smaller than the "average"? The same for a flavored coffee or a restaurant burger or anything made on site. You can't know, so the more of this kind of food that is consumed, the less accurate you can be.
    Calorie burns from exercise equipment are not reliable, which is why so many people advocate eating only a percentage of their exercise calories back.

    Not knowing what your actual calorie consumption has been makes it impossible for someone on the internet to suggest what number will work for you.

    The best advice I have for you is to try to eat food that you have control over; things you can buy at the grocery store, weigh at home, and log. Then weigh and log EVERYTHING. If you do that, you'll know how many calories you are eating and will see if that number is working for your goals and can adjust up or down from there. If you can't do that, this is going to continue to be frustrating for you because you are going to be making decisions without facts.

    You are basically starting over, because you don't know how much you've been eating over the course of a week, so you don't know if you are at a deficit or not. If you need a number suggestion, then pick any number you want between the 1500 you've been sort-of trying and the 1900 that MFP suggests, and then really, really strictly count, weigh, and log every single thing that goes into your mouth. Once you know what number works for you and you are losing at a rate acceptable to you, you can choose to reintroduce food that you aren't quite as sure of the calorie counts if you want to. But having a diet filled with uncertainty isn't a solid place to start.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    mama000 wrote: »
    Fitness pall will calculate calorie needs but I've found 10 times weight wanted works. Want to weigh 150 = 1500 calories. Most people, including myself, don't always track honestly by weighing and measuring food. Exercise is also usually over valued as far as calories. Age or less activity ... multiply by less ... 8 xs =.

    Um no. I've never actually met anyone for whom the 10x desired weight works. I'm 5'2 and maintaining a 30 lb loss at 120 lbs. I never ate less than 1600 to lose. 1200 was too low for me and I'm a petite person.

    OP as others have said, at your current weight, you should definitely be losing at 1500 if your calories in and out are both logged as accurately as possible.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    If you're eating 1300-1500 with exercise and haven't seen any results since January, you might speak with your doctor and explain this. Other things could be going on. Personally, I believe you about weighing and measuring and being accurate with your log.
  • sky_northern
    sky_northern Posts: 119 Member
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    baciodolce18 wrote: »
    @SezxyStef like I said I do weigh everything at home so like the banana I ate while I was out so I couldn't weigh it. What does everyone do for those things when they don't have a scale with them?

    And as for the portions- the pasta I've been eating the past 2 days I did input manually into the recipe builder. Though I will say I'm new to that and I'm not sure how to calculate servings since it just wants me to divide the recipe and not make portions by weight which would obviously be better/easier. If that's what you're referring to regarding the servings.
    I bring my snacks pre-weighted and logged with me most of the time.

    For recipes, I will often use the # of grams of the whole final result of the batch as the # of servings, then I can weigh my portions and track by grams (or if really huge recipe then use 100 grams). I have to adjust the weights of ingredients and number of servings for every time I make a batch.
  • knitty46
    knitty46 Posts: 2 Member
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    baciodolce18, Hi, Thank you for replying to my question. I get to full if I eat more than 1350 and I saw on MFP FB that if your weight wasn't moving down maybe it might be not eating enough of your exercise calorie intake. I haven't moved(exercised) for 2 months. I started going to the gym last month and that could be it also. 2 1/2 weeks been in a rut, so today is a new day, a new month and a new time to get back on track.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    baciodolce18 wrote: »
    I definitely do weigh my food at home and I find it the easiest thing in the world. I don't mind it at all. My only frustration is in logging it because sometimes it's hard to find entries that use weight instead of volume for foods.

    I thought my diary was public so let me check those settings now.

    If the volume in an entry equals the label on a food item - you merely go by the weight also given on the food label.

    You eat say 200 g divided by 120 g serving size (which also says 1 cup) = 1.67 serving sizes.
    You find entry that happens to only mention the 1 cup serving size - you log 1.67 servings.

    And you are as accurate as the label can be.

    Now - anyone reviewing your diary may think you are going by volume - but if they are smart they notice the decimal accurate serving sizes and realize what is going on.

    Because even a medium banana has a weight to it in the entry (when you can weigh it anyway) - and therefore 1.2 servings means you did weigh it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    baciodolce18 wrote: »
    Still though would like advice on what to set calorie goal at. MFP says I can eat 1900 cals (under lightly active) and lose a pound a week. I'd be thrilled to be able to eat 1900 cals and still lose a pound a week.

    Perhaps you like the idea of a daily eating goal that doesn't change, as long as you keep up the average weekly workout routine. That avoids the whole need to log exercise and figure out how much to eat back - because it's already included in the average weekly daily burn (TDEE).

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G7FgNzPq3v5WMjDtH0n93LXSMRY_hjmzNTMJb3aZSxM/edit?usp=sharing

    You didn't mention how long the workouts were of cardio, assuming 1 hr for those 4 days (3-5 avg). If circuit training is in there, same level, not weight lifting yet.

    You mentioned lightly active activity level outside of gym, so kept that.

    Doing a 20% deficit - or 1.1 lb weekly - 2800 TDEE.
    Eating goal - 2238 (as accurate as can be anyway)

    If my assumptions were wrong, you can make a copy of spreadsheet and correct them.
  • SaraD60
    SaraD60 Posts: 3 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Perhaps, like someone else said, you are maybe not eating enough calories....I started out on 22nd February this year weighing around 203lbs (age 55) and "lightly active". I was aiming to lose a pound a week.
    MFP gave me 1600 calories a day to eat. I would exercise (dog walking) for around half an hour a day x 6 to "earn" extra calories AND eat them back. Now then, I have lost 13.5lbs so far (9 weeks). I weigh everything I eat carefully and have fallen off the wagon a few times, but always account for it (chinese takeaways, fish and chips, chocolate you name it). I am not trying to lose quickly and will never be sylph-like. Another stone or two off would make me happy :) but if it takes till Christmas or after, so be it. Good luck anyway.
  • cbihatt
    cbihatt Posts: 319 Member
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    benevempress wrote: »
    You said you need to "reevaluate your calorie goal to make sure you are in a deficit." An excellent plan if you aren't losing as you expect and you actually know how many calories you have been consuming. But you don't, for several reasons:

    You have log days that are blank.
    You have a lot of food that was prepared by a factory (did you know that they can legally be up to 20% heavier but not lower than the advertised weight?). If you are really trying to get your logging tight and accurate, you're going to have to weigh this stuff too.
    You have a lot of restaurant food that you can't be sure of the calories. Even if Dunkin Donuts tells you that a muffin has 240 calories (for example, not saying you ate a muffin from DD), did YOUR muffin have that many, or was it bigger or smaller than the "average"? The same for a flavored coffee or a restaurant burger or anything made on site. You can't know, so the more of this kind of food that is consumed, the less accurate you can be.
    Calorie burns from exercise equipment are not reliable, which is why so many people advocate eating only a percentage of their exercise calories back.

    Not knowing what your actual calorie consumption has been makes it impossible for someone on the internet to suggest what number will work for you.

    The best advice I have for you is to try to eat food that you have control over; things you can buy at the grocery store, weigh at home, and log. Then weigh and log EVERYTHING. If you do that, you'll know how many calories you are eating and will see if that number is working for your goals and can adjust up or down from there. If you can't do that, this is going to continue to be frustrating for you because you are going to be making decisions without facts.

    You are basically starting over, because you don't know how much you've been eating over the course of a week, so you don't know if you are at a deficit or not. If you need a number suggestion, then pick any number you want between the 1500 you've been sort-of trying and the 1900 that MFP suggests, and then really, really strictly count, weigh, and log every single thing that goes into your mouth. Once you know what number works for you and you are losing at a rate acceptable to you, you can choose to reintroduce food that you aren't quite as sure of the calorie counts if you want to. But having a diet filled with uncertainty isn't a solid place to start.

    *I will preface this by saying I did not look at your diary and I only skimmed most of the responses here.*

    This is excellent advice, especially considering you have been "gaining and losing the same 3-4 pounds." That indicates a lack of consistency. I know that when I eat out I am more likely to show a gain that week, usually followed by a big loss the next week when I don't eat out. You don't have to avoid that stuff forever, but it might be a good idea to stay away for a week or two and then keep it limited, going forward.

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