I thought I understood. Help!

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WilliamsPeggy
WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do we set our calorie goal at what our BMR suggests, or is that just for maintaining? My BMR said 1300, so I set my calorie goal at 1300. I want to lose, not maintain, so does that mean my calorie goal should be 1200? Thanks for the clarification.

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  • PoleBoy
    PoleBoy Posts: 255 Member
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    In general you let MFP set your calorie goal for you.
  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
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    Part of the benefit of MFP is that they do all this for you. I can understand tweaking the results after you have tried them for a while, but trying to figure it out yourself from the beginning seems to make the whole guided feature useless and it is one of the big reasons that I was successful.
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
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    I had it on 1200 to begin with, got hungry, then reset it to 1300. So, I just went back, recalculated, & set it back at 1200. Just going to have to suck it up and try harder. Thanks. :smile:
  • whip67
    whip67 Posts: 32
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    Exercise and you can eat more than 1200!
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
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    Do we set our calorie goal at what our BMR suggests, or is that just for maintaining? My BMR said 1300, so I set my calorie goal at 1300. I want to lose, not maintain, so does that mean my calorie goal should be 1200? Thanks for the clarification.

    You will lose at 1300 - unless all you do is lie in bed all day. Maintenance will be about 1600 - 1800 ish.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Your BMR is how many calories you burn from functions like your heart beating, lungs working, etc. What you would do in a coma. It doesn't include any daily activity like walking around. To take your daily activity into account, use TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

    To maintain your weight, you eat your TDEE. To lose, you eat less than that.

    Can I ask why you don't just let the site calculate your goal?
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    Do we set our calorie goal at what our BMR suggests, or is that just for maintaining? My BMR said 1300, so I set my calorie goal at 1300. I want to lose, not maintain, so does that mean my calorie goal should be 1200? Thanks for the clarification.
    Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
    Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
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    Your BMR is how many calories you burn from functions like your heart beating, lungs working, etc. What you would do in a coma. It doesn't include any daily activity like walking around. To take your daily activity into account, use TDEE (total daily energy expenditure).

    To maintain your weight, you eat your TDEE. To lose, you eat less than that.

    Can I ask why you don't just let the site calculate your goal?

    Yes. You can ask. I got hungry on 1200. Haha. :laugh:
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
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    Do we set our calorie goal at what our BMR suggests, or is that just for maintaining? My BMR said 1300, so I set my calorie goal at 1300. I want to lose, not maintain, so does that mean my calorie goal should be 1200? Thanks for the clarification.
    Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
    Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.

    Thanks!
  • iamstaceywood
    iamstaceywood Posts: 383 Member
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    So, my first go, i set calories based on my current activity level, which was much higher than it is now because of my job. So, I was eating 1400 and not eating back exercise calories. But, this time, I let it set my goal calories at 1200 and I have to earn any extra. So, if i want to have a lazy day, i can but, i can only eat 1200. If I want more, a one hour walk with my dog earns me almost 400! So, if i want a treat, i have to earn it.

    Also, I wonder how many calories saying so at the begining of everything burns?
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
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    If you're hungry at 1200 calories look at what you're eating. If you focus on fiber rich (produce) and protein you'll find 1200 is plenty. Grains and starches are great but burn off and leave you wanting more. Eat them in moderation.
  • vcreinert
    vcreinert Posts: 83
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    Auto set by the program as 1200 for me. I lowered it to 1000 to lose faster. I have no trouble and with minimal exercise (until I get another 10 lbs off) I'm doing fine. If I get hungry I just drink water and live with. Its a diet not a life style. It will end soon if I stick to it and I am and have.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Exercise and you can eat more than 1200!

    Exercise and you'll be hungrier than if you hadn't.
  • castadiva
    castadiva Posts: 2,016 Member
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    The goal set by MFP depends partly on your weight and partly on how many lb lost/week you've got it set on. If I set my goal at 2lb lost/week it gives me a net calorie goal of 1200. If I set it to 1.5lb/week, the goal re-sets to 1450, etc. I don't think it's particularly healthy to consistently net under 1200, but the site 'rewards' you for being under your goal, so I have manually set my calorie goal to 1300, and try to stay 50-100 cals below that mark on average. Try re-setting your weekly loss goal and see what it comes up with.
  • Jo2926
    Jo2926 Posts: 489 Member
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    Yes. You can ask. I got hungry on 1200. Haha. :laugh:

    What are your settings? For example - what activity level and what weight loss goal per week?

    I find 1200 a real struggle, especially when I exercise - but I know that when it gets too difficult I can drop my goal to 1lb a week and get lots more calories to eat!

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