Is MyFitnessPal setting me up for failure?

[kass617]

I put my weight, height age etc into my fitness pal, and then set it to lose 2lbs/week. The diet it gives me is:

1640 calories
Fat - 55g
Carb - 225g
Protein - 61g

This just doesn't seem right with my numbers (235 lb, 5' 9", age 34)

From the sticky in the forum, my math came out to:

2730 calories
Fat - 190g
Protein - 168g
Carbs - 87g

...and even these #'s aren't making much sense to me.

I've been doing a diet of about 1700 cal/day, and have lost about 20 pounds in the last 30 days (I'm sure a lot of it was water weight). I don't want to try changing things around, but I'm finding myself getting very hungry at times, and it's really starting to affect my mood/attitude.

I haven't been working out at all, but am starting slowly next week with strictly cardio, and with wok up the courage to actually get on the weights (It's a little intimidating at my gym)

Any ideas where I'm going wrong with my calculations?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[cadmium]

Follow the sticky. You're saying that your diet is affecting your mood. How long are you gonna keep that up?

You're on an extreme caloric deficit and it'll kill your metabolism--which is counter to your goals. If 2730 is supposed to be your TDEE, try to aim for a number ~15% lower.

Glad to hear you're gonna start hitting the gym. Try to incorporate weights into your workouts ASAP.

[gabrielsyler]

Whats your bf %? 235lb of muscle vs 100lb of muscle/135lb of fat would dramatically change your requirements.

Depending on how quick you want to loose weight, 1700 calroies a day isn't too low given that you don't exercise. I'm a few kg over 90kg and exercise 90minutes a day, 5 days a week and currently consume 2000-2100 calroies a day. I'm tired by end of day, but by spacing the meals out I don't feel hungry, infact most of the meals I could happily miss.

[sleepypanda]

I disregard mfps suggestions and just use it to track calories

[MikeVC]

of course not id say its one of the best apps i ever downloaded although it got me kinda ocd

[kass617]

Whats your bf %? 235lb of muscle vs 100lb of muscle/135lb of fat would dramatically change your requirements.

Depending on how quick you want to loose weight, 1700 calroies a day isn't too low given that you don't exercise. I'm a few kg over 90kg and exercise 90minutes a day, 5 days a week and currently consume 2000-2100 calroies a day. I'm tired by end of day, but by spacing the meals out I don't feel hungry, infact most of the meals I could happily miss.

I don't have an exact measurement, but I'd estimate 27%. I don't have much muscle....yet.

[AlwaysTryin]

of course not id say its one of the best apps i ever downloaded although it got me kinda ocd

Please ignore this guy and ignore MFP macro suggestions

[gabrielsyler]

I don't have an exact measurement, but I'd estimate 27%. I don't have much muscle....yet.

If you don't think you've got much msucle, you're probably higher than 27% then. 27% of 235lb = 170lb LBM, which on 5'9 isn't a bad frame. perhaps you should stick a picture up?

you should start hitting the weights heavy asap, the more muscle you build, the more calories you'll burn

[kass617]

If you don't think you've got much msucle, you're probably higher than 27% then. 27% of 235lb = 170lb LBM, which on 5'9 isn't a bad frame. perhaps you should stick a picture up?

you should start hitting the weights heavy asap, the more muscle you build, the more calories you'll burn

I would say 30% tops. I'll get a more exact measurement though.

I think my ignorance on all things Nutrition/Exercise is preventing me from accepting the numbers that I'm coming up with from the sticky. If anyone has a few minutes they can spare to help me out via email/PM let me know. I've been dieting for a month and although I know Ive been doing some things wrong, I've gotten some great results so far and I want to keep my momentum. My main problem all these years is that I need instant gratification with everything, and working out was always a marathon rather than a race, which is what kept turning me off to it. Now that I'm losing weight, feeling energized, and am ready to commit, I don't want to be sabotaged by my lack of knowledge.

I'm not asking anyone to do the work for me, I just need some confirmation on what I'm doing isn't wrong. Unfortunately, all my friends have given up on pursuing a healthy lifestyle. They refuse to quit smoking, they refuse to watch what they eat, and they refuse to get off the freaking couch and get their heart pumping a little. That's their right, but I'm not letting my kids bury me when I'm 45 because I was lazy.

Sorry for rambling on, I'm just excited to get started.

Thanks.

[chuck2334]

I think MFP's calories/macros are kind of messed up. What I use it for is to count my macros/calores with that instead of actually following their macros for the day.

The only improvement I'd want to see them make is to allow people to set their own macros. Then it would be undoubtedly the complete ****

[JayG20]

I think MFP's calories/macros are kind of messed up. What I use it for is to count my macros/calores with that instead of actually following their macros for the day.

The only improvement I'd want to see them make is to allow people to set their own macros. Then it would be undoubtedly the complete ****

You could customize the macros but only by percentages

[L The Pirate]

ignore what MFP recs. import your total calorie intake and play with %'s until its pretty close. Then just use it to track
/

[chuck2334]

You could customize the macros but only by percentages

aware me on how to do this

[ironwill2008]

I would say 30% tops. .

using 30% bf @235, Katch/McArdle (using an 'average' activity factor) has your requirement to lose ~1 pound/week of fat at about 2550 calories a day.

[Mall3t]

aware me on how to do this

On a computer log in, go to 'my home' then 'goals' and at the bottom it says 'change goals' choose 'custom' and play around with the % until it's close to what you need.

[jeserfen]

On a computer log in, go to 'my home' then 'goals' and at the bottom it says 'change goals' choose 'custom' and play around with the % until it's close to what you need.

^^^ this i use it too but custom cal/macros
its a great log but use your head

[EjnarKolinkar]

aware me on how to do this

On web page not app, from home select tab Goals > Custom then play with % until close to your calculated macro goals.

[chuck2334]

On web page not app, from home select tab Goals > Custom then play with % until close to your calculated macro goals.

On a computer log in, go to 'my home' then 'goals' and at the bottom it says 'change goals' choose 'custom' and play around with the % until it's close to what you need.

Sweet, thanks guys.

[nstp16]

Was not aware of the ability to customize the macros, thanks guys! My fitness pal is great to track what you eat or look up something quickly. I use it mostly to make sure I am hitting my minimum macros.