Should i stick to the calories the app tells me?

bryanzamudio99
bryanzamudio99 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m 5’10 weighed 230lb this morning and i’ve been going to the gym for 1 week but i can’t help to think that 2,600 calories a day is too much for a deficit.

Best Answers

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,415 Member
    edited April 15 Answer ✓
    Yeah, you give us not a lot to go on.

    Try it (2600) for a while and see how you do. None of us know enough about you from one sentence to be able to tell you anything.

    Here's how the site calculates, if it will help:

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals

    Experiment. That's exactly what all of us had to do.

    Losing about one pound per week over the next 4-6 weeks? Good.

    Losing nothing? Deduct 250 calories - try that for another month.

    All of this is up to you.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,238 Member
    Answer ✓
    67.55 or so inches M. So less than 5ft 10". Started on MFP in the 240's and going from 49 to 50 yo. Had been losing before. Kept losing in much better and sustainable way via logging. A year later had lost another 72.5lbs and had eaten on average 2560 Cal as per MY (imho fairly meticulous for a first year person) logging. Was VERY active---just about 18,000 steps per day per Fitbit on average for the year. That's average as measured--not aspirational.

    So 2600 CAN easily be a deficit. Or not. Depending on your own experiment over time.

    Track everything and always. plug weight in weight trend app. adjust based on results over sufficient time.

Answers

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,415 Member
    Male or female? Go back and review your set up. What did you set as your activity level? What kind of workouts are you doing?

    Btw, if going to the gym is new to you, and you’re experiencing sore muscles, you can expect water retention- potentially a lot of water retention- til your muscles heal and the soreness passes.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,845 Member
    Too much for a deficit compared to what?

    What is your estimated TDEE currently? What is your desired deficit?
  • bryanzamudio99
    bryanzamudio99 Posts: 3 Member
    I just meant that 2,600 calories p/day seemed like a lot for it to be a deficit. It’s not my first time tracking calories and being in a deficit but last time i did it was around 2-3 years ago and i was doing around 1,900 - 2,200 calories weighing almost the same(5lb-10lb difference) so it just made me wonder if i was better of using an online calorie calculator or stick to default by whatever the app recommends me to.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,238 Member
    edited April 15
    You may want to re-run your numbers if you suspect they're incorrect.

    App uses Mifflin for RMR. And a 1.25x AF multiplier for sedentary/not very active, 1.4 lightly, 1.6 active, 1.8 very active. Most online (sail-rabbit f.e.) also disclose the AF they are using. App IGNORES your intention to exercise as it expects you to log exercise after the fact and eat the actual calories spent to keep to desired deficit.

    App reduces allotment by 500 Cal per day per lb of loss sought. With hard minimums at 1500M, 1200F to ensure nutrition and to sanity check weight loss goals that may be too aggressive.

    Do remember that FAST loss does not mean permanent loss. Sometimes FAST loss is the PROBLEM in achieving permanent loss. That said slow loss can be slow. Of course :smiley: But if it gets you there.... slow is good! :wink:

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