jfestival wrote: » What's TOM ? (bit new to all this, not up on the lingo yet)
jfestival wrote: » 1200 total (and I was actually below that on a number of days). That's why I was asking, after everything I've read over the last couple of days, the 1200 'goal' in the app didn't seem like enough.
jfestival wrote: » Naturally I'm quite confused and would appreciate some input from people in the know!
AliceDark wrote: » Yes, or at least a portion of them. Lots of people eat back 50-75% just to be on the safe side, because MFP can sometimes over-estimate your exercise calories, but you're supposed to be eating them back. MFP doesn't factor exercise into your goal, whereas other calculators do. So, your 1200 goal + 400 eat-back calories is the same as another site's 1600, if it's factoring in your exercise.
ncboiler89 wrote: » The best input you may get is that one week doesn't mean anything. Why would you think you have stopped losing based on one week?
jfestival wrote: » Regardless, now I know to only worry about it if it goes on for longer than that (how long would you say?).
AliceDark wrote: » You got it! The only other thing that I would suggest is that if MFP's eat-back method really doesn't work for you, try the TDEE method. This factors in your average weekly exercise into your goal, so you eat the same amount every day. (This works best if you have a consistent exercise schedule -- if not, it'll be hard to pin down your daily goal). This is a good TDEE calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ If you go that route, determine your goal and custom-set MFP to that target. You still need to give it about 4 weeks to determine whether or not it's working for you. A week isn't long enough to see any kind of trend.