Lately I've been reading a lot of online group posts about calorie goals, and talk of TDEE and “What is YOUR calorie goal?” Some of you are at 1200 a day. Some are higher. In my MY FITNESS PAL group, you are there because you’re using the My Fitness Pal app.
My Fitness Pal uses NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) not TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) to calculate your net calorie goal. BOTH basically do the same thing, just provides the info to the user slightly differently. Think of it like an apple computer vs. an IBM. Both will get you the same result, but will work the calculations out a bit differently.
When you’re brand new to MFP or to losing weight in general, these styles of calculations or programming can be confusing. In fact, when I was new to all of this, I just put my trust into my Registered Dietician and the MFP app to guide me along the way. I had a calorie goal and just stayed as close to net goal as possible, and I lost weight. Wonderful! It was working. Essentially I was doing IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros), but didn’t realize it at the time. I only dug in deeper to learn more about how it all worked (food and nutrition science) and ventured into the world of macros after the first year.
I suspect for the majority of us, using the NEAT format is likely working great.
If you want to learn more about more advanced techniques, WONDERFUL.
I’m all for it.
But also try to remember, when it comes to weight loss, it really, truly is NOT a one size fits all solution. We are all on this journey because we want to become healthy. For some of us, that means gaining weight. For some it’s maintaining our current weight. For some it’s losing weight. For some it’s building muscle. For some its doctor ordered and managed (yes, sometimes our health providers actually tell us to eat a specific number of calories for a plethora of reasons that is right at 1200 calories a day or even LESS…) for a reason known to them and you, their patient.
So when I see YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE, or YOU CAN’T SURVIVE ON 1200 CALORIES stated, it drives me crazy. How do you know what that person brings to the table? You don’t!
Totally cool to say, this is what I did and this is the result I had. Please do share.
Do I recommend eating 1200 calories a day? Or Less???
Absolutely NOT.
When I started out with this whole weight loss getting healthy stuff, I skipped breakfast. I ate a late lunch and dinner would come around 9 or 10 at night. Usually my lunch was light because I wasn't hungry (caveman survival mode). And dinner was a huge meal. I probably gave myself a total of 900-1000 calories a day and most from late night dinner.
I didn't lose. I maintained my nearly 300 lbs size 3XL body for years. I thought if I wasn't hungry I didn't need to eat.
I was wrong.
Once I changed how much I ate and when I ate I noticed something happen. I got hungry. My stomach growled. What was happening? I was changing my metabolism. Now my body was working with me.
MFP suggested at a 1 lb a week loss rate, I needed 2400 calories a day. Remember, I was around 300 lbs. The bigger you are, the more calories you will need.
Guess what? After a few weeks of eating a LOT more I lost 11 lbs. I wasn't even exercising. I was eating better. I was eating MORE.
It's all about eating better.
What does that even mean? It means learning what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. It all comes into play here.
Today my calorie goal is just above 1400 a day.
Please be gentle. Please remember there are multiple ways to accomplish a goal. Please remember that we are NOT all going to be eating the same calories each day and we are all going to have different factors that are driving those goals.
When you ask “HOW MANY CALORIES ARE YOU EATING?” are you factoring that the others in the group are different ages, different heights, and different weights? Because ALL of that will drive the calorie goals. Plus additional notes such as daily activity levels and how much additional exercises one is getting in.
I get asked OFTEN what kinds of foods I eat. The thing is that’s not an easy question to answer because what I’m eating today is so much different than where I began. To ask me today what I eat, well the food I now eat, took these three years to build up to. I would never have been willing or able to eat the way I do today, when I started. I slowly made changes to my diet, so what I ate then vs. what I eat now is dramatically different, and it’s okay to take the baby step approach. Little changes along the way add up over time. Also, the exercise I did then and do now is different.
Maybe you’ll see something here, some little nugget of inspiration; an aha-moment, a thought bubble… whatever! Maybe by sharing my process, you’ll see something that you connect with and see how you can tweak things up on your own journey.
Or maybe you’re doing great, and just enjoy reading how someone else did things.
It’s NEVER a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s about trying a variety of things and finding what works best for you. Be it with nutrition, or exercise, or BOTH! So please know that in my posts, I’m sharing what “I” did. And I’m in no way saying this is what “YOU” should do. I’m just sharing MY journey. Take anything you’d like from these stories. Maybe share with others. I’m all for sharing the journey! xoxo
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