Need help with setting calories

mamabellyjelly

Hello. I've been on here a little over three weeks and I'm getting myself all confused over the number of calories I need. Forgive me for over-thinking this and if this is a silly question as I have lost 2 pounds in the past 3 weeks, so perhaps I should just be happy with that.

I'm a 40 yo woman, 5'5", weighing 150. I'd consider myself sedentary as I sit most of the day teaching my children. I've been swimming 1/2 hr. 2 times a week, though (...and will be increasing that to 3 x starting this week). I would like to lose 20 pounds in 6 months.

When I first started MFP it recommended 1200 net calories. After about a week I found that was low and hard to follow. I bumped up my calories to 1300. I started looking at other sites and their recommendations. Livestrong said about the same: 1214. Then I used my bmr number (1293) from an In-Body evaluation (...some crazy machine I stood on...) I had to do at Healthtrax when I joined the beginning of Dec. I plugged that into fat2fit which gives 1600 cal. (for sedentary) and 1840 (for light act.). Those are quite different numbers from MFP. Why such a difference? Which do I try to follow? Should I just stick to 1300? Should I bump it up higher?

Any help/insight would be appreciated. Please be kind.

Thank you!

kelleykayvanegmond

I'm also a 40 yr old woman and my calories came in at 1200 as I sit 9 hours a day at a desk job. I've stuck to the 1200 for just over 5 months and I have lost 29 pounds. It was very hard at first and I always felt hungry but after a couple weeks it just becomes normal and you learn to live on less food. It's very important to choose to right foods as every calorie counts and I want to get the most of what I can for what I have to work with. I use the bulk of my calories at dinner so I can eat with my family however I've learned to measure out my portions and most importantly not to go back for seconds. Breakfast and lunch I eat the exact same thing 5 days a week. No surprises no frills. You can do it - once you get over the 2 week hill the rest should be fairly easy. Good luck!

TuffChixRule

If you want to lose 20 pounds in 6 months I'd set your goals to lose 1 pound a week. So that's about a 500 calorie deficit, which is about 1600 to 1800 calories a day. 1200 to 1300 usually makes you feel deprived and hungry, which is not a good thing. I hope this helps

erickirb

the difference is the weekly weight loss goal, and the fact mfp does not include exercise until you enter it whereas the other sites take into account planned exercise.

As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a TDEE calculator may tell you to eat 1700 everyday regardless if you workout.

So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 11,900 (1700*7) almost the same number of cals for the week (250 dif). The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

What many MFPers do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1700/day above.

Lesa_Sass

You are more than likely going to stick to it and actually lose the weight in the long run on 1700 per day. I would go with that and then eat back a few exercise calories if you are hungry.

1200 to 1300 is not sustainable long term and leaves most people tired, hungry and angry. I do not like even being one of those things much less all three.

999tigger

Decide which method you want to use MFP, which treats exercise calories separately or the TDEE method which includes exercise calories and spreads them over the week on the presumption you will do that exercise.

Livestrong says your maintenance calories are 1709. Thats the amount you will burn without normally during the day based on yoursedentary lifestyle.
Every 1lb a week you want to lose is based on 3500 calories a week deficit, so 500 a day.
You say 1209 is too low, which is fine (its important you eat enough you can stick to), so maybe lose 0.5lb a week through diet, which =1459 calories a day.

You should then target the other 1/2lb a week to lose by exercise, that means a weekly burn of 1750 calories. Swimming calories burned has lots of variables inlcuding intensity and duration for the total calorie burn. I have had a look and from moderate to vigorous it comes in at about 250-350 calories for you.

So your deficit for the week would be 1750 from reduced calories and diet.
Swimming 3x a week at say 300 calories=900


That would still leave you c850 calories short of the 3500 you need for 1lb theoretical weight loss per week. You could probably make most of that up by walking 30 mins a day and do things like taking the stairs instead of a lift etc. Otherwise the calorie burn as indicated is enough for say 3/4lb a week.

Its important you understand how the calculation works and how your deficit is made up between exercise and food. Just three further points:

1. The plan you want is the one that suits you and which you can sustain, so theres nothing wrong with losing 3/4 or 1/2 a week if you can sustain it rather than being too agressive and giving up.
2. Weight loss is not linear so these are just estimates, some weeks you will lose and others you will not, so dont expect it to go down in a straight line. Monitor progress and adjust accordingly.
3. Its very important that your data is accurate as possible especially when trying to lose small amounts. the less you have to lose the harder it gets. Its suggested that you get a food scale and weigh all your food so the calories you enter into MFP are accurate.

mamabellyjelly

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply!

Erickirb and 999tigger - I really appreciate your explanations. I hadn't realized the difference between the ways calories were calculated. I've seen people write about TDEE but now I see that I hadn't understood what they were discussing. Thank you for clarifying! I'm happy to see how they are related and not just completely random numbers. I think following MFP would be a better choice for me since life has a way of changing my best laid plans.

Less_Sass - Yes, I completely hear you on avoiding tiredness, hunger, and anger. I don't want any of those things. 1200 made me feel like that. 1300 and eating back my workout calories hasn't made me feel that but I haven't been at it that long so who knows. I will be watching and seeing. I thank all of you because now I'm not worried about bumping up my calories and letting this take a bit longer.