How do you determine how many calories you should eat a day?

OneDayJayme

New and need help

Alatariel75

Put your stats into MFP and let it tell you, it's what it is designed to do.

chriscamburn

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals

OneDayJayme

Thank you

Luna3386

Alatariel75 wrote: »

Put your stats into MFP and let it tell you, it's what it is designed to do.

Be accurate in activity level.

Eat exactly what it tells you, the deficit is already built in. If you exercise, eat those calories too.

beanz744

u might find this helpful

1. buy a food scale
2. set up a profile with an easy goal at first (start with .5 or 1lbs a week for the first 2 weeks to ease ur body into it). MFP will spit out a daily calorie allowance for u
3. take up exercising (try only eat back half of what u think u burned at max)
4. join an online challenge
5. ditch any non supportive friends
6. donate all junk foods
7. dont tell people that u r trying to lose weight coz most will tell u to EAT MORE (smile n ignore them if they do but do not give in coz u have a goal n they dont)
8. LOG everything u eat consistently


good luck!

Ktj7875

So, if I have been given 1200 calories from MFP and then burned 500 calories while exercising this morning, I should eat 1700 calories today? What happens if you don't eat the calories from exercise?

dhimaan

Ktj7875 wrote: »

What happens if you don't eat the calories from exercise?

You will lose weight faster. It is suggested you eat some of those calories back. I used to eat those calories and still lost weight.

Ktj7875

Thanks for your reply

J72FIT

A quick down and dirty method that I have had success with is to take your height in centimeters and multiply by 14 (men) 12 (women) for maintenance. These are good starting points. When dieting, 10 - 14 (men) 8.5 - 12 women.

This also assumes you are exercising 3-5 times per week.

Remember, these are estimates, adjust as needed.

HeliumIsNoble

Ktj7875 wrote: »

So, if I have been given 1200 calories from MFP and then burned 500 calories while exercising this morning, I should eat 1700 calories today? What happens if you don't eat the calories from exercise?

In short:
If you burn 500 calories and don't eat extra on top of that 1200, it's like you only ate 700 calories. If you do this repeatedly, and not as a one-off, this is how to permanently damage your health. Worst case scenario: premature death. At this point, you are not on a diet to lose a weight and change your figure, you are on starvation rations. Following such a plan for an extended period constitutes working yourself to death.

Long answer: you, and every other human being, need a minimum amount of fuel each day, just to exist, even if you have a duvet day, and do absolutely nothing. This quantity of energy is called the Basal Metabolic Rate, or sometimes the Resting Metabolic Rate and is the total fuel your body needs to keep your heart beating, your lungs moving, your body temperature stable, and your kidneys and liver fully functioning. For women, the typical figure quoted is 1200 calories; for men, it is 1500 calories.

To recap: you still need at least 1200 calories if you are in a coma in hospital!

stanmann571

Ktj7875 wrote: »

So, if I have been given 1200 calories from MFP and then burned 500 calories while exercising this morning, I should eat 1700 calories today? What happens if you don't eat the calories from exercise?

It depends.

You'll almost certainly lose weight faster,

Depending on how many exercise calories you don't eat, you may also lose hair faster, become fatigued, lose significant muscle mass etc

tinkerbellang83

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1