A different way to set up MFP goals - that WORKS!

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Replies

  • bono
    bono Posts: 179 Member
    Interesting.
  • MsWhiteParks
    MsWhiteParks Posts: 116 Member
    Ps. I weigh 159 and my BMR on here is 1581!!

    X
  • vs1023
    vs1023 Posts: 417 Member
    Interesting! I want to try it.
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    Ps. I weigh 159 and my BMR on here is 1581!!

    X

    So you should set your MFP calorie goal to 2055.
    Try to stay around 1590 calories per day, whether you workout or not.
    If you burn over 535 calories in a day, eat the surplus of those calories: example - if you burn 700, you have a TDEE of 2755, so you need to eat at least 1755 calories that day.
  • MsWhiteParks
    MsWhiteParks Posts: 116 Member
    Ps. I weigh 159 and my BMR on here is 1581!!

    X

    So you should set your MFP calorie goal to 2055.
    Try to stay around 1590 calories per day, whether you workout or not.
    If you burn over 535 calories in a day, eat the surplus of those calories: example - if you burn 700, you have a TDEE of 2755, so you need to eat at least 1755 calories that day.

    Thank you so much :-) I shall attempt to get my fuzzy lil brain round that :-) OR I have just found another perfect excuse not to exercise...so I know my exact cal numbers already? Mwhahaha It really is ANY excuse with me!

    Again though, thank you!

    X
  • JRRCLR
    JRRCLR Posts: 338 Member
    bump
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    Interesting method. I do something similar but with bodymedia fit numbers.

    One thing I didn't see mention of was the macronutrient targets. MFP standards are a bit low on protein IMO. I personally aim for 1g/lb of LBM for protein minimum & .4g/lb of BW for fat minimum. SO I set the %'s in MFP to my minimums & make sure I end up in the red.
  • happymommy40
    happymommy40 Posts: 30
    Bumpily bump bump
  • riccoismydog
    riccoismydog Posts: 319 Member
    bump I like this formula
  • beckkotsch
    beckkotsch Posts: 482 Member
    Bump
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    bump
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    ok im brain dead right now ...
    i weigh 248.4 and my bmr is 1878.... would you work it out for me?
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    Hello. Would you mind checking my figures.
    My bmr is 1504. So if I use the times 1.3 method that gives me a total of 1955.

    So I should never eat below 1504 and exercise days, if I burn over 504 cals I should eat the amount over 504 cals back. So I don't have a deficit of over 1000 cals

    Is that right?

    The 1955 is the 1.3 method but mfp says my maintenance is 1880. Will the difference of 75 cals matter?
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Immensely confused here.

    Here too. Totally and completely confused.


    There's NO WAY my body is going to be okay with me eating around my BMR (which is 1338). No possible way. Considering I am currently maintaining 145lbs consuming 2300-2500 NET calories a day (exercise or not) -- my body isn't going to enjoy me creating a 1000+ calorie deficit all of a sudden. I do eat my exercise calories - which really just raises my NET calories back up to the my daily calorie goal.

    I know for a fact that I won't lose weight at 1700, 1800 or even 1900 calories. I work on my feet and burn a ton of calories doing it. I don't log it as exercise since my body is used to it - but I know going too low is a sure fire way to start gaining weight.

    So. While I'm not 100% sure I get this formula AT ALL.. I KNOW eating anywhere near my BMR isn't going to work for me.

    My BMR is 1338. My TDEE is around 2449 to maintain. I stay within 2300-2500 net a day and have been maintaining (less on days I don't work and more on days I do)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    BMR & TDEE calculators are estimates. If you really want to do this properly, log for a decent amount of time, check your results (averages) for when you maintain weight & there is your maintenance. Work it out from there.

    Some people are more active than others & the activity calculators are a bit subjective.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    BMR & TDEE calculators are estimates. If you really want to do this properly, log for a decent amount of time, check your results (averages) for when you maintain weight & there is your maintenance. Work it out from there.

    Some people are more active than others & the activity calculators are a bit subjective.

    I think these calculators are pretty accurate for me - especially TDEE. Considering I eat between 2300-2500 net calories and it says my TDEE is 2449 -- and I'm maintaining (and have been for over a year). I'd say they are pretty accurate. I work on my feet and I know I burn of calories while I'm there.
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    Immensely confused here.

    Here too. Totally and completely confused.


    There's NO WAY my body is going to be okay with me eating around my BMR (which is 1338). No possible way. Considering I am currently maintaining 145lbs consuming 2300-2500 NET calories a day (exercise or not) -- my body isn't going to enjoy me creating a 1000+ calorie deficit all of a sudden. I do eat my exercise calories - which really just raises my NET calories back up to the my daily calorie goal.

    I know for a fact that I won't lose weight at 1700, 1800 or even 1900 calories. I work on my feet and burn a ton of calories doing it. I don't log it as exercise since my body is used to it - but I know going too low is a sure fire way to start gaining weight.

    So. While I'm not 100% sure I get this formula AT ALL.. I KNOW eating anywhere near my BMR isn't going to work for me.

    My BMR is 1338. My TDEE is around 2449 to maintain. I stay within 2300-2500 net a day and have been maintaining (less on days I don't work and more on days I do)


    Hello

    These calculations given iby the OP n this thread are for weight loss not maintainence. (as far as I understand).
  • justle
    justle Posts: 275 Member
    this is what i do, i set my goals to loose .5lbs a week and i dont eat back my exercise calories this seems to be working for me right
  • B3Streeter
    B3Streeter Posts: 292 Member
    I love the concept of this, but my problem is my BMR is 1207 and I like food too much to stay at that everyday! But congrats on your success!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    This is roughly what I do too (although I'd never thought it through this carefully - it's more or less what I settled into). It works if you're pretty active, less good if you're a bit of a coucher.
  • vanessaclarkgbr
    vanessaclarkgbr Posts: 731 Member
    Bump for a read later - thanks!
  • kaizo
    kaizo Posts: 87 Member
    Bump!
  • micls
    micls Posts: 234
    This sounds interesting. Made me realise my goals were currently at eating less than BMR! So upped them.

    I'm gonna try it, my only worry is that it'l mean I won't notice if my macros are off. I have a problem staying under my sugar normally! Will just have to figure out the percentage and check.

    I also prefer the idea of eating a bit more everyday, rather than less on non-workout days and more on workout days. I think it'l be easier routine wise.
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    I love the concept of this, but my problem is my BMR is 1207 and I like food too much to stay at that everyday! But congrats on your success!

    How many calories can you have to maintain?
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    ok im brain dead right now ...
    i weigh 248.4 and my bmr is 1878.... would you work it out for me?

    So your MFP calorie goal would be 2441
    Your actual calorie goal would be about 1900
    Since you have a little more to lose, you could probably go lower than your BMR without doing too much damage (I think). To get the full 1000 calorie deficit staying above 1900, you would need to burn 459 a day - eat anything you burn above this level.
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    Hello. Would you mind checking my figures.
    My bmr is 1504. So if I use the times 1.3 method that gives me a total of 1955.

    So I should never eat below 1504 and exercise days, if I burn over 504 cals I should eat the amount over 504 cals back. So I don't have a deficit of over 1000 cals

    Is that right?

    The 1955 is the 1.3 method but mfp says my maintenance is 1880. Will the difference of 75 cals matter?

    Everything is right. I don't think the difference of 75 calories matters too much. You probably have it set to sedentary to get the 1880? I think sedentary is multiplied by 1.2, so if you think you're more sedentary before exercise, then go with 1880. I think 1.3 is actually a little low for my daily activity, but I'll give it another couple weeks to make sure.
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    Immensely confused here.

    Here too. Totally and completely confused.


    There's NO WAY my body is going to be okay with me eating around my BMR (which is 1338). No possible way. Considering I am currently maintaining 145lbs consuming 2300-2500 NET calories a day (exercise or not) -- my body isn't going to enjoy me creating a 1000+ calorie deficit all of a sudden. I do eat my exercise calories - which really just raises my NET calories back up to the my daily calorie goal.

    I know for a fact that I won't lose weight at 1700, 1800 or even 1900 calories. I work on my feet and burn a ton of calories doing it. I don't log it as exercise since my body is used to it - but I know going too low is a sure fire way to start gaining weight.

    So. While I'm not 100% sure I get this formula AT ALL.. I KNOW eating anywhere near my BMR isn't going to work for me.

    My BMR is 1338. My TDEE is around 2449 to maintain. I stay within 2300-2500 net a day and have been maintaining (less on days I don't work and more on days I do)

    That's awesome that you burn that much during your work! My nutritionist came up with the figure for me so that I would be at a moderate deficit even on my days off from working out. So for someone who has a really active job like you, I would guess those figures would look something like this:

    Total MFP calorie goal: 2449
    Actual calorie goal: 2000 (a little under 500 calorie deficit).

    Total MFP calorie goal: 1739 (BMR x 1.3)
    Actual calorie goal: 1450 (your weight x 10)
    Add in calories burned during work = 710 (2449 - 1739)

    So your TDEE would be 2449. If you ate 1450 that would give you a deficit of 999, and you could lose 2 pounds a week, if you did that every day. It sounds like you're maintaining eating an average of 2400 (your TDEE) so these calculations would be accurate then. But 1450 is a minimum - if you ate 1950 everyday, you would lose 1 pound a week. Of course this isn't taking into account any exercise you do on top of this - I just factored in the calories you burned during work. If you exercised on top of all this, you would have to eat those exercise calories.

    For someone who has an active job, It's probably easier to just factor that in to MFP and do it the traditional way. This calculation is mostly appropriate for people who have a sedentary or light activity level, who also work out - as a way to not have to eat so low on non-workout days (smaller deficit), and to take advantage of bigger burn workout days (larger deficit).

    But you seem to have done a great job figuring things out for yourself so true congrats to you! I'm not saying this is the only way, it's just another way to look at the numbers. I like seeing the calories remaining and knowing what type of deficit I've created. It makes me feel like I have a handle on things more. Anyway, good luck :)
  • ssharomi
    ssharomi Posts: 8 Member
    bump
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
    I am confused too, MFP calorie allowance puts me below BMR, it seems to be working at the min, 13lb lost in 6 weeks, but will this affect my loss in future? I still have around 90lb to lose.

    I have set goals to lose 1LB week which gives me 1730 cals - i try to eat 1930 on exercise days / 1530 on non exercise days so i never net below 1200. I dont eat back my exercise calories (approx 700-800 4x per week) which gives me a 2nd lb loss.

    BMR is 1824, my maintenance on MFP is 2220 - if i eat to BMR only 2772 deficit so wouldnt even lose1lb?
  • olivia3263
    olivia3263 Posts: 263 Member
    I am confused too, MFP calorie allowance puts me below BMR, it seems to be working at the min, 13lb lost in 6 weeks, but will this affect my loss in future? I still have around 90lb to lose.

    I have set goals to lose 1LB week which gives me 1730 cals - i try to eat 1930 on exercise days / 1530 on non exercise days so i never net below 1200. I dont eat back my exercise calories (approx 700-800 4x per week) which gives me a 2nd lb loss.

    BMR is 1824, my maintenance on MFP is 2220 - if i eat to BMR only 2772 deficit so wouldnt even lose1lb?
    I think what you're doing is great, and if it's working for you then keep going! :) I think when you have more to lose, your body won't freak out if you eat under your BMR, and you can reach a 1000 calorie deficit fairly easily. When you have less to lose it becomes trickier because your body starts to preserve itself if it doesn't receive enough calories. And for people who workout a lot and need a rest day, it's really hard to limit yourself to 1200, especially when it's below your BMR. I would keep doing what you're doing until you get closer to your goal. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
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