Calorie Calculator?

iheartmy1dog

Hi, I'm new to the forums. This has probably been asked before so I apologize in advance if it has. I've found calorie calculators online before but I haven't found one that includes my activity level. MyFitnessPal app says I should consume 1200 calories a day... I've been doing that but in the last couple months I've realized I bruise really easily and have a lot of hair damage so I was asking a couple people... They said with my activity level(90mins of elliptical everyday, about 6hrs of kayaking a wk, and casually walking my dog about 4hrs a wk) I should be consuming more. My goal is still to lose 17lbs so I'm not sure how to calculate what's right for me? (I also realize nutrition is probably playing a part in this and plan on making an appt to ask my pcp but in the meantime I was wondering how much I should be eating a day)

Thanks for any help!

Emsie_lou

Yes I agree you should be eating more than 1200 cals if you do that amount of exercise. I find eating more helps me burn more cals. I was on 1200 but as I do an hour at the gym everyday I put it in for 1500 but then I found I was still hungry so now I eat about 1800 but with my exercise cals my net cals are about 1300 a day.
Change your weight loss aim on here to half a pound to up your calories per day, this is what I have done yet I still lose about 2 lb per week.

AmyRhubarb

Have a read through this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

Great info on losing the fat, and links to tools for calculating your goals and calorie needs. Best move I ever made was following the info in that thread (and that's the short version - there's a link to the full, Tolstoy-long version in the thread - totally worth the read).

Markguns

Hi, I'm new to the forums. This has probably been asked before so I apologize in advance if it has. I've found calorie calculators online before but I haven't found one that includes my activity level. MyFitnessPal app says I should consume 1200 calories a day... I've been doing that but in the last couple months I've realized I bruise really easily and have a lot of hair damage so I was asking a couple people... They said with my activity level(90mins of elliptical everyday, about 6hrs of kayaking a wk, and casually walking my dog about 4hrs a wk) I should be consuming more. My goal is still to lose 17lbs so I'm not sure how to calculate what's right for me? (I also realize nutrition is probably playing a part in this and plan on making an appt to ask my pcp but in the meantime I was wondering how much I should be eating a day)

Thanks for any help!

Try these...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/750920-spreadsheet-for-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones

iheartmy1dog

Thanks for all the replies! WOW... My daily calorie intake should be about 1000 more than what myfitnesspal told me! No wonder I'm probably malnurished!!

cebiginalaska

Find out more here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/7965-in-place-of-a-road-map
it has lots of great information about figuring out your TDEE and how much you should eat

This is a short form for the full document contained here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13


The Road Map is simply a tool to find Body Fat%, BMR and TDEE.
All 3 items are important to understanding fat/weight loss.

Once you know these 3 numbers, you'll be able to manipulate nutrition and training to get to your next goal.

1) Body Fat%
Knowing the ratio of body fat to lean mass is crucial in understanding body composition.
The less fat you have, the leaner you'll look.
The more lean muscle you have, the better your definition (tone) will look.
Having ideal body fat is not only healthier for the individual but it also helps you look good naked!

Athletes (6-13% for men, 16-20% for women) 
<---Ideal area for Bulking
Fitness (14-17% for men, 21-24% for women) 

Acceptable (18-25% for men, 25-31% for women) 

Obese (25%+ for men, 32%+ for women)

The shocking part about BF% is most people who PM me numbers don't know how much fat they carry.
It's the most important part of figuring out the rest of your caloric intake.

Bottom Line: Buy a tape measurer or a set of Calipers and learn how to objectively track body fat while cutting/bulking.
The ultimate goal is to lose unwanted fat and maintain or even gain beautiful lean muscle.

Useful links:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bf/
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/cbbf/
Do all 3 BF Calcs and use the average number.
Write it down, you'll use it later!

2) BMR/RMR
Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate.
This covers all body functions outside of activity.
If you were in a coma and you were fed enough nutrients to keep you alive, Thats BMR.
Think "Baseline Calories" if you did absolutely nothing.
Sub-sedentary.
All vital organs are covered when eating BMR.

For those who like math, you'll find several different types of calculations for BMR.
1) Harris-Benedict formula: Overestimates in obese: Avoid this setting!
MEN: BMR = 66 + [13.7 x weight (kg)] + [5 x height (cm)] - [6.76 x age (years)]
WOMEN: BMR = 655 + [9.6 x weight (kg)] + [1.8 x height (cm)] - [4.7 x age (years)]

2) Mifflin-St Jeor: Better estimate for those that are obese, but still inflated.
MEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] + 5
WOMEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] -1613)

3) Katch-McArdle: Best estimate if decent estimate of BF% is known and is especially good in leaner individuals.
BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - bodyfat %)]/100

If you'd like to calculate on your own, you can get calculated TDEE using this chart:
Multiply BMR x Activity factor = TDEE.
1.2 = Sedentary (Little or no exercise + desk job)
1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Little daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately active daily life & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
1.9-2.0 = Extremely Active (Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job)

Or use the formula that chart is based on, if you want to use number of hours of exercise per week instead of guessing which level.
For daily activity not sitting at a desk but always moving around, count the hrs as 1/8 the time (40 hr nurse on feet counts as 5 hrs)
Walking exercise counts as 1/2 time (6 hrs walking is 3 hrs).
Other exercise is straight time (3 hr Insanity is 3 hr).
(Weekly movement hrs * 0.0875) + 1.2 = Activity Factor

Realize that this isn't just about your training but your lifestyle as well.
Example: You work at a desk all day but come home and play with your children for an hour, lift weights 3x a week for an hour and jog 2mi every other day. In this example id use Moderate or possibly Active settings.

Heres a helpful link for figuring your BMR and TDEE:
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
Enter all pertinent info.
Make GOAL weight the same as CURRENT weight to get todays TDEE.

Bottom Line: Know what your base caloric needs are and stay above them if you are active.
Eating too low for extended periods of time may allow for weight loss, but you could still have high body fat.
Skinny-fat: http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-you-skinny-fat-find-out-why.html

Once you know your base "Comatose" calories you can move on to TDEE.

3) TDEE
Total Daily Energy Expenditure
This is the total amount of calories you burn in a 24hour period.
You wake up, brush your teeth, lift, run, play, work.....
You get the idea.
One thing I've noticed over the years is people underestimate activity.
They say "I'm sitting at my computer all day long so i'm sedentary!"
I'll ask "Workout routine?"
They say "Oh i run for 3 hours a day and do CrossFit all weekend long!"


If you sit all day and barely walk and dont workout, Sedentary.
If you workout 1-2x a week, Light.
If you workout 3-5x a week, Moderate.
If you workout 5+, active/very active.

Youll find these numbers at the bottom of the BMR page in Fat 2 Fit.
You can also use other calculators around the internet.

Once you have TDEE you can decide what to set MFP calories to.
I recommend -20% for individuals who are Obese and under.
-30% for individuals who are Obese and over.

Bottom Line: Be realistic with activity. If you are a marathon runner trying to take a few pounds off, don't use sedentary settings. First start with the top number that applies to you and stick with it for several weeks. If nutrition is right and activity is right, you should maintain eating TDEE. To lose fat, subtract calories. To gain LBM, add calories. Lift weights, walk, sleep and eat right.
Use your common sense.

iheartmy1dog

If myfitnesspal is wrong by about 1000 calories for my daily goal, is there a way to change it in the app?

keem88

ummmm you should be eating WAYYYY more than 1200. when you log your exercise it will give you the extra calories to eat back so you know what you should be eating. calculate tdee and do a 20% deficit to lose

iheartmy1dog

ummmm you should be eating WAYYYY more than 1200. when you log your exercise it will give you the extra calories to eat back so you know what you should be eating. calculate tdee and do a 20% deficit to lose

Never paid attention to that before! I only really looked at the "goal" part... Wow, wish I had noticed sooner!! For almost the past yr that means I've been under what I've needed to eat by 2000-3000 calories!!

All the times I said no to food when I could've/should've said yes!

iheartmy1dog

If I'm that deficient in calories each day, what will my body do after increasing my intake? Most of the time I'm not hungry and its easy to stay at 1200cal... How do I eat so much more if I'm not hungry?