Calorie Confusion

Love_2_Hike
Love_2_Hike Posts: 103 Member
in Getting Started
Hi all
Putting in the same data to MFP and EasyDietDiary apps comes up as two different calorie goals. MFP 1280cal, lightly active, .8 loss p/w.
EasyDietDiary 1700cal.
Quite a difference. Any thoughts? Ta!

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    edited February 2018
    EasyDiet most likely figures in your planned exercise that you told it about. Myfitnesspal wants you to enter the exercise when you do it and then it gives you extra calories on that day. EasyDiet spreads the calories out over the week.

    Good thing about MFP is it is much more customizable. Here's something about how your cals are calculated on this site:

    How does MFP work?

    How does MFP set my Goals?
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited February 2018
    I don't know anything about the EasyDietDiary, MFP uses the NEAT method i.e your BMR plus your non exercise related movements then you add any extra exercise on top of that to get more calories.

    EasyDietDiary might work on a different premise, it might work on TDEE method with a % calorie deficit calculated ie. those 1700 cals might be 20% less than your TDEE. I am however only guessing as I said, I don't know what method EDD uses.

    MFP's way works. As does TDEE. Choose whichever you prefer, give it 4 weeks and re-assess then - you'll know by what your loss is like if the numbers are working for you.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
    For comparison, go to http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html and enter your stats to get a rough estimate of your TDEE (daily calories burned). For every pound per week you want to lose, subtract 500 calories per day (or fractions, e.g. 250 / day for a half pound per week). For the most part, when I do this comparison, MFP comes up pretty close.

    One thing I'd like to add, too, is that MFP has been doing this for a long time and, in the recent past, a lot of new apps have popped up. So long as you entered in good numbers, I'd probably trust what MFP is giving you back. You might just find out that you need to back your goals up a bit if this is too steep of a deficit for you.
  • SugarMagnolia1979
    SugarMagnolia1979 Posts: 6 Member
    I am confused as well. I figured out my BMR using both the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation and the Harris Benedict equation. I took the sum of the 2 numbers divide by 2 and then multiplied that by 1.55 based on the amount of exercising I do. My total caloric intake should be approx 2262 cals/day. That seems like a lot. I am worried I will gain rather than lose. I've read lots of articles that say to eat more to lose more but I am a skeptic. I don't want to mess my metabolism up from the start so can anyone help me get it right the first time? Should I input my daily calorie intake at my sedentary BMR and make sure I hit that after my exercise calories have been subtracted - or leave it at 2262 and have a deficit? Thanks :smile:
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
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  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    edited February 2018
    SugarMagnolia1979 wrote: »
    I am confused as well. I figured out my BMR using both the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation and the Harris Benedict equation. I took the sum of the 2 numbers divide by 2 and then multiplied that by 1.55 based on the amount of exercising I do. My total caloric intake should be approx 2262 cals/day. That seems like a lot. I am worried I will gain rather than lose. I've read lots of articles that say to eat more to lose more but I am a skeptic. I don't want to mess my metabolism up from the start so can anyone help me get it right the first time? Should I input my daily calorie intake at my sedentary BMR and make sure I hit that after my exercise calories have been subtracted - or leave it at 2262 and have a deficit? Thanks :smile:

    Sounds like you're just confusing yourself by over-complicating it, enter your stats in MFP, choose a sensible rate of loss for yourself and MFP will give you a calorie allowance based on your BMR & Non Exercise Activity multiplier (see above). You then log you exercise separately and will get an increased calorie intake for the days when you exercise.

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