How many calories per day do you consume?

salmaih18

Hey ladies and gents! I’ve been wondering what’s everyone’s calories intake? I’ve been on mfp for a while and switching accounts. Each time I tried to lose weight, it’s a success the first month and then I regain everything times two. I believe it’s because I cut a lot and consume 1,400kcal per day and then go back to regular eating and then gain it all. So I’m thinking, maybe if I eat 1,800kcal and exercise lightly like 3 times/week then I can lose weight steadily and for the long run. What do you guys think/recommend? Thank you in advance!! (Also I just started 10 days ago and I’ve went from 173.4 lbs to 169.6 lbs which is a lot for just 10 days?)

mbaker566

i eat what mfp and garmin tell me to eat.

i set my goals, weigh my food, and follow what mfp says.

i recommend the same

zeejane03

What does MFP give you for calories when you enter in your info? Are you setting your goal target for a 1lb loss per week?

As for my calorie target-I'm currently at 1,400 calories a day, give or take. I'm a few years into maintenance and am currently working on getting to the lower end of the healthy BMI range (vanity lbs). I have my target set at .5lb per week, since I'm already at a lower weight.

When I'm not losing my maintenance calorie intake is around 1,600 calories a day. I have no problem with these numbers because I've figured out what foods make me feel full, longer (this will vary between people).

CSARdiver

What does MFP tell you to eat? What data did you enter and what is your goal?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is established largely by your height and weight, and to a lesser degree your age.

Are you weighing your food on a scale?

My water weight alone fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day. Think in terms of months over a matter of days.

arobertp7111

2790 calories. And I am still loosing weight.

salmaih18

CSARdiver wrote: »

What does MFP tell you to eat? What data did you enter and what is your goal?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is established largely by your height and weight, and to a lesser degree your age.

Are you weighing your food on a scale?

My water weight alone fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day. Think in terms of months over a matter of days.

My mfp says to consider 1,430kcal which I’ve been doing, but my BMR says to maintain is 2200kcal while to lose weight is 1800kcal. Also I use measuring cups and spoons because I haven’t gotten the scale just yet, do you think it’s accurate as well? (The cups and spoons)

zeejane03

salmaih18 wrote: »

CSARdiver wrote: »

What does MFP tell you to eat? What data did you enter and what is your goal?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is established largely by your height and weight, and to a lesser degree your age.

Are you weighing your food on a scale?

My water weight alone fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day. Think in terms of months over a matter of days.

My mfp says to consider 1,430kcal which I’ve been doing, but my BMR says to maintain is 2200kcal while to lose weight is 1800kcal. Also I use measuring cups and spoons because I haven’t gotten the scale just yet, do you think it’s accurate as well? (The cups and spoons)

Cups and spoons are notorious for not being accurate-you really should get a food scale (they're under $20 and you can get them pretty much everywhere). You'll be shocked once you start measuring out serving sizes. I'm 5+ years into maintenance and I still use mine to spot check and I'm still surprised sometimes

AnnPT77

salmaih18 wrote: »

CSARdiver wrote: »

What does MFP tell you to eat? What data did you enter and what is your goal?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is established largely by your height and weight, and to a lesser degree your age.

Are you weighing your food on a scale?

My water weight alone fluctuates ~5 lbs throughout the day. Think in terms of months over a matter of days.

My mfp says to consider 1,430kcal which I’ve been doing, but my BMR says to maintain is 2200kcal while to lose weight is 1800kcal. Also I use measuring cups and spoons because I haven’t gotten the scale just yet, do you think it’s accurate as well? (The cups and spoons)

If you're losing weight as you'd like to be, it's accurate enough, apparently.

Getting a scale, and using it when practical, is more accurate, and can therefore give you a bit more insight. Also, if you learn some tips, using a food scale is also quicker and easier than cups/spoons. More accurate, quicker, easier . . . why would one not do it?

(The one case where I'd recommend against using one is people who can develop obsessiveness about habits. I don't think it's terribly reasonable to take a scale to a restaurants, and definitely not to other people's homes, so you'll have to estimate calories sometimes. That works fine for the odd meal here and there, and is more sensible than stopping all social eating. People with tendencies to unhealthful obsession sometimes give up social lives because they don't know how many calories are in the food. Not a good plan, IMO.)

Here are some tips for using a food scale:

• Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
• Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
• Eating a whole apple, banana, un-hulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.

No measuring spoons to scrape out, or wash, except when you need to measure liquids . . . and you can weigh some of them, too.

Plus a decent scale only costs that $15 or so that you used to spend on a fresh pizza with all the goodies. You can afford it!

cherylhammani70

My dietician wants me to consume no less than 1200 calories. I usually stay between 1000-1100
which I eat a lot of salads that are very low calorie.

RunnerGrl1982

cherylhammani70 wrote: »

My dietician wants me to consume no less than 1200 calories. I usually stay between 1000-1100
which I eat a lot of salads that are very low calorie.

Perhaps I read this incorrectly.....if your dietitian recommended you not eating under 1200 calories, and you state you're eating less than that; then you are going against their advice? This does not compute. Also, 1200 is the bare minimum to meet nutritional requirements, so you definitely shouldn't be eating less than that, unless you are under a doctor's supervision.

zeejane03

cherylhammani70 wrote: »

My dietician wants me to consume no less than 1200 calories. I usually stay between 1000-1100
which I eat a lot of salads that are very low calorie.

Why aren't you following your dietitian's recommendations? Eating too few calories will wreak havoc on your body over time-muscle loss, brittle nails, hair falling out etc etc.

mgookin

I am 5'7 and currently 325 pounds. I am consuming anywhere between 1700-2200 calories a day. I do not work out. I am a SAHM, and my only source of moving around is cleaning, cooking, walking dogs, etc. MFP has my calorie goal set as 2,090. I do weigh everything with a food scale with an exception of some things, like cooking spray, spices, and the occasional time I forget to create my own recipe I use a generic one. But because I have plenty of wiggle room to work with, I don't stress out to much about it, Its something I will worry about later when my calorie goal becomes more restrictive.

Fflpnari

My Fitbit says I burn about 3000 and I eat 2400 a day

csplatt

If you end up gaining everything back, why not continue to count all your calories but at a higher goal once you've lost the weight? Counting, but for maintenance and not losing? I'm always surprised how even things that look healthy can add up. For example, I searched Taziki's vegetable plate this week... and it was 900 calories! I have a fairly inactive job, so that would wreck my day.

Panini911

cherylhammani70 wrote: »

My dietician wants me to consume no less than 1200 calories. I usually stay between 1000-1100
which I eat a lot of salads that are very low calorie.

WHYY are you going AGAINST the advice of the professional. why even post this you must realize people will challenge on this.

hollyyannexo

I live quite a sedentary life, mostly I paint whilst sitting down all day. I consume between 1200-1300 calories a day and burn around 300 on the elliptical 6 days a week. The foods I eat are highly nutrient packed, extremely clean. It works for me and I feel good but days where I feel a bit more sluggish I’ll up my calories by another 100 or 200. And days where I’m even more active I’ll obviously up them more. I basically just try my best to listen to my body and what it needs. I also drink 3+ litres of water a day along with green tea.

ceiswyn

I'm 5'7 and pretty active; I currently eat an average of around 1700 kcal, on which I'm losing a few extra vanity pounds at a healthy rate.

Duck_Puddle

I NET the number mfp tells me to. So I eat my exercise calories. I lose/gain/maintain as expected.

yirara

About 1500. Female, nearly 45, 61is kg. Just trying to get rid of a bit depression and international move weight. My TDEE without sport is about 1750, thus I have a daily deficit of about 250, plus all sport that I do, which accounts for about 160-220kcal daily. If I do a bit more sport then I also eat a bit more. This works for me. slow and steady wins the race.

chrisjcullen74

My calories per day are 2,031

try2again

OP, it really makes no difference what anyone else's calories are... few, if any, of those people are going to have your exact stats, activity level, age, and gender.

Fill out your profile accurately, set your weekly weight loss goal for no more than 1 lb/week (based on your current weight), and log as accurately as you can. Yes, people often sabotage themselves by choosing a goal that is too aggressive, end up undereating, and then tend to go nuts & gain it all back. Or they view weight loss as a short-term project and they can go back to "normal" when they're done. That's not the way it works. Weight management requires a sustainable lifestyle and constant commitment, though the actual calories involved will be more generous in maintenance than in the loss phase.