Check my Total/Net calories. Still Ok?

Your goal is something you should try to hit, not be under. If you are aiming to lose weight, you have a deficit built into your goal already. Why do you have several days netting under 1000 calories?

How much are you losing a week

How much weight total are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is the most aggressive weight loss goal MFP will allow and it is recommended for people with 75 or more pounds to lose. You are currently losing faster than that.

@merekins What app is the screenshot from?

Based on the amount you have left to lose (40-60 lbs) You should probably change your goal rate of loss in MFP to 1 lb/week. What calorie target does MFP suggest for that? That is your NEAT goal, so yes, when you exercise, you are meant to eat back at least some of those calories.

Right now you are losing faster than is recommended, and it's often something that results in negative consequences: loss of lean body mass, hair loss, brittle nails, sallow skin, fatigue. Not to mention that if you are actively exercising you need energy to fuel your workouts.

If you eat at net, you will lose, as long as your exercise calorie estimate is accurate.

The MFP rule is eat to net, unless you have reason to believe your exercise calories are over-estimated, and as long as you didn't include your exercise in your "activity level" setting (which is designed to be just work & daily life stuff). But adjust your calorie goal, once you have enough personal data to evaluate.

With 39-54 pounds to go, 2 pounds a week is getting risky, let alone more than that. My suggestion would be to start eating to net goal, and see where your rate lands, as a first step.

When MFP sets your base calorie goal, it has your target weight loss rate built into it, assuming zero exercise. If you exercise, you burn more, so you eat more to preserve that same target weight loss rate.

MFP's initial estimates are based on population averages in large studies, but there's a bit of individual variation around that average, so once you have a month or 6 weeks of experience, you adjust your calories to dial in a just-for-you accurate healthy loss rate.

Conservatively, a rule of thumb is that you want to be losing no more than about 1% of then-current body weight weekly, less as you get within around 50 pounds of goal.

Li'l ol' granny type that I am, I just want to see you stay strong and healthy while you achieve your weight loss & fitness goals!

Editing to add: You don't have to eat back exercise calories the same day if your exercise is uneven. You can look at weekly totals instead, if you prefer.

merekins wrote: »

I've definitely been doing it wrong if you Suppose to eat at Net. I typically am under anywhere from 3k-5k. I've been doing strength training too but worried I'm losing muscle rather than fat now. Ugh.

To be honest, you're probably not going to be losing much muscle if you're still just starting to workout and have a fair bit of weight to lose.

Considering you still have about 50 pounds to lose to get to your goal then losing 2 pounds per week is fine. If you start to feel lethargic and sore all the time, then you will need to start eating a bit more on the days your train to keep your body working efficiently, otherwise, losing 2lbs per week is sustainable until you start getting within a few percent of essential fat which is pretty far off now.