How many calories should I be eating? Help me!

Motivationn92

I’m so confused to how many calories I should be eating to lose weight. I would like to weigh 150 for now, then eventually be 130. However, I am 163 lbs right now. I am a female, I’m 26 years old, and I’m 5’1”. When I put it in mfp it says to eat 1200 calories. When I calculated it using the mifflin st jeor equation it said to be eating 1694 calories to lose 1 pound a week. To lose 2 lbs a week I need to eat 1,194 calories. Is this right? .. I also workout 3-5 times a week. I either jump rope for 30 minutes, use the elliptical for 25 minutes and stair master for 20, and I use a 15 lb kettlebell and a 25 lb kettlebell at times depending on the exercise.... and so far I haven’t been losing weight.. so can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong?.. thanks in advance!!

TavistockToad

Set MFP to lose 1lb per week, then eat back your exercise calories. Also, you probably aren't actually sedentary so make sure you pick an appropriate activity level.

kimny72

Motivationn92 wrote: »

I’m so confused to how many calories I should be eating to lose weight. I would like to weigh 150 for now, then eventually be 130. However, I am 163 lbs right now. I am a female, I’m 26 years old, and I’m 5’1”. When I put it in mfp it says to eat 1200 calories. When I calculated it using the mifflin st jeor equation it said to be eating 1694 calories to lose 1 pound a week. To lose 2 lbs a week I need to eat 1,194 calories. Is this right? .. I also workout 3-5 times a week. I either jump rope for 30 minutes, use the elliptical for 25 minutes and stair master for 20, and I use a 15 lb kettlebell and a 25 lb kettlebell at times depending on the exercise.... and so far I haven’t been losing weight.. so can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong?.. thanks in advance!!

First, considering your stats, 2 lbs per week is too aggressive. Go for 1 lb per week.

MFP gives you a calorie goal expecting you to log your exercise and eat back those calories as well. A TDEE calculator already includes your exercise. In a perfect world, MFP+exercise would = TDEE.

Also check out these threads. Logging is a skill that requires practice and it took many of us some time to get it right:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Motivationn92

Okay thank you guys! I’ll change it lose 1lb and I’ll eat the calories I worked out cause I never did that. And thanks for the threads too!