Counting Calories

kylamaries
kylamaries Posts: 291
in Food and Nutrition
How do you know how many calories to eat daily? My diary is set at the standard 1200 at the moment (I've just recently made the decision to log food due to personal reasons) but I was researching what would be appropriate for my daily lifestyle and a few caloric calculators told me I should be eating 2200 - 2400 daily. That's insane! I don't think I could eat that much if I tried. I am 5'6" and weigh 123lbs. At the moment, I exercise 1-2 times everyday although it is very moderate exercise (ie. walking, running, dance). Anyone care to help?

Replies

  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    The 2200-2400 is probably a maintenance intake (BMR + TDEE), so subtract 500 from that (500 x 7 days a week = 3500 cals, or approx 1lb lost per week). Do a forum search for "road map" and it is all broken down there. 1200 is the default MFP suggestion, but isn't very useful.
  • pugsleyjean
    pugsleyjean Posts: 135 Member
    My calories are set at 1440-1500 per day. Im 5'2" and at 145lbs. I do moderate exercise daily like yours and I dont often eat the caloires back but there are some days I do. I agree with you that 2200-2400 seem like a lot and I dont think it would be good to eat all that. I like this site bc it helps me see how I am doing when I track my foods and exercise. Also if you want to change your exercise amount you always have this sites calculator to advise you on how many calories to eat. Not sure if Im much help but seems to me like you are on the right track!
  • kylamaries
    kylamaries Posts: 291
    Thank you both! I think I'll up my calories a little bit and see if it helps at all :happy:
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    1200 is the bare minimum for a sedentary woman. If you exercise twice a day then you aren't sedentary and likely need to eat more. If you want to stick with MFP's calculations I'd recommend setting a 1 pound or 1/2 pound goal (2 pounds is really only appropriate if you're in the obese category) and make sure you log your exercise and eat back a majority of the calories you burn.

    Just for what it's worth, I'm 5'8" 170 pounds and 30 years old and I can lose weight eating 1800 calories and exercising 5 times a week. I wouldn't be surprised if you need to eat more than I do to fuel your workouts and discourage your body from taking the calories it needs from your muscle instead of fat.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    If I were you I would set calories to maintance and lift heavy weights. You are already closer to the lower end of a healthy weight for your height.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    Well that all depends. Are you trying to lose weight? If not try eating at maintenance or your 2200 cals and as long as you don't see big changes in weight or weight gain then you are doing it right!
  • kylamaries
    kylamaries Posts: 291
    I'd like to lose weight but not too much weight (I'm talking maybe a maximum of ten pounds?). I'd like to lose the fat and build muscle but I don't think I can gauge this by weight loss, so my diet/exercise shouldn't be anything extreme. Sadly, I don't have the resources to lift so I can't do that either.

    Edited for misspelling.

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