How do you figure out your daily calories??

cherchel
cherchel Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all! I am bewildered by this. I have been to many different websites to try and figure this out and have come up with many different numbers. My fitness pal is telling me my total daily calories - to lose 1.3 pounds a week - is 1,200. Many other sites I looked at I got 1350 (to lose) and 1544 (to lose). My friend says that 1200 cals is way too little for me. I am 5'3" and 46 years old and want to lose about 40 pounds. I lost 110 a few years ago - but with health issues, surgery and menopause - it's creeping back on and I didn't work that hard for nothing!

Thanks!!

Replies

  • madtownjeremy
    madtownjeremy Posts: 249
    Time to bring Scooby into yet another thread! :)

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    Hello all! I am bewildered by this. I have been to many different websites to try and figure this out and have come up with many different numbers. My fitness pal is telling me my total daily calories - to lose 1.3 pounds a week - is 1,200. Many other sites I looked at I got 1350 (to lose) and 1544 (to lose). My friend says that 1200 cals is way too little for me. I am 5'3" and 46 years old and want to lose about 40 pounds. I lost 110 a few years ago - but with health issues, surgery and menopause - it's creeping back on and I didn't work that hard for nothing!

    Thanks!!

    Here's where I started: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    I'm 5'3" as well and I got to my maintenance weight of 110 through the absolutely fabulous help of a FitBit. I honestly couldn't figure out how many calories I was burning in a day, so I took the plunge and bought the FitBit Flex when it came out in May. HUGE eyeopener there - and it let me drop those last 15 pounds while eating MORE calories than I thought I could or should.

    I am currently maintaining by eating an average of 1700 calories a day, but I'm also doing the Couch to 5 K program. Before that, I was maintaining on about 1550 calories per day without any issue. My FitBit tells me what I can eat. :)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    2 things to remember:
    1. You don't get any credit for exercise until you log it. MFP gives you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise..... and you are expected to eat those calories back. So, if you plan on exercise, your goal is really to eat more than 1200.

    2. MFP gives you a calorie goal largely dependent upon your weekly weight loss goal (pounds per week) & 1200 is as low at it will go. Many people want to lose weight as fast as possible ...... so 1200 is a very popular number. If you put in 1 pound or 1/2 pound per week that number would increase somewhat.

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