can't believe the calories!

lyoill

hi!

I pretty new and I thought that it would be interesting to have a look at how many calories I was eating in an average day. I was maintaing my weight with small fluctuations i would go between 66-69 kg and I was thinking that I was eating ok but with a daily treat muffin etc but often with more than 1 treat in a day. It worked out to be between around 2600-3000 calories!!

Anyone else entered what they used to eat into MFP?

Bekahmardis

I did that and was amazed to discover it was too low! I was maintaining my weight, but just barely - it kept wanting to go up up up and I kept thinking, "How the heck can I drop any MORE calories?!" Well, I couldn't. I wasn't eating ENOUGH! So I started to eat more and about 3 or 4 weeks later, the weight started to come off again. Weird, but hey! It worked! Now my FitBit keeps me pretty much in line.

Mady1911

I do not dare!!!

MommyisFit

I haven't done this, but I think it is a great idea! I honestly can't figure out how I gained weight besides starting a prescription (gained 20 lbs in 2 months after starting). I wonder if I was eating much more than I thought, too....

ninjakitty419

I did that and it was over 3000 calories. And that was how I used to eat nearly every day. Now I am perfectly happy at 1400-1600.

jillianbeeee

I don't even want to know! lol. I have found that when I log in only at night, thinking I had a good day, I am surprised at how I am always over. Lesson learned. Now I log in each meal during the day because "guessing" got me where I used to be, sometimes if I am unsure I Log it in BEFORE I eat it, just to make sure. Funny, how losing weight has become so simple. Stay within the recommended calorie intake, watch the sugar and carbs and BOOM the weight is falling off!

madtownjeremy

Yep...I've done counts where I was over my limit halfway through the day. It's amazing the crap we put into our bodies.

jimshine

I discovered the same thing. I realize I was terrible at guesstimating what I was eating. If I plan on never going back, I will be counting calories forever,

quirkytizzy

Close to 3 grand a day. It was pretty nuts.

SillyDrusilla

I haven't ever calculated a full day, but I've gone onto Taco Bell's website and added up what I used to eat, it's easily over 5,000 calories....and I'd only eat that for dinner (with Mc. Donalds breakfasts and crazy lunches)! I was 130 pounds, 5'3 1/2, don't know how I didn't go beyond that.

Fullsterkur_woman

That is why logging your food is so critical to success. You can't make changes if you don't know where you're starting from!

ryry_

This is the revelation that hits you when you track your intake. I put in a few sample days and when I was having a "care free" kind of day I can easily hit 4-5000 calories without trying.

ETA: If that is your dog, very cute chihuahua!!!

ashandloggiesmom

Yep, realized some days were 3000-3500 in one day. Now that I know, its hard for me to have a "cheat" day. I still do, but I am just now really aware and it amazed me that I could eat all of that without a second thought. Sometimes I miss being ignorant to it honestly, but I'm thankful too because it helps keep me on track.

trenee35

A great example of how logging calories works! Yesterday I really really wanted a third small piece of pizza. But, after logging the two small pieces I already ate, I just couldn't do it to myself. Logging makes a huge difference!

athenalittlerbassett

I was eating about between 5000 and 6000 calories a day i love d my chips and soda and candy a lot of junk and fast food i went the other day to McDonald's and i seen a double cheeseburger was like 540 calories and a med fries i was in shock and i use to eat like 2 dbl cheeseburgers a large fries and a 10 piece chicken nugget with a lg diet drink that is my calorie intake for almost 3 days now it was a real eye opener!!

ashandloggiesmom

I don't even want to know! lol. I have found that when I log in only at night, thinking I had a good day, I am surprised at how I am always over. Lesson learned. Now I log in each meal during the day because "guessing" got me where I used to be, sometimes if I am unsure I Log it in BEFORE I eat it, just to make sure. Funny, how losing weight has become so simple. Stay within the recommended calorie intake, watch the sugar and carbs and BOOM the weight is falling off!

I always log in the morning, and I plan meals days in advance, otherwise I will ALWAYS go over! And I plan my "bad" days and try to make it up by eating less another day, I try to focus on the week overall not just the day.

briabner

Oh yeah I did this and it was like no wonder I am the weight that I was at when I started here in January at 225 pounds. I also had this same type of reaction when I purchased a food scale and actually started weighing and measuring my servings that was a real eye opener too. Especially with ice cream. I wanted ice cream one evening and I put 1 serving in my bowl, and I was like is that ALL lol. So then I went on to put who much I usually ate and it cam out to be over 6 servings. Just in ice cream it was upwards of 1300 calories and I would typically eat that multiple times a week.

aarar

I did this shortly after I started at MFP. I was eating anywhere from 6000 (on a low day) up to 10 000+ calories a day. It's no wonder I gained nearly 70 lbs in less than a year and a half :sick:

laceylucas86

I wish I had done this! I don't even remember how I used to eat! I think it was mostly drinking calories (orang juice, coffee/tea additives, regular pop, hot chocolates,) didn't even think about consuming these where at all a bad choice now nothing crosses my lips without thought, try not to drink my calories at all these days.

lablueluna

I just did this for a day when I would just throw in the towel after work and give into emotional eating. YIKES! Without counting beverages (caloric ones like soda, wine, etc...), I would inch up past 3000. Eye-opening indeed! Now, I plan on running after a hard day. Saves money, calories, and health!

auntiebabs

I haven't done this, but I think it is a great idea! I honestly can't figure out how I gained weight besides starting a prescription (gained 20 lbs in 2 months after starting). I wonder if I was eating much more than I thought, too....

I tracked for a couple of weeks before I focused on losing... because I wanted to see the good, the bad and the ugly of it all. I wanted to see where I REALLY stood. So I could accurately adjust.
It' didn't seem thaaaaaat bad to me... 1700-1800 calories. Certainly not the recommended 2000 cal. on the nutritional facts.

How did I put on almost 50lbs since college?

So I....
1) Input my stats for my 22-year-old self (22/5'6"/135 lbs) and clicked maintain. 1790 calories

2) Input my stats for my 50-year-old self and clicked maintain. 1790 calories

Turns out I didn't change much, But I didn't know that you needed to deduct 10 calories a day from your diet every year. Over 30 year that's 300 calories.

:noway: :grumble: :explode: :grumble: :noway:

michellekicks

hi!

I pretty new and I thought that it would be interesting to have a look at how many calories I was eating in an average day. I was maintaing my weight with small fluctuations i would go between 66-69 kg and I was thinking that I was eating ok but with a daily treat muffin etc but often with more than 1 treat in a day. It worked out to be between around 2600-3000 calories!!

Anyone else entered what they used to eat into MFP?

I never did, but I can eat close to that now and maintain my healthy weight. The good news is you only need to cut about 500 calories daily to lose a pound a week. You could just cut out the daily treat... or alternate the daily treat with cutting back portion sizes elsewhere, so you can still have that craving a few times a week. It's not as hard as people make it out to be.

heybales

hi!

I pretty new and I thought that it would be interesting to have a look at how many calories I was eating in an average day. I was maintaing my weight with small fluctuations i would go between 66-69 kg and I was thinking that I was eating ok but with a daily treat muffin etc but often with more than 1 treat in a day. It worked out to be between around 2600-3000 calories!!

Anyone else entered what they used to eat into MFP?

Quick - you have the best possible setup for continued success, possibly. Very rarely does anyone do this. You know what your maintenance is before starting a diet.

So many people see 1200 calories recommended (not realizing that is recommended as minimum for sedentary females), and then think that 1500 sounds oh so high of calories to eat, and surely they will gain weight ....

Have you changed your exercise routine since eating at that level?
Or was that pretty much non-exercise level, and you will start now?

Because take that avg eating level, divided by the BMR that MFP is using for you (Apps - BMR Calc).

That is your activity factor for whatever level of activity you did.

If no exercise at all, you have what MFP calls maintenance, no exercise included.
If that includes exercise you intend to keep doing, that is called TDEE, which includes exercise.

If the former, select the Activity Level that is closest to that multiplier.
1.25 - Sedentary
1.35 - Lightly Active
1.45 - Active
1.55 - Very Active

Select a weight loss goal that is reasonable, usually the 1 lb weekly unless you have more than 60 lbs to lose.

Now you have a goal eating level correct for you, based on actual results. No need for months of testing to discover this after a 6-12 month plateau of no weight loss later.

Now log your workouts and eat back those calories, minus 20%.

If you do intend to keep the exercise routine you were already doing during that discovery, then take that avg eaten with no weight change as your TDEE.
Again find the BMR and activity factor, because as weight drops you'll need that again.

Manually set your goal to that TDEE - 20% deficit, and eat that daily. Do NOT log exercise since you already were doing it and it's included.

First method MFP will adjust goals as weight drops.
Second method you'll need to wait until 5 lbs dropped, look at new BMR, multiply out with your personal activity factor for new TDEE, and take 20% off again, and manually change goal.

Excellent chance to set it all up based on your given results already. You might enter some more sample days to really try to nail an decent estimate.

michellekicks

^ Listen to Heybales. He's smart.

Oishii

hi!

I pretty new and I thought that it would be interesting to have a look at how many calories I was eating in an average day. I was maintaing my weight with small fluctuations i would go between 66-69 kg and I was thinking that I was eating ok but with a daily treat muffin etc but often with more than 1 treat in a day. It worked out to be between around 2600-3000 calories!!

Anyone else entered what they used to eat into MFP?

If you were maintaining at that intake, you probably were 'eating ok'. The problem for me is when the 3000kcal days outnumber the 2600kcal days, I suspect.

I've never worked out a 'before' day because I know what I've changed. I used to eat far too Little at mealtimes and then binge on whole tubs of Ben &Jerry's and not gain! I dropped from 70kg-60kg rapidly by cutting out the snacks, then switched to mfp to try to slow down, which didn't work because I had the wrong data.

You have the data, so as heybales explained, you really are ahead of the game!

Calliope610

I did (see my dairy for Feb 1) and logged a "hypothetical" day >>2900+ calories. And I thought I was fat b/c I have "big bones".

lyoill

Thank you so much Haybales!

I was wondering how I could use that info and it did make me question whether my 1300 calories was infact correct. I wasn't exercising and I'm still not but I'm planning in starting in a few weeks and build up.

Im a bit lost though in working out how many calories I should look at eating and was wondering if you could help.

MFP has my BMR at 1,346
and if my rough daily intake before was say 2600.

I divided them and got 1.93 which didn't fit onto the activity chart.

Bermudabarbie

I did (see my dairy for Feb 1) and logged a "hypothetical" day >>2900+ calories. And I thought I was fat b/c I have "big bones".

Yes, the "big bone" thing. I bought into that for years! I've been on MFP for over 3 years. I still log daily. It's the heart of this program.

I don't log every single calorie as I once did. Will add an occasional cookie or something without logging it. But for the most part, I still log and stay close to my maintenance calories. The program works, but you've got to work it.

cwolfman13

What heybales said...and mrsbigmack

floop1207

yes, i've logged a typical 'before' day and yes it was more than 1200 calories but not above 2000 unless i went out to a restaurant (maybe once every 6 weeks or so). i think my problem is primarily that i used to be pretty active but CFS and fibromyalgia have changed that - and its taken me over 2 years to realise that i needed to cut back my calorie intake accordingly.

lyoill

If you were maintaining at that intake, you probably were 'eating ok'. The problem for me is when the 3000kcal days outnumber the 2600kcal days, I suspect.

I've never worked out a 'before' day because I know what I've changed. I used to eat far too Little at mealtimes and then binge on whole tubs of Ben &Jerry's and not gain! I dropped from 70kg-60kg rapidly by cutting out the snacks, then switched to mfp to try to slow down, which didn't work because I had the wrong data.

You have the data, so as heybales explained, you really are ahead of the game!

I tend to eat the same things so it was quiet easy to enter it into MFP as a days intake to have a look. There were days where I would go to town with stress eating and inhale more like huge bowls of cereal or some extra chocolate (don't really like chocolate that much) As I'm not able to weigh what I ate it is only a rough quess but it is good to know roughly what I was eating calories wise.
I just need to try and work out what I should be eating calorie wise now.