Do you trust Calories Remaining?
Steelheader102
Posts: 17 Member
For those of you who have had great success using MFP, I was wondering if you trusted the Remaining Calories calculation?
On average I am finishing the day with 700 calories remaining... I've lost about 10 lb in the last month and things are going well.
However, since tracking what I eat and shedding light on the junk (and not eating it anymore) I am having terrible trouble eating my 1600cpd goal.
So the combination of what I eat, how much and my daily activity puts me at 700 calorie remaining each day, on average...
Is this an invitation to eat a little more or have a snack or is it a false l promise?
On a lot of days, when I close out my day I get the warning saying I'm not eating enough although I'm satisfied...
What gives?
On average I am finishing the day with 700 calories remaining... I've lost about 10 lb in the last month and things are going well.
However, since tracking what I eat and shedding light on the junk (and not eating it anymore) I am having terrible trouble eating my 1600cpd goal.
So the combination of what I eat, how much and my daily activity puts me at 700 calorie remaining each day, on average...
Is this an invitation to eat a little more or have a snack or is it a false l promise?
On a lot of days, when I close out my day I get the warning saying I'm not eating enough although I'm satisfied...
What gives?
1
Replies
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You're eating 900 cals a day? That's not enough to get adequate nutrition.
You didn't get to the stage of needing to lose weight by only eating a few calories. Eat more calorie dense stuff. Wjat you are currently doing is no more healthy than being over weight.10 -
I'm eating more calories, but the remaining calorie adjustment is a combination of anything under 1600 and what it"claims" I burnt in activity...
Other than a long walk a few times a week I don't "work out". .. I just go to work everyday...
I come in close to 1600 calories eaten each day, but not always. I eat till I'm satisfied and I'm not starving...0 -
By the way, I eat a lot of protein, healthy meats everyday. I eat salad, veggies, fibers everyday. Of course I could eat more but I'm not seeing it as necessary.
The question is do people trust the remaining calories as a chance or opportunity to eat more or is it a myth?
I have about 40lbs to go.1 -
I eat my calorie goal 1290 and I also eat back about 1/2 - 3/4 of my activity calories I earn so yes I trust it and yes I consistently lose weight doing so.
ETA I currently have 34 lbs to go.1 -
Steelheader102 wrote: »By the way, I eat a lot of protein, healthy meats everyday. I eat salad, veggies, fibers everyday. Of course I could eat more but I'm not seeing it as necessary.
The question is do people trust the remaining calories as a chance or opportunity to eat more or is it a myth?
I have about 40lbs to go.
With 40 lbs to go, if you're losing 1lb/week or less, you're fine. If you're consistently losing more than a lb, eat more. (I say 'consistently,' because, for example, last week I lost 0.2 lbs. The same the week before that. This week? 2.6. So, on average, over the last 3 weeks, I have lost 1lb a week. I'm chalking up the smaller losses to TOM and/or other water weight issues, but in light of those modest losses of the past two weeks, I'm not worried about the significantly higher loss this morning. If I'd lost over 1lb every week for the last 3, it would me more concerning).
I eat back 50% of my exercise calories.7 -
Why would anyone not want to eat enough food to be healthy? I never understand these threads.
@Steelheader102, you just started this. Sure, you can under-eat for a while without consequences, especially when you have 40/50 pounds to lose. Just be aware that you will crash (energy-wise, and possibly with health problems like hair loss, skin and nail problems, fatigue, irritability, depression, anxiety, etc.) sometime soon.
A couple more points are:
1.) How are you calculating your calories in/out? Do you weigh and measure everything you eat? If not, it's possible you are miscalculating. Are you using a Fitbit or some other device? If so, go to this group for more info on how to set it up. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
2.) I always ate all my calories needed due to exercise. Again, you'll crash at some point and when that happens, it's difficult to find a good calorie level afterwards. I lost weight right on schedule by eating all of my exercise/activity-earned calories. It is the way this site is set up and intended to be used.
Here are the Important sticky threads, I hope you will take the time to read them: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
(especially the thread about sexypants.)
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No. That's why I never log when I DO actually work out. I walk nearly every day for 30min or more (dog walking business) but sometimes I swim or walk on the beach. My diary makes me look lazy though.8
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I it also depends on you settings and how you are tracking your exercise. For example I have a Fitbit I use to track my exercise so I set my activity level to sedentary on mfp and I eat back about half of my exercise calories and have been steadily losing weight about on track. The reason I only eat half back is that Fit it hr models tend to overestimate calories burned while exercising. Some devices are better I've heard Apple Watch and Garmin tend to be fairly accurate and the mfp app estimates are fairly safe to go by.3
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Yes, 700 deficit is too much! If it is average, then some days are more. Much too much!0
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Well if you all are telling me I need to eat more, I'll try to get back half of remaining calories and see how it goes.
By the way, I'm using Google Fit in my phone to talk activity.0 -
I don't trust the calories either, I have found if I eat into my exercise calories I stop losing. Everyone is different, if 700 excess is working for you and your not lacking energy etc it is the right balance. The calories allotted are based on bmr etc which can be up to 20% out.8
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I don't see anything wrong with not eating back excersise calories. I'm sure some days it will be more some days less. I personally wouldn't force myself to eat if I'm full and satisfied. I eat, not because it tells me I have calories remaining, I eat because I'm hungry. I really don't pay attention to remaining calories.4
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I try to stay at or just above alloted calories, if I am above I make sure my adjusted is higher by doing something. If I workout I make sure I hit my protein levels. I have lost 47 pounds at a rate of 3 pounds per month.2
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The question is - what is your goal? How many lbs a week? You've lost 2.5 lbs a week. So unless your goal is that, you're eating too little. But even if your goal is 2 lbs a week and you only lost 2.5 lbs a week with an extra 700 calorie deficit, you're way underestimating your food intake anyway (or you would have lost 17 lbs).
That being said, with 40 lbs to lose, personally I'd eat a little bit more.3 -
Even though I have a fitness tracker, I don't trust it. I shoot for my calories, and I view any that my fitness tracker counts as burned as a bonus gift to myself. It's very frustrating, but there really isn't a reliable way to see how much you've burned exactly.2
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notquitecrazey wrote: »Even though I have a fitness tracker, I don't trust it. I shoot for my calories, and I view any that my fitness tracker counts as burned as a bonus gift to myself. It's very frustrating, but there really isn't a reliable way to see how much you've burned exactly.
You'd be better to eat half back.
But as to how to know the accuracy, it just takes a bit of time to be able to compare your expected loss based on your calorie limits vs. your actual loss. Losing fast than you plan, eat more. Average of 4-6 weeks is a good place to start.3 -
I agree with there being some sort of miscalculation. If you're feeling fine and losing fine, then there's an error in calories burned or calories consumed. Can you just not enter your normal daily activities? Only enter in official "workouts"?1
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Well regardless if things are recording correct or are accurate or not, I'm going to keep going as I am.. staying slightly under my calorie goals and if the app says I didn't eat enough, I'll be the judge of that.
I'll weigh in again on Friday and report back any changes1 -
notquitecrazey wrote: »Even though I have a fitness tracker, I don't trust it. I shoot for my calories, and I view any that my fitness tracker counts as burned as a bonus gift to myself. It's very frustrating, but there really isn't a reliable way to see how much you've burned exactly.
also remember your fitness tracker isn't just showing calories burnt from exercise but also from general daily movement and living1 -
Use weight trend not daily weight (especially when measuring only once a week or once a month) to judge progress--weight loss is variable and water weight changes faster than fat levels.
Fitness trackers are not accurate, your food logging is not accurate, the food values you use are not accurate.... but if you consistently and faithfully log to the best of your ability and use a device that is able to consistently capture your activities, then you can adjust based on your results over a period of time (3 to 5 weeks, including TOM if applicable). And that WOULD be accurate when it comes to you!
Based on your results (faster than 2lbs a week), you are relatively under-eating. Doing so is not necessarily good for you. You will retain more lean mass by limiting your losses to 0.5 to 0.75% of your bodyweight per week. Lots of people will say that losses up to 1% a week are fine too.
Note that there are no bonus points for getting to maintenance fast. The bonus points will accumulate when and if you manage to maintain your loss for three, five, or even more years.
Various trackers work better or worse for particular individuals based on how close to the average these individuals are and on the type of activity the trackers are trying to account for.
n=1. According to Google Fit I over-eat by approximately 25% and should be gaining weight like crazy. According to Fitbit I should be able to achieve the results I am achieving AND eat about 5% more Calories a day. On average I eat ~2950 Cal....4
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