Calorie Goal

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2

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  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,136 Member
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    A question, have you eaten at 1520 calories measuring carefully (weighing all solids including ground and grated solids, using measuring cups/spoons for liquids) for at least 3 weeks and gained weight, or are you assuming you will?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    Yes, i know exercise isnt the o ky thing that burns cals. Thats what i meant by trying to only eat what i need

    That's just it though. Your BMR (calories your body needs to function before any daily activity or exercise is factored in....calories your body needs to keep your organs working) is higher than 1000. So you are eating less than you need.

    Your estimated BMR is 1569. So your body burns 1569 calories at rest. This doesn't include walking to the bathroom or kitchen or any exercise. That is your base calorie burn. So by eating 1000 calories, you are 569 calories below what your body needs approximately for basic functions.

    Calories to maintain with little to no exercise/desk job: 1833 (lines up with what I said above and your loss)
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,005 Member
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    rankinsect wrote: »
    McKittyJane wrote: »
    This is supposedly a deficit, but if I ate 1500 cal every day I would GAIN weight.
    I shoot for around 1000 calories a day instead.

    1500 calories per day is roughly what a 7 year old girl eats. 1000 calories is about the typical intake for a two year old girl. Even if you were totally sedentary, you burn more calories than either of those.

    I agree with most of the advice in this thread.

    However, 2 year olds and 7 year olds are growing - understandably they need proportionately more calories than an adult aiming to lose.

    I lost steadily on 1470, so almost exactly the 1500 you say a 7 year old eats.

    I was 52, lightly active and 5ft 4in. And lost at slow rate of 1/2 lb week.

    I can see that somebody less active, shorter, older than me would gain on 1500. For SOME adults, that is too much to lose on.

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,136 Member
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    paperpudding wrote: »
    rankinsect wrote: »
    McKittyJane wrote: »
    This is supposedly a deficit, but if I ate 1500 cal every day I would GAIN weight.
    I shoot for around 1000 calories a day instead.

    1500 calories per day is roughly what a 7 year old girl eats. 1000 calories is about the typical intake for a two year old girl. Even if you were totally sedentary, you burn more calories than either of those.

    I agree with most of the advice in this thread.

    However, 2 year olds and 7 year olds are growing - understandably they need proportionately more calories than an adult aiming to lose.

    I lost steadily on 1470, so almost exactly the 1500 you say a 7 year old eats.

    I was 52, lightly active and 5ft 4in. And lost at slow rate of 1/2 lb week.

    I can see that somebody less active, shorter, older than me would gain on 1500. For SOME adults, that is too much to lose on.

    None of which is true for the original poster, she is 5'8", 20 years old. She does not fall into the same category as people like you and I who are around 50. Her energy needs, baring a medical condition, would be far higher not just because of height and weigh, but her age as well. As others have calculated, her BMR is over 1520. Her TDEE is likely quite a bit over that.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    Yes, i have tried eating an accurate 1500 consistently for a good bit of time, at best that keeps me maintaining, not losing.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    Yes, i have tried eating an accurate 1500 consistently for a good bit of time, at best that keeps me maintaining, not losing.

    How long is a good bit? Based on what you've posted in this thread, 1500 would be about 1/2 lb per week on average. So it would be very slow loss and sometimes feel like your not going anywhere.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    2 months committed, longer before that but i wasnt as strict then
    Scale wouldnt move, neither did waistline
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited February 2016
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    2 months committed, longer before that but i wasnt as strict then
    Scale wouldnt move, neither did waistline

    Did you log every single day? Because currently looking at your log, it's very spotty (I looked all the way back through to Nov).

    Your current rate of loss based on what you think you consume does put your maintenance at just over 1800 calories. If it was 1500, you would have only lost 3 lbs in the past 3 weeks. The math doesn't add up to what you think you maintain at. Your loss says you maintain at more than 1500.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    No. I just started back late dec/early jan. My last round (where i was sticking to 1500) was last fall
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    My recommendations:
    - Log everything for 4 weeks straight
    - weigh your food on a food scale / use measuring cups for liquids
    - avoid " Homemade " entries from the database (seriously read the thread that I posted a link to above, there is a lot of inaccurate stuff in the database).
    - weigh yourself at least once a week and use an app like Happy weight or libra that will show trends (the more weigh in's you have the better, but if it causes too much stress once a week is fine).
    - Eat at least 1200 calories (that is the MINIMUM for women for health as set by the National Institute of Health)

    (want to talk slow, in the past 3 months my trending weight has only dropped 1.9 lbs. If I hadn't screwed up so bad in January, I'd be looking at maybe 3lbs...granted I tried to maintain my weight...but I still wasn't at what it would take me to maintain)
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,005 Member
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    rileysowner wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    rankinsect wrote: »
    McKittyJane wrote: »
    This is supposedly a deficit, but if I ate 1500 cal every day I would GAIN weight.
    I shoot for around 1000 calories a day instead.

    1500 calories per day is roughly what a 7 year old girl eats. 1000 calories is about the typical intake for a two year old girl. Even if you were totally sedentary, you burn more calories than either of those.

    I agree with most of the advice in this thread.

    However, 2 year olds and 7 year olds are growing - understandably they need proportionately more calories than an adult aiming to lose.

    I lost steadily on 1470, so almost exactly the 1500 you say a 7 year old eats.

    I was 52, lightly active and 5ft 4in. And lost at slow rate of 1/2 lb week.

    I can see that somebody less active, shorter, older than me would gain on 1500. For SOME adults, that is too much to lose on.

    None of which is true for the original poster, she is 5'8", 20 years old. She does not fall into the same category as people like you and I who are around 50. Her energy needs, baring a medical condition, would be far higher not just because of height and weigh, but her age as well. As others have calculated, her BMR is over 1520. Her TDEE is likely quite a bit over that.

    Yes I agree with you. And, as I said, I agree with most of the advice in this thread.

    My post was responding to the poster who seemed to be saying adults should be eating over 1500 calories because that's what 7 year olds eat.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited February 2016
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    McKittyJane wrote: »
    Yes, i know exercise isnt the o ky thing that burns cals. Thats what i meant by trying to only eat what i need

    That's just it though. Your BMR (calories your body needs to function before any daily activity or exercise is factored in....calories your body needs to keep your organs working) is higher than 1000. So you are eating less than you need.

    Your estimated BMR is 1569. So your body burns 1569 calories at rest. This doesn't include walking to the bathroom or kitchen or any exercise. That is your base calorie burn. So by eating 1000 calories, you are 569 calories below what your body needs approximately for basic functions.

    Calories to maintain with little to no exercise/desk job: 1833 (lines up with what I said above and your loss)
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    This^

    Basic functions are heart, liver, kidneys, brain, like that.

    Eating 1,000 (if that's accurate) is less fuel than your organs and bodily functions need. So your body has to make choices. Do I fuel the heart muscle, or a full head of hair? Google fast weight loss and hair loss....it's a real thing. Your body can't get 100% of what it needs from fat stores. Your body will (and is) breaking down existing lean muscle mass for fuel. This creates weight loss....but doesn't lower your body fat %. A lower body fat percentage is healthy weight loss.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
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    I just love how you dodge the questions people are asking you. Are you weighing your food on a scale?
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    Some of it, so to satisfy you, no.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    I love how people who respond to nutrition threads like to attack people that ask for an opinion because they assume they are an idiot. ;)
  • ClosetBayesian
    ClosetBayesian Posts: 836 Member
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    I love how people who respond to nutrition threads like to attack people that ask for an opinion because they assume they are an idiot. ;)

    Where do you see attacks? Weighing your food is going to be more accurate than measuring it.
  • McKittyJane
    McKittyJane Posts: 143 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    I think you should read this thread:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    I get what you mean about how super careful you should be in weighing food etc.

    But if i am 3 cheerios over what the weight is because i used a 1 cup measure, its not like thats 700 calories i just underestimated; it can add up it its lots, but for the most part i trust the labels.

    Also...the "homemade" database entries...i always check those out to make sure they arent crazy wrong. I check individual ingredients online and on packaging if needed.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,646 Member
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    I saw one helpful video earlier. I'm going to post another.

    https://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,646 Member
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    I think you should read this thread:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    I get what you mean about how super careful you should be in weighing food etc.

    But if i am 3 cheerios over what the weight is because i used a 1 cup measure, its not like thats 700 calories i just underestimated; it can add up it its lots, but for the most part i trust the labels.

    Also...the "homemade" database entries...i always check those out to make sure they arent crazy wrong. I check individual ingredients online and on packaging if needed.

    Ok... so I work in the food industry.. .not prepared food... packaged sold food.

    US law allows packages to be incorrect in both package weight (example the package says it contains 3.5 servings when really it contains 4.5) and in nutritional value (example the serving size of 100 grams is 100 calories when really it's 125) by up to 25%.

    This gives you a potential for a 25% margin of error in every packaged item that you eat.

    Not trying to be snarky... just illustrate why weighing is important.
  • mrsnazario1219
    mrsnazario1219 Posts: 173 Member
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    McKittyJane wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    I think you should read this thread:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

    I get what you mean about how super careful you should be in weighing food etc.

    But if i am 3 cheerios over what the weight is because i used a 1 cup measure, its not like thats 700 calories i just underestimated; it can add up it its lots, but for the most part i trust the labels.

    Also...the "homemade" database entries...i always check those out to make sure they arent crazy wrong. I check individual ingredients online and on packaging if needed.

    Bottom line.. You're NOT logging accurately, you're using cups to measure solids. You're NOT eating 1,000 calories, you're eating more. Please review the video above. Using cups to measure solids instead of weighing them DOES make a huge difference. Until you start weighing your solids and log them accurately, you will NOT lose.

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