Daily Caloric Intake Advice Needed

jessicatombari

Hey everyone! I know another cal intake question but please help a girl out So lately as I have been coming closer to my goal weight I have become unsure of how many cals/day I should be consuming. I have tried to figure out the appropriate intake for myself but I am still very unclear. If anyone could help shed some light for me it'd be much appreciated Here are my stats:

My starting weight was around 138lbs, and my goal is around 115lbs. Currently I am fluctuating between 122-124lbs.
female, 5'2", 19yrs (small-medium frame)
I have been eating 1200cal/day for the past few months and have lost about 15lbs so far.
I have a desk job (so marked activity level as sedentary) but workout 6 times a week.

Now that I am in a "healthy" weight range I have lowered my goals. However, even when I changed my weight loss from 2lbs/week to 1lb/week my cal intake only raised from 1200 to 1290... When I change the loss to .5lb/week it rises to only 1360. I have calculated my TDEE on Scooby and it says it is 1390. So my question is, what number should I be consuming?? I really do not want to eat so sparsely anymore but since I am small I was not sure if I should be eating so little? I weigh all my foods and log everything. Thanks

DemoraFairy

1390 is your BMR, not your TDEE. BMR is what you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Your TDEE is 1668, and that's without including your workouts, so with them it would be higher. So to maintain you want to eat 1668 + whatever you burn from your work outs. To lose half a pound a week you want to take 250 calories from that, so about 1400 a day (plus exercise calories), which isn't far off what MFP recommended.

terbusha

I'm very practical when it comes to setting calorie goals. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1 lb/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1300 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 3 weeks. If you lose ~1 lb/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

Whenever you increase your calorie level, do it slowly.

Allan

jessicatombari

DemoraFairy wrote: »

1390 is your BMR, not your TDEE. BMR is what you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Your TDEE is 1668, and that's without including your workouts, so with them it would be higher. So to maintain you want to eat 1668 + whatever you burn from your work outs. To lose half a pound a week you want to take 250 calories from that, so about 1400 a day (plus exercise calories), which isn't far off what MFP recommended.

oops yes sorry I meant BMR !! Thank you.

jessicatombari

terbusha wrote: »

I'm very practical when it comes to setting calorie goals. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1 lb/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1300 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 3 weeks. If you lose ~1 lb/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

Whenever you increase your calorie level, do it slowly.

Allan

Is 1lb a week too aggressive for me though?

SezxyStef

jessicatombari wrote: »

terbusha wrote: »

I'm very practical when it comes to setting calorie goals. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1 lb/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1300 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 3 weeks. If you lose ~1 lb/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

Whenever you increase your calorie level, do it slowly.

Allan

Is 1lb a week too aggressive for me though?

at this point yes...2lbs a week was too aggressive.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

TimothyFish

jessicatombari wrote: »

terbusha wrote: »

I'm very practical when it comes to setting calorie goals. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1 lb/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1300 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 3 weeks. If you lose ~1 lb/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

Whenever you increase your calorie level, do it slowly.

Allan

Is 1lb a week too aggressive for me though?

No