How many calories should I be eating?

KayleyO7

Hi everyone. I'm a 23 year old female at 111 pounds. So, I'm not sure if I should be at maintenance or eating above that. I have a bit of fat that I would like to get rid of but my main goal is to gain muscle. I lift weights about five times a week usually for about an hour each session. I've only been lifting for about six or nine months. Also, I'm not sure which calorie formula to use. Scooby's calculator, IIFYM, and MFP seem to have at least a 100 calorie difference. I was eating 2,300 calories but it seemed like too much. But my maintenance calories is 1,800 and it kind of seems like too little.
What do you guys think should I stay at 2,300 for a little while or decrease a bit? Any input would be appreciated thanks!

farfromthetree

I personally like the Scooby calculator. There are other things to consider such as height and activity level and still nothing is absolute. What I did in the past is pick a number and stick to that number for a week. See where you are at that point. If you gained, you know to cut the number back, if you lose too quickly, add some.

I think 2,000 seems to be a reasonable place to start. I find it hard to believe at 111 you have much fat to lose. Good Luck!

Edited to add...it took me many months to find what number works for me, and this number has changed a few times.

KayleyO7

Thank you, 2,000 calories seems like a good middle ground.
It's not much fat, I think it might be more loose skin from gaining and losing a lot of weight pretty quickly. And I'm also pretty short, only 5 foot.

Frozenmango

I'm struggling with this number right now myself. I would like to lose weight rather aggressively, but I am lifting 3x a week and doing cardio 2x a week. With the diet plan my trainer gave me, I'm at around 1300 calories a day. I just wonder sometimes if that's too low since my BMR is fairly high. But I should really work at dropping all sugary snacks first.