Best way to calculate how many calories I need to lose weight

lauragreenbaum

What is the best on line tool or calculator? I've searched via google and they are all different- varying between 1300-1800. Thanks

RelCanonical

MyFitnessPal has a calculator that is used when you set up your goals.

tinkerbellang83

Why not use MFP's calculator with your activity level chosen correctly and a sustainable rate of loss?

try2again

lauragreenbaum wrote: »

What is the best on line tool or calculator? I've searched via google and they are all different- varying between 1300-1800. Thanks

What does MFP give you when you enter your stats, activity level before exercise, and a reasonable weekly weight loss goal? (generally, 2 lbs/week is only for those with 75+ lbs to lose)

Most find MFP's calculations to be pretty spot-on.

lauragreenbaum

Ok I found it. Thanks

Sharon_C

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

AnnPT77

One note: A lot of online calculators estimate TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), which would be all of the calories burned through basal metabolic rate (BMR - what you'd burn in a coma), daily life including work and chores and such, plus intentional exercise.

MFP's calculator (among others) estimates NEAT (Non-Exercise Activty Thermogenesis), which is BMR, plus daily life including work and chores and such, but not intentional exercise.

For someone who does some intentional exercise, that difference alone will make a few hundred calories difference daily, typically.

It's also why the MFP-specific advice is to eat back a reasonable estimate of your exercise calories: Your weight-loss deficit is already built into the base calorie goal.

Furthermore: All of these so-called "calculators" just give you an estimate based on statistical analysis of large-population research studies. The implication is that the results will be close for most people (the ones near the population average), somewhat off (high or low) for a few people, and way off for a very, very few people . . . because that's the nature of statistical estimates.

That's why, in a calorie-counting context, the "calculators" should be used to get a starting point. Stick to the estimate for 4-6 weeks, logging calories as accurately as practical, then adjust based on average weekly loss rate. (One exception: If seeming to lose very fast after the first week or two, and beginning to feel weak or fatigued (or other negative symptoms), eat more. That's a warning sign. Losing "too slowly" is frustrating. Losing too fast is potentially dangerous.)

NovusDies

Sharon_C wrote: »

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

Except that even at 10 I would be eating maintenance calories and not losing any which is the problem with these old hacks. Why not just use MFP or if you want to go TDEE use one of the many available calculators on the internet?

lynn_glenmont

Sharon_C wrote: »

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

For me, 12 times my weight in pounds would be such a small deficit, I would lose less than 2 pounds a year if I didn't add intentional exercise. Maybe your coach's advice was good for you, but it doesn't make it good advice universally. It's so easy to use the MFP calculator, or a different online calculator if you prefer the TDEE approach, that there's no need to rely on some generic rule that only consider one of the many factors that affect how many calories you burn. And an approach that says a tall person training for a marathon who is only slightly overweight should consume the same calories as someone a half-foot shorter who, at the same weight, is obese and is sedentary ... well, that's not that helpful.

sarabushby

Sharon_C wrote: »

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

If I did this I would be super under-nourished. At 122lb * 10 = 1220 calories. Plus my usual daily burn of 400-1400 from exercise and I’d be in trouble by not eating back exercise calories.

As others have said, the coach’s advice may work for some people at certain weights but could be really poor advice for others. Its not a good ‘one size fits all’ recommendation.

sijomial

Sharon_C wrote: »

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

Hmmm - at 170lbs multiplying by 10 would have me losing at almost 4lbs a week. x 12 would have me losing at about 3lbs a week. I would have to get to a multiple of 20 to maintain. I hope your coach only used this method with very careful consideration of the individual because as a general recommendation it's badly flawed especially if someone does a high volume of exercise and/or is very active.



OP - first decide how you want to account for your exercise.

Use MyFitnessPal if you want a variable daily calorie goal that fluctuates in line with your exercise.
Use a TDEE calculator (I like the one on sailrabbit that uses several different formulae) if you prefer a same every day calorie goal.

emilysusana

Sharon_C wrote: »

A great fitness/nutrition coach gave me some advice that I follow. Multiply your weight by 10 or 12. If you multiply by 10 that is your cutting calories. Multiply by 12, you're still cutting, just doing it slower.

I have to say it works perfectly for me. I weigh 165 and I lose 1 pound a week eating 1650 calories.

Edited to add: Do not add exercise calories back to these numbers

If I followed this and didn’t add exercise calories back on some days...
136 lbs x 10 = 1360 calories a day.
Burn from 10 mile run: roughly 900 calories.
Net calories consumed: 460.
Even with the slower loss rate multiplier: net 732.

I’d starve.

Jruzer

Use MFP's goals for a month, eating back some if not all exercise calories. Be entirely honest with your logging. Adjust goals as needed after that.