MFP calculated deficit wrong

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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    As so many have already mentioned, the most likely explanation is that the OP's MFP goal is based on an older weight with the OP currently weighting less.

    Should the number have updated? MFP used to prompt every 10lbs. Whether it still does so... "maybe" is the probable answer.

    MFP has been very good at bulking their fair share of worldwide software bugs every late November/early December, successfully maintaining their fair share throughout the year... and forging ahead with the next November bulk! :lol:

    She's talking about 150ish calories, though. I don't think that's the issue, how much weight would she have had to lose to have a 150 calorie error? - I think it's that the two calculators use different methods of calculation (Fitbit vs MFP) and her terminology in the OP i.e. her lack of understanding the terms.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,312 Member
    edited April 2020
    cmriverside wrote: »
    She's talking about 150ish calories, though. I don't think that's the issue, how much weight would she have had to lose to have a 150 calorie error? - I think it's that the two calculators use different methods of calculation (Fitbit vs MFP) and her terminology in the OP i.e. her lack of understanding the terms.

    Assuming OP is setup as lightly active, as has been mentioned, you're looking for a BMR change of about 107 using: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator in order to account for about 150 Cal.

    Seems entirely plausible given OP's age at account setup being 24 and her stating a 30lb loss as her goal at that time.

    For myself, today, the numbers would work out to a 23.5lb loss (or rather "gain" since I increased my weight to 176 when I tried out the numbers)

    While Fitbit uses TDEE and MFP is using NEAT, what integration does is render the final numbers equal to Fitbit's TDEE estimation.

    Both start from the same BMR formula. They just split the day and apply their multipliers in different ways, which is why the calculation only becomes final at midnight.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    edited April 2020
    I have updated my weight and the calorie goal did go down, but only by 20 calories. When I started in January it was 1710 and now it's 1690. I don't weigh/update as often as I used to but I did update about 2 weeks ago and was given the 1690 goal. I also had updated when I started again in January, so no, it wasn't use an old weight. Either way, the weight doesn't matter. The entire point was that they have a number that they think I'm burning each day and they weren't subtracting 500 from it, even though I had my goal set to lose 1 pound per week. Like I said in the OP, one of the first things I did was check the goals and make sure I didn't somehow have something less than 1 pound per week set. Nope, definitely had a goal of 1 pound per week.

    Now that I know what my goal should be, I have manually updated my calorie goal to be 1550 per day, but I shouldn't have had to figure that out myself, and I'm not sure it would have been even possible to figure that out had I not had my fitbit synced. And I wonder how many other people have an inaccurate calorie goal that they don't even know about.
  • Unicorn_Bacon
    Unicorn_Bacon Posts: 491 Member
    There might be many, but usually if someone is finding that their calorie goals arent working as expected, the recommendation is to do what you did and make adjustments based on results.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    MFP had a stat's page long ago, no idea if still around - not sure if user submitted or purely a data pull - that showed what % had a weight loss of goal of less than 10 lbs, 10-20, ect.
    I recall at time almost half had 20 lb or less as their goal. (I know some people only put 10-20 lb loss goals though they have 100 to lose)

    So this failure to update wouldn't be real detrimental to that group.

    But yes many with 30 lb and over to lose have commented and asked about the lack of eating goal change.
    That's why so many of us had that same idea of the issue once we got past the Fitbit sidetrack.

    Then again every blue moon someone mentions they did get the app request to adjust eating goal. So it must happen correctly sometimes.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    swimmchick87 wrote: »
    I have updated my weight and the calorie goal did go down, but only by 20 calories. When I started in January it was 1710 and now it's 1690. I don't weigh/update as often as I used to but I did update about 2 weeks ago and was given the 1690 goal. I also had updated when I started again in January, so no, it wasn't use an old weight. Either way, the weight doesn't matter. The entire point was that they have a number that they think I'm burning each day and they weren't subtracting 500 from it, even though I had my goal set to lose 1 pound per week. Like I said in the OP, one of the first things I did was check the goals and make sure I didn't somehow have something less than 1 pound per week set. Nope, definitely had a goal of 1 pound per week.

    Now that I know what my goal should be, I have manually updated my calorie goal to be 1550 per day, but I shouldn't have had to figure that out myself, and I'm not sure it would have been even possible to figure that out had I not had my fitbit synced. And I wonder how many other people have an inaccurate calorie goal that they don't even know about.

    The reason why they don't change the base eating goal with every single weight change is because people would be having these drops in calories in 1st week from large water weight drops, and then potentially large water weight increases leading to larger eating goals when that isn't appropriate either.

    The original intent of 10 lbs difference before eating goal change really is better to gloss over the noise of water weight changes - and allow some planning of your meals without it changing constantly.

    That was all prior to trackers causing your eating goal to change anyway. Now probably no big deal.

    Daily eating goal is just not calculated daily from your current weight. Just was never done.

    But guess what occurs even if that was to happen.

    Your real activity level doesn't exactly nail one of the 4 levels of calculated activity to select from anyway, even with no exercise done.

    So you have this static 1550 eating goal - but you are not literally day after day getting a 500 cal deficit anyway from some Lightly-Active level of burning 2050. Some days (no exercise considered) you could easily burn 2200, some days 1900.

    So the fact it used to float maybe up to 80-100 calories of missed deficit before the eating goal was adjusted to calc off the current weight - was really not big whoop in the scheme of your average jane/joe is having a whole lot more variance than that from their actual activity level and their selected one.
    Even with trackers.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    swimmchick87 wrote: »
    I have updated my weight and the calorie goal did go down, but only by 20 calories. When I started in January it was 1710 and now it's 1690. I don't weigh/update as often as I used to but I did update about 2 weeks ago and was given the 1690 goal. I also had updated when I started again in January, so no, it wasn't use an old weight. Either way, the weight doesn't matter. The entire point was that they have a number that they think I'm burning each day and they weren't subtracting 500 from it, even though I had my goal set to lose 1 pound per week. Like I said in the OP, one of the first things I did was check the goals and make sure I didn't somehow have something less than 1 pound per week set. Nope, definitely had a goal of 1 pound per week.

    Now that I know what my goal should be, I have manually updated my calorie goal to be 1550 per day, but I shouldn't have had to figure that out myself, and I'm not sure it would have been even possible to figure that out had I not had my fitbit synced. And I wonder how many other people have an inaccurate calorie goal that they don't even know about.

    Wouldn't they know about it when they didn't get the expected results? At the end of the day, we all have to take responsibility for comparing our real life results to what we expect and making adjustments accordingly.
  • LMcG20
    LMcG20 Posts: 37 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    I have a potential explanation. You have lost weight since starting, right?
    And your calorie goal has stayed the same from then till now?

    MFP is supposed to update your calorie goal to fit your weight regularly, but for many it doesn't. So while your calorie expenditure has been going down, because your body is getting smaller, your calorie goal has stayed the same and your deficit has shrunk.

    Solution, if this is the source of the problem: go back to your goal set-up and run through it again, updating (confirming) your weight, activity level and desired weight loss rate. That should give you a new, lower calorie goal.

    I have this issue and I go through my setting after every few lbs lost to update my calorie goal downwards.

    I am so glad I saw this! Just did what you suggested out of curiosity and it lowered by 110 calories per day! I have lost ~30lbs since Jan 1st and my calories have never gone down and I was wondering how much I needed to lose for it to adjust. This makes a lot more sense. Thank you!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,887 Member
    edited April 2020
    swimmchick87 wrote: »
    I have updated my weight and the calorie goal did go down, but only by 20 calories. When I started in January it was 1710 and now it's 1690. I don't weigh/update as often as I used to but I did update about 2 weeks ago and was given the 1690 goal. I also had updated when I started again in January, so no, it wasn't use an old weight. Either way, the weight doesn't matter. The entire point was that they have a number that they think I'm burning each day and they weren't subtracting 500 from it, even though I had my goal set to lose 1 pound per week. Like I said in the OP, one of the first things I did was check the goals and make sure I didn't somehow have something less than 1 pound per week set. Nope, definitely had a goal of 1 pound per week.

    Now that I know what my goal should be, I have manually updated my calorie goal to be 1550 per day, but I shouldn't have had to figure that out myself, and I'm not sure it would have been even possible to figure that out had I not had my fitbit synced. And I wonder how many other people have an inaccurate calorie goal that they don't even know about.

    Well, this error in the deficit must be linked to specific circumstances then. I've checked and even experimented with different activity settings and weight loss rates, and the difference between NEAT and calorie goal was always more or less correct for me (the deficit was a few dozen calories higher actually, which I can't explain either).
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