Recommended or custom cals?

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samandlucysmum
samandlucysmum Posts: 320
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 334lb, and I am debating whether to stick with MFP recommended cals, or a lower figure from another website.
What do you do? And does it work?

Replies

  • bradXdale
    bradXdale Posts: 399
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    I stick with the custom cals, I do allow myself more protein than they suggest, about a 1g of protein to 1lb of body fat. In all honesty just eat healthy, try to eat around the calories MFP suggests, have cheat days, hit the gym as much as possible and get enough sleep.

    Dedication & commitment will get us there!
  • sa11yjane
    sa11yjane Posts: 491 Member
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    It would seem to be that if you are on this website you should use their calorie allowance and see how it goes. However, I do not agree with the calories they give for your exercise- my pedometer and bike give me readings that are at least half of the allowances on here so I would be careful about eating back exercise calories.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
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    If I am using my HRM or a machine that states what the cals are, I usually goes by that because it takes into account if I change the speed or incline for a few mins or something like that.


    That being said, I've noticed that no matter what I go by, the largest difference has been about 30 cal...so really for me, it doesn't matter which I go by because I still lose and the difference isnt too huge
  • Drastiic
    Drastiic Posts: 322 Member
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    At first, I used all the well-known calculators to get an ESTIMATE of where I should be. Then I ate at that intake for 2-3 weeks. Then I adjusted and ate another number for 2-3 weeks. Now after 7 weeks of trying different intakes and adjusting based off my real-life results, I now use a custom number and don't eat my exercise calories back. In the end, the online calculators were way off for me, but I didn't find out until after I tried it for some time.
  • missjewl
    missjewl Posts: 214 Member
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    I had mine calculated with the P90x program (that's the program im doing) . once i got the amount i am suppose to intake i came back to MFP and customized it to match P90x recommendations for me.
  • ColleenRoss50
    ColleenRoss50 Posts: 199 Member
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    I have customized my calorie allowances and will continue to do so as the situation changes based on my results and goals.

    Although reasonably accurate for most people, the BMR/TDEE calculators (no matter which ones you use) are just estimates based on statistical averages.

    Do what works for you.
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
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    I am at 275, 5'9".

    I am using what MFP recommends for losing 1 lb/week, plus I eat my exercise calories (although I only log exercise at 2/3 of whatever my time spent is to protect against over-estimation... When I get an HRM, I'll use those calories instead).

    I did double check my BMR (using both the tool here on MFP and another one), and I am eating just about my BMR when I don't exercise, so it looks like I am doing OK there.

    And yes, it has been working just fine. I had a difficult period when we were traveling a lot and I was eating over my calories and not drinking much water. I ping-ponged around the same 5 pounds. But now that I am back on track I am losing again.

    I would start with what MFP recommends (although if you chose 2 lb/week, I would reconsider that... 1000 calories less than maintenance is a pretty big deficit. You might want to consider 1 1/2 lb, or even 1 lb) and see how it goes. You can check your BMR under the Tools section. Generally speaking, you do not want to eat under your BMR. (Your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate, is the calories you burn without doing anything other than lie in bed.)

    Good luck, and feel free to friend me.

    == Nicky
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
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    Custom... You want more protein than MFP recommends. This is one easy thing you can do that will drastically improve your results. 2.5-3G/kg lean body mass is what I would recommend for most people. Less than that will probably have a negative effect on your long-term results.

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