Always hungry?!! Help!

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  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    hbunting86 wrote: »
    According to TDEE calculator I should be eating 1826 per day for maintenance... that's way off what MFP said! The plot thickens...

    I found MFP to agree closely with the BMR estimates of various formulae.

    If you have an active job or lifestyle, you need more calories. You can measure how active you are using various fitness monitors, including your phone. (I use Samsung S Health now. I had a fitbit in the past, but it eventually broke.) Set the BMR calc for "sedentary" and add in the calories from the activity monitor app (I recommend doing this by hand, linking apps seems to be buggy). I mostly (sometimes?) eat 100-200 under the exercise calories to be sure of a deficit, but I always eat all of the BMR calories less target deficit, which is typically 500kcals per day (to lose a pound a week).
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    edited January 2017
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    hbunting86 wrote: »
    According to TDEE calculator I should be eating 1826 per day for maintenance... that's way off what MFP said! The plot thickens...

    MFP is a NEAT calculator, not a BMR or TDEE calculator (though it bases your BMR on the Mifflin St. Jeor formula). NEAT means Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, it is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. So, getting up, doing housework, going to work or school, normal daily activity.

    BMR means basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you need just for your organs to function if you were not moving at all during the day, the number of calories they would feed you in a coma based on your size.

    MFP then asks you what is your level of activity for normal daily activities (not including exercise). Then, you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, and it subtracts a flat number of calories. 1000 cals for 2 pounds per week, 750 for 1.5 pounds per week, 500 for 1 pound a week, or 250 for half a pound per week.

    So, your calorie goal is based on what you input as your lifestyle, and how many pounds you want to lose. If you set this inaccurately, you will have an inaccurate result.

    A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be around the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE - % calorie goal. The only difference is with the TDEE - % method you would eat about the same amount every day, exercise is included and averaged over the week.

    Example:
    MFP Method:
    1300 (amount MFP says to eat)
    -300 (amount you exercised)
    +300 (amount more you ate to fuel the exercise)
    = 1300 NET / 1600 TOTAL calories

    TDEE Method:
    TDEE of 2000 cals x 20% = 400
    2000-400 = 1600 calories.

    Does this clear things up for you?
  • kikicooks
    kikicooks Posts: 1,079 Member
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    hbunting86 wrote: »
    Well yesterday I did an hour body pump class, followed by pilates for an hour, then 20 mins on the treadmill. So pretty long.

    This is a lot of exercise. If this is a typical day then you probably just aren't eating enough.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    hbunting86 wrote: »
    Hi all

    I don't know what's wrong with me today - but I seem to be absolutely ravenous! Like literally hoovering up anything in front of me. Luckily I've kept it healthy... but I'm concerned this will hinder my weight loss. Yesterday I did a pretty intensive workout at the gym, do you think my body is catching up from that? It just seems a bit counterproductive if I exercise and then eat loads to compensate. Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong?

    Any ideas would be great... I'm seriously considering a second serving of dinner as we speak... *argh*

    IMO you are if exercise merely as a way to burn calories. It is so much more.

    Get plenty of exercise and eat to properly fuel your activity with a slight deficit to encourage fat loss.

    Don't neglect sleep, that can deep six the whole thing...
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    deksgrl wrote: »
    hbunting86 wrote: »
    According to TDEE calculator I should be eating 1826 per day for maintenance... that's way off what MFP said! The plot thickens...

    MFP is a NEAT calculator, not a BMR or TDEE calculator (though it bases your BMR on the Mifflin St. Jeor formula). NEAT means Non-exercise activity thermogenesis, it is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. So, getting up, doing housework, going to work or school, normal daily activity.

    BMR means basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you need just for your organs to function if you were not moving at all during the day, the number of calories they would feed you in a coma based on your size.

    MFP then asks you what is your level of activity for normal daily activities (not including exercise). Then, you choose how many pounds per week you want to lose, and it subtracts a flat number of calories. 1000 cals for 2 pounds per week, 750 for 1.5 pounds per week, 500 for 1 pound a week, or 250 for half a pound per week.

    So, your calorie goal is based on what you input as your lifestyle, and how many pounds you want to lose. If you set this inaccurately, you will have an inaccurate result.

    A properly set MFP + exercise calories goal should be around the same ballpark as a properly set TDEE - % calorie goal. The only difference is with the TDEE - % method you would eat about the same amount every day, exercise is included and averaged over the week.

    Example:
    MFP Method:
    1300 (amount MFP says to eat)
    -300 (amount you exercised)
    +300 (amount more you ate to fuel the exercise)
    = 1300 NET / 1600 TOTAL calories

    TDEE Method:
    TDEE of 2000 cals x 20% = 400
    2000-400 = 1600 calories.

    Does this clear things up for you?

    Thanks that's really helpful - definitely clears things up! :D
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
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    J72FIT wrote: »
    hbunting86 wrote: »
    Hi all

    I don't know what's wrong with me today - but I seem to be absolutely ravenous! Like literally hoovering up anything in front of me. Luckily I've kept it healthy... but I'm concerned this will hinder my weight loss. Yesterday I did a pretty intensive workout at the gym, do you think my body is catching up from that? It just seems a bit counterproductive if I exercise and then eat loads to compensate. Maybe I'm thinking about this wrong?

    Any ideas would be great... I'm seriously considering a second serving of dinner as we speak... *argh*

    IMO you are if exercise merely as a way to burn calories. It is so much more.

    Get plenty of exercise and eat to properly fuel your activity with a slight deficit to encourage fat loss.

    Don't neglect sleep, that can deep six the whole thing...

    Thanks - I'm exercising to get fit and because I enjoy it, not for aesthetic purposes alone. I hope to eventually do my personal training qualification so that I can have a career in health and fitness, so I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Not cutting too much, not concentrating on just one area, etc etc. I'm not so fussed about numbers on the scale, but I do want to reduce body fat % and build muscle if that makes sense. Thanks for the help and yes, definitely need to up my sleep quota although that's pretty difficult with a 2 1/2 year old toddler haha!

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