Looking for some comradery / compare notes / accountability.
Goal is 3-4kgs lost and kept off for competitiveness @racing…might not be a match for someone focused on health / big weightloss goals.
I understand the Myfitnesspal app is good for ‘buddying up’ but when I looked on the forum it was a sea of unbearable vanity, including photos.

Forget all that. Just use it to record your net calories in and out. You soon gain a good education of eating habits and foods to help support a healthy eating plan.

Use a good online calculator to gain a personal indicative Base Metabolic Rate to set a target.

Kryton I agree, have been using for a few weeks for just that. Turns out 100g of Brazil nuts a day really adds up!

Request is more about discussing the finer points…
Is the running calorie estimate accurate? How do you account for a heavy backpack when cycling? Is it better to carry over 1-200 calories on some days or just stuff in food late in the evening? When is it at its hardest for you to stick to target? Should I have drop a meal completely on no-exercize days or just shrink them all? How can weigh ins be most consistent? Is muscle atrophy inevitable? What mitigation techniques for muscle atrophy have you heard of?
…I know the internet has these questions answered already but someone like-minded could form a into a beautiful internet-MFY-bromance!

Trimming? Is this another body building thing?

I used MFP for a bit, following its idea of suitable carb intake. It was feasible, but weight loss was quite slow. Then I went back to iDave low carb/GI diet and got much better results. But previously, that had lost its efficacy. Something to do with spending time back on the carbs then going back to iDave seemed to help.

But like all of these diary things their main contribution imo is keeping you honest and reminding you what you’ve had. So having the odd biscuit is ok but MFP etc remind you that you’ve already had three or four sneaky biscuits about which you had forgotten.

Is the running calorie estimate accurate?

They never are. To answer all your questions in one – it depends on you, so just trial and error.

I use it on and off, I link it to Strava so when I run or cycle it gives me some extra calories.

For me it over estimates the calories used during exercise so I normally eat 2 thirds of what it says I have “earned” from exercise.

I don’t stuff food in late at night to meet the calorie target, if I am under then I am under. It means I don’t stress too much if I go over on another day.

The forums are quite informative (if you can filter out the rubbish and the you have to lift heavy weights crowd)

Interesting approach hooli, 2/3 seems harsh but possibly wise. Just adjusted my weight down on Strava as it seems to take the calorie data direct from that. Also just found this http://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1350959101 ….looks scientific and calculates 75-80% as many calories as strava so I will try that as my rule of thumb now.
ta