All the acronyms, what do they mean in plain English?
When I started using the forums on My Fitness Pal, other users were throwing around all of these acronyms and I had to go google them to work out some of the threads as I had no idea what they meant, there are probably many more, but these are the ones that particularly stood out for me:
NEAT
Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis - this is basically the calculation of what your body is burning in your day-to-day life without purposeful exercise (the activity level you choose in your settings), this is the figure that MFP uses in conjunction with the weight loss rate you want, to give you that magic Calorie Goal figure. Working on the basis that you should be eating extra calories when you carry out purposeful exercise.
TDEE
Another way to calculate your expected daily burn is to use the TDEE Method, which is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The idea in this method is to calculate your daily amount and eat at a deficit (either percentage or fixed amount), this is a good choice for those with a regular exercise schedule who don’t want to log their exercises, I also found it helpful to see my Maintenance level at different levels of activity. There are a lot of free TDEE Calculators online. This is the method I have used to calculate my own more sustainable calorie goal TDEE @ Sedentary – 500 Calories.
As a foot note to TDEE, I had no idea that my maintenance level was as high as it is, I always worked on the basis of the 2000 calories an average woman requires when in fact my calorie goal for maintenance at my start weight was actually closer to 2200 on a lazy day and 2600 on a more active day, so it’s not surprising that trying to eat the prescribed 1300 calories for an aggressive weigh loss rate would leave me starving and quitting after 10 days.
The reason I have chosen a 500 calorie deficit is that 3500 calories is the approximate calorific value of 1lb of body fat, so in order to lose 1lb per week, we divide that by 7 days.
BMR
Basal Metabolic Rate: this is the calorie requirement of your body when you are at your most inactive. At my start weight this would have been around 1900 calories. BMR is the basis of the TDEE Calculation, a multiplication formula is used to calculate for each activity level, example TDEE for a sedentary person would be calculated as 1.2 x their BMR.
LCHF
Low Carbohydrate High Fat diet is a method some people choose to eat to minimise the consumption of sugars and starches.
IF
Intermittent Fasting is another method people might use which restricts the time or day of eating. Such as 5:2, meaning to eat normally 5 days per week and then eat at 25% of your calorie consumption for the other 2 days or 16:8 whereby you eat only during an 8 hour window at a calorie deficit.
IIFYM
This is one of my favourite acronyms now and the reason why I am having more success this time around If It Fits Your Macros meaning that your main concern when planning food is to make sure if fits your calorie and macronutrient (Carb/Protein/Fat) goals, in essence, a balanced diet of your own choosing.
NSV
Non-scale Victory is something that crops up occasionally, it is something to celebrate that pertains to your weight loss journey but is not your body weight, for example:
A favourite item of clothing fitting better
Lower resting heart rate
Improved health results (blood pressure, peak flow, etc)
Smaller body measurements
Being able to do more around the house or with kids