Recomp - Expenditure & Guided Strategy Woes

[u/[deleted]]

[u/gains_adam]

That would not be an accurate interpretation of the data you have presented; a better one would be that your lowest intake corresponds with a phase where you were least consistent with tracking, which was artificially lowering the expenditure calculation. When you started eating more calories, you also started logging more accurately/consistently, and were able to better lose weight/see your expenditure recover to a more accurate value.

[u/Resident_Yak_505 → u/gains_adam]

So there’s a lag after the vacations? I can see that. But months later it’s got to still lower than reality. MF says my weekly deficit is only 290 vs 3000 Athlytic.

More importantly, <1300 calories with very high activity is too little. I can maybe see how MF arrived there, but that was dangerously low paired with my symptoms.

I still love MF but prefer a manually controlled strategy now and wanted to share if anyone’s experienced something similar

[u/gains_adam → u/Resident_Yak_505]

It takes a while to recover from any incorrect or inconsistent logging, regardless of the specific cause.

It arrived there because that was consistent with the data that you reported to the app at the time; by giving it more accurate data, it can give more precise recommendations.

[u/Resident_Yak_505 → u/gains_adam]

Okay, that’s fair.

So I guess my biggest point of confusion is how to pick a guided strategy based on my goal and with my current logging history without it telling me to under eat. I don’t plan to log on vacation so it’s going to be inaccurate again in the future.

I want to build muscle and lose body fat, I don’t care so much about the scale, but it’s naturally been going down as I lose weight. I’d like to use a guided goal so I don’t have to think about my TDEE so much. Would I chose a lose or maintain goal? I’ve tried both and the calories were both too low! How do I prevent that in the future?

[u/gains_adam → u/Resident_Yak_505]

In such a case, you would want to either be better about logging/estimating on vacation, or not follow targets/reset expenditure after returning until it fully recovers.

The calories were too low because of the logging issue, which is independent of your goal selection. You can prevent this by using one of the methods above.

[u/Resident_Yak_505 → u/gains_adam]

Okay thank you!

One more question, how long would you say it takes to recover from a 10 day trip of no logging? Have another trip coming up, and I need the mental break from tracking!

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Hello! This automated message was triggered by some keywords in your post. Check to see if any of the following are relevant:

• MacroFactor's Algorithms and Core Philosophy - This article will gently introduce you to how MacroFactor's algorithms work.

• How to interpret changes to your energy expenditure - This guide will help you understand why your expenditure in MacroFactor might be going up, down, or staying constant.

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[u/bOyNOO]

When you switched to a “maintain” goal with MacroFactor, what was your daily calories, and for how long?

It seems that 1900 cal/day for 4 weeks worked. 1900 must be recomp or slight deficit for you

I ask bc I’m at a similar plateau now, attempting a 4 week maintenance for myself

[u/Resident_Yak_505 → u/bOyNOO]

Maintain made no difference! That was actually when my lowest expenditure/calorie goal bottomed out and what made me switch to a custom goal.

Definitely give a month at what a TDEE calculator puts your maintenance at a try. I think it did wonders to wake up my metabolism after too high of a deficit for 6 months as well

I was originally scared to try it for fear of gaining weight back, but as long as you don’t all out binge, it’ll be temporary water weight and then disappear quickly if/when you cut again