Calorie needs on another site

Options
vettle
vettle Posts: 621 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just punched in my information on this site: http://nutrition.about.com/od/changeyourdiet/a/calguide.htm to see how many calories I need to maintain my weight. I thought the results were interesting and QUITE different from MFP. I pasted it below. What are your thoughts?? If what's pasted below is more accurate, I can see how some people hit plateaus because they really aren't eating enough.

I am female, 26, 66 inches tall, weight 146 and I want to weigh 130. MFP tells me to have 1300 calories to drop 1 pound a week, and that I need 1700 to maintain.

~~~

You need 2012.6 calories per day to maintain your current weight without exercise.

You need 1944.5 calories per day to reach your goal weight slowly and maintain that weight without exercise.

If you reduce your current caloric intake to 1512.6 calories per day you will lose one pound per week without exercise.

If you increase your current caloric intake to 2512.6 calories per day, you will gain one pound per week.

Exercise and Calorie Needs

If you exercise for 30 minutes each day, you may increase your caloric intake to 2233.2 calories per day and still maintain your current weight.

If you exercise for 60 minutes each day, you may increase your caloric intake to 2508.9 calories per day to maintain your current weight.

If you exercise for 30 minutes each day, you will be able to reach your goal weight with 2156.9 calories per day.

If you exercise for 60 minutes each day, you will be able to reach your goal weight with 2422.4 calories per day.

Replies

  • jbucci1186
    jbucci1186 Posts: 440 Member
    Options
    MFP underestimates for me too (compared to my bodymedia)
  • Clew
    Clew Posts: 910 Member
    Options
    I've been wondering about my goals as well. I'm conferring with a personal trainer friend of mine to get some more input.

    That being said, there's much to be gained from experimenting!
  • RaeannePemberton
    RaeannePemberton Posts: 382 Member
    Options
    it has been my experience that MFP suggests 1200 cals WAY TOO easily.

    i almost always use nutritiondata.com to get my client's BMR (estimate) and then subtract 500 to start them out.

    then we manually set the program that they are using (MFP, CK, etc)
  • Janie5605
    Janie5605 Posts: 182 Member
    Options
    Every body is different. Yes the numbers are drastically different but I know for me MFP over estimates what I should be eating to drop X amount of pounds. You'll figure out on your own what number is correct.
  • theflyingartist
    theflyingartist Posts: 385 Member
    Options
    The more I delve into the world of nutrition and calories, the more I realize people just have to get their body's analyzed and (as accurately as possible) get tested for your personal BMR, RMR, ect.
    A calculator is a calculator.. it works for most but not all. It is not the all-knowing truth..it's a theory.
  • Pidders89
    Pidders89 Posts: 1,169 Member
    Options
    mine is quite different too!

    xx
  • StarCass
    StarCass Posts: 11
    Options
    I got really curious and looked mine up in the website as well, since I've been a little skeptical with this website. I know not everything is made to perform perfectly for every person, but I agree. The differences in my calorie allowments and work out times were kind of astounding. MFP really differs from that site, but I really like the community you get when you join MFP. Everyone is very encouraging and helpful!
  • evesacks
    evesacks Posts: 94 Member
    Options
    I used a bodybugg for a week and it suggested I used between 2200-3300 calories a day (admittedly the 3400 was one when I did loads of exercise) - that week I ate around 1200 each day (although more on exercise days, but not all exercise cals) and I lost no weight - although was very close to target at that point. .
  • drmastermind
    drmastermind Posts: 17 Member
    Options
    MFP is low for me as well. What it gives for a daily is well under what any other site has given me for a number. I used to go by the bodymedia numbers and the other sites and I did have success with them but I seem to be more consistent using the numbers given by MFP.

    I used to use lose-it and the bodymedia and both gave me daily calories in the 2300+ range (with my exercise the gowear fit actually was in the 3k range) while the MFP is in the 1500 range. I am really interested though to know which one is a better number. One thing I did notice recently was at the higher calories that body media or lose-it had me at my after exercise recovery seemed to go a lot smoother than it has been lately.

    The only thing is that I don't plan on using MFP for a long term solution once I hit my weight goal though, since I really do think that the calorie recommendations are way to low.
  • amewha
    amewha Posts: 25 Member
    Options
    Everyone is different, one of the numbers might be correct for one person and not for another.

    On MFP where you set your goals you can choose Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, Very Active, this has a drastic influence on your overall BMR (it increases your maintenance calories by 10%-50% depending on which you choose)

    I originally chose sedentary and logged all real exercise. Then after 6 months I created a spreadsheet and calculated what my actual BMR was based on calorie deceit and the weight i actually lost. It turned out that I needed a BMR modifier of 35% to accurately gauge my calorie needs.
  • MrCake
    MrCake Posts: 53
    Options
    Simple advice from a coach who's advice I usually follow:
    DEE = Daily Energy Expenditure
    "Another way to establish your DEE is to record everything you eat for a week, then calculate your caloric intake. If you neither gained nor lost any weight in that 7-day period, then you basically ate at your DEE. This method, although a bit more precise, can be a real pain in the *kitten*, so most people should stick to the calculation and adjust their caloric intake depending on how their body is responding."

    He does include a formula in this article to calculate your "personalized' caloric needs for the day, but as he mentioned this should only serve as a guide that will put near an optimal point. It is up to you to do some testing and eventually reach that point. 100-200 calorie adjustments should be simply, the tricky part is being consistent and honest with yourself.
  • javablondie
    javablondie Posts: 411 Member
    Options
    Then after 6 months I created a spreadsheet and calculated what my actual BMR was based on calorie deceit and the weight i actually lost.

    You gotta watch out for the "calorie deceit." Oh my gosh, this typo has made my day. Funniest thing I've read in a while :)

    Me <-- giant smile

    Cheers!
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
    Options
    MFP estimated my maintenance at around 2200, my body bugg has shown that it's closer to 3000 per day. I've been eating around 2000-2200 and losing 2 pounds per week, sometimes more.

    The problem with calulators is most of them assume that every 200 pound guy that is 6ft tall has the same frame and same amount of muscle. That's where these things go wrong. If you are larger than normal frame and muscularity, or smaller and less muscular these things will be off by quite a lot.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
    Options
    Yes, everyone has bascically the same thoughts I do with this. But considering the huge difference, I'm just thinking that when people hit plateaus that this is something to blame. We always say to those people to increase their calories or change it up.

    Thanks for all your thoughts. I am losing on what MFP says, but I just want to do it right you know? When I maintain it will be a lot of trial and error to get used to the new lifestyle yet again and I'll probably gain and lose some weight until I figure it out - and I will use MFP for the first month or so.

    Very interesting!

Categories