Confused on Calorie Intake

fitmom07
fitmom07 Posts: 215 Member
in Recipes
I haven't figured out how many calories I am supposed to be taking in. I have been working out vigorously pretty much every day including jogging and other things like squats and doing a bunch of ab workouts. I also breastfeed my almost 6 month old as well. Any ideas how many calories I need? I haven't noticed a big difference on the scale yet, but it's been only one month of working out, so I am hoping I am gaining muscle. I started taking measurements to see if I can see progress. I noticed my shorts feel looser.

Replies

  • lngman
    lngman Posts: 23 Member
    You don't have your log open for people to see, so I'm not sure if you have it set up. When you enter in your details (height, weight, sex, and weight goals) it will give you a target based upon your goal and whatever it thinks is your base metabolism.

    Then add in your food and exercise and you'll see where you need to be...you will have a running tally all day.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    I can't help you in the breast feeding department, but as for calories:

    First calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). It's the amount of calories you burn everyday for essential bodily functions that don't involve motion (breathing, organ function, brain function, etc). The formula to find your BMR is this:

    BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)............Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - bodyfat %)]/100

    For example, I weigh 185 pounds, and have a body fat percentage of 18%

    To find my BMR, I'd convert 185 pounds to KG, and I get 84 kg. I then multiply 84 by 0.82 to get my lean body mass in kg which is about 69kg. I multiply 69 times 21.6 and add 370 to that to get a BMR of 1860 calories.

    Once I know my BMR, I just have to multiply it by an activity factor to get my TDEE. The activity factors are:

    1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, & Little Formal Exercise)
    1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity & light exercise 1-3 days a week)
    1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
    1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
    1.9-2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)

    I chose 1.4 to be conservative which gives me a TDEE of 2600 calories a day. Since I want to lose weight, I subtract 20% of the calories for weight loss, and that leaves me with a daily calorie goal of about 2100 calories a day. It might be confusing, but it's the best way to go about it.

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