Calorie Goal?

iheartmy1dog

I think I need to adjust my calorie goal but I'm not sure what to. A dietician I saw told me 1650 plus calories I burn doing exercise. My pcp told me 1400 minus 250-500 to lose. And when I google it I come up with answers anywhere from 1400-2000. Anyone know the most accurate way to figure it out?

Branstin

I would list to the dietitian (after checking his/her qualifications) before the PCP and Internet. Thing to remember is the numbers are starting points and guidelines which you adjust if needed.

iheartmy1dog

That's a good point! Thanks for the advice!

blktngldhrt

I would also listen to the dietician. That's his/her area of expertise.

I have had issues with pcps. It took me ten years to find a pcp who doesn't try to solve problems that should be handled by someone more knowledgeable.

blktngldhrt

Also.. 1400 minus 250-500 sounds absolutely ridiculous.

blktngldhrt

Oh.. Google TDEE and bmr calculators. Bmr is what you shouldn't go below and you usually take the TDEE and give yourself a 15-25% deficit in order to lose weight. I would still listen to the dietician.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'd start with the dietician's recommendation. Do that for four weeks and then adjust based on your actual results.

iheartmy1dog

Thanks for the help!

Just looked at that calculator and it says my TDEE is 2032, and BMR is 1390. Not exactly sure what TDEE is, I'm going to have to read more on that. If what I burn is 1390 a day, then shouldn't I eat like 890 to lose weight?(be at a deficit?) But that sounds really low to fuel my exercise activities

MissHolidayGolightly

TDEE is what you burn every day at your activity level. BMR is what you would burn just existing and not moving. You should eat between your TDEE and BMR to lose weight, closer to the TDEE is more sensible. Using TDEE assumes you don't eat exercise cals back, though. Do not aim to eat below your BMR.

ElisetheQ

iheartmy1dog wrote: »

Thanks for the help!

Just looked at that calculator and it says my TDEE is 2032, and BMR is 1390. Not exactly sure what TDEE is, I'm going to have to read more on that. If what I burn is 1390 a day, then shouldn't I eat like 890 to lose weight?(be at a deficit?) But that sounds really low to fuel my exercise activities

No, you don't want to go BELOW your BMR. BMR is your basal metabolic rate, which is the calories your body needs just to survive - if you were to stay in bed all day and do nothing, that's the caloric limit your body needs.

Now, your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what you'd subtract the 20% (give or take) to lose weight, so if you're subtracting 500 calories, that would be 2032-500 = 1532 daily calorie goal.

Now, each body is different, so I'd start around there (which is close to what your dietician had stated) and give it a couple months and see what happens.

I'll also advise that if you're exercising, (this from personal experience, haha) only eat back about half of your "exercise" calories, especially if you're not using a good heart rate monitor to help you figure calorie burn. That way, you're still eating back some of those calories, but you're also giving yourself wiggle room in case they're being overestimated.

Good luck!

blktngldhrt

Bmr is what your body needs at minimum daily. TDEE is pretty much what you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

Definitely go with your dietician. They gave about a 20% deficit..which is what you want.

JayRuby84

The dietitian's numbers sound very good.

YalithKBK

Check out this thread for an answer to your questions. It was really helpful in explaining BMR and TDEE.

iheartmy1dog

Ohhh! Thanks for all the info!! So the TDEE I don't need to add exercise calories... but the dietician told me 1650 plus exercise calories so maybe I've been eating too much? I was at like 145-150 for a year and then in the past few months I've gained about 10lbs so trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I use the Garmin 620 w/ HRM to figure out my calories burned but I'm not sure how accurate it is? Maybe I'll try that and only eat back 1/2 of what it says.

fourakes

No wonder I have been hungry all week. My goal is 1220 calories a day and have been exercising 5 days a week . I have consumed an average of 1400 calories a week. my BMI 26, BMR 1874, TDEE 2577. I lost 2.5 lbs but my first week back after a two year off. Happy about the loss and I like a two pound loss in a week. Not crazy about my stomach feeling empty. And definitelydont want to stall.

Lasmartchika

This page really helped me understand how TDEE and BMR work. Really an eye opener!! No need to starve!!
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/680246/tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them/p1

tnadungan

myfitnesspal said I should eat 1200 calories per day. I wasn't losing weight, I went to my doctor being that she recommended this site. Turns out I should actually be eating 1350 and I have been losing weight without exercising. I felt like I was starving at 1200, now I don't feel as weak and actually see results. My question is if I start exercising do I eat the calories that I burn. IE. If I burn 122 on the elliptical do I get an additional 122 or does that go towards the deficit? I really want this to work this time around.