Daily Goals

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Nwebe1
Nwebe1 Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
HI Everyone,
This is my second go at myfitnesspal and I'm a little confused as to what my body is doing this time around. The first time I stayed JUST under my calorie goal and worked out a lot (not eating back the calories i burned) and lost weight fairly quickly. This time I'm staying JUST under my calorie goal as well but not working out as often and the weight isn't coming off at all really. Is this because of not working at as often/intensely? Or is it because I'm not eating enough? Are the DAILY GOALS for calories/fat/etc. the max or min of what I should be taking in?

Replies

  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I look at the daily calorie goal as a target to get as close to as possible. Sometimes I'm a few calories under, sometimes a few over. It averages out over time. The nutritional goals I look at differently. I look at the protein, calcium, and fiber as minimums. The other things, I don't really worry about one way or the other. I stick pretty close to my calorie goal (and I eat most of my exercise calories) and I've been losing steadily over the last 3.5 months (faster in the beginning, then I had to readjust my settings after losing some weight).
  • wonca
    wonca Posts: 81
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    Hi Nwebe1.. the numbers are a guideline for the maximums, but as long as you don't go overboard too much, you're probably safe just looking at the total caloric value.

    I'm frequently over in protein and short in carbs/fats (not great I admit, but it's not the end of the world). This isn't to say that a protein shake and 2 donuts has the same nutritional value as a chicken breast and a baked potato, but as long as you don't get too out of control you're probably ok.

    As for why the calories came off faster.. I'm not a medical professional, but I've always been told that a combination of exercise AND diet will yield the best results over either of those things independently and I've always seen the best results that way.

    In regards to your calorie goals.. I find when I go too far below my calories my work outs suffer and I become tired and lethargic, so I try to keep "eat back" most of my calories except for a few hundred/day.

    Hope that helps and good luck!
  • CapriceD
    CapriceD Posts: 23 Member
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    When I started out, I gained weight because I ate my exercise calories. So I decided to give myself 10 calories for the exercise I did each day. When I'm close to me calorie goal, I lose weight. Now I'm starting to focus on maintaining and trying to get the right mix.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    When I started out, I gained weight because I ate my exercise calories. So I decided to give myself 10 calories for the exercise I did each day. When I'm close to me calorie goal, I lose weight. Now I'm starting to focus on maintaining and trying to get the right mix.

    Eating exercise calories should not make you gain weight if your activity level is set correctly and if you are using an accurate estimate of the calories you burn during exercise. If you use MFPs estimates or certain 'calculators' online, they can sometimes be way off of reality. And if you are going to log your exercises for the purpose of keeping track of the calorie burn, then the activity level you set on MFP should not include your exercise that you are going to log separately, else you are getting credit for the same activity twice which can throw you off of your goals.

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