How many calories should I be eating

angelakl2016
angelakl2016 Posts: 15 Member
edited August 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
I find the calories that my fmp is low. I usually increase it by 200 to 300 calories. I dont log my exercise and cheat days are usually 2000 to 2300 once a week depending on the week. I try to incorpate any cheat meals in my calories

How much should I set up my calories if I want to lose 1.5 to 2 pounds per week?


Im 5"6
218 pounds
Female
Workout 20 to 30 mins 4 days a week

Thanks

Replies

  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    When you put in your info into MFP, what did it tell you?
  • petegurd
    petegurd Posts: 4 Member
    can i make a suggestion that you look online for a TDEE calculator where you can enter height/weight/age/activity level and it will give you calories and macros for cutting/bulking/maintaining. I find it much better than the MFP figures but that is a personal choice for me as a diabetic.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    What is your weight doing on your current calorie level? If you are maintaining, you would need 750 - 1000 fewer calories per day than you are eating now. If you are losing 1 lb. per week, you would need to increase your deficit by 250-750 calories per day. There's not quite enough information to answer this question.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    What is it giving you, and why do you think it's too low?
    2lbs a week is a highly aggressive rate of loss, you'd need to be in a deficit of around 1000 calories per day. So if you total calories burned was 2400 (TDEE) for example, you'd need to eat 1400 per day. No idea what your TDEE is by the, way, that was a random number pulled out of the air.
    Try https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html# if you don't like the MFP calculator.
  • Redordeadhead
    Redordeadhead Posts: 1,188 Member
    angelakl2016 wrote: »
    I find the calories that my fmp is low. I usually increase it by 200 to 300 calories. I dont log my exercise and cheat days are usually 2000 to 2300 once a week depending on the week. I try to incorpate any cheat meals in my calories

    How much should I set up my calories if I want to lose 1.5 to 2 pounds per week?


    Im 5"6
    218 pounds
    Female
    Workout 20 to 30 mins 4 days a week

    Thanks

    MFP is designed for you to log your exercise and then get additional calories to eat back. Part of the reason you find your calorie goal too low is that you're not using the site as designed.

    If you have a fairly consistent exercise regime and prefer not to log exercise separately, I second the suggestion to use a TDEE calculator with appropriate rate of loss (probably less than 1.5 or 2lb per week, unless you are very overweight) to find a suitable goal.
  • angelakl2016
    angelakl2016 Posts: 15 Member
    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    When you put in your info into MFP, what did it tell you?

    It gives me

    1390 for 2 pounds
    1490 for 1.5 pounds
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,421 Member
    angelakl2016 wrote: »
    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    When you put in your info into MFP, what did it tell you?

    It gives me

    1390 for 2 pounds
    1490 for 1.5 pounds

    When you signed up it suggested you choose "Lose one pound per week." At least, that's the generic suggestion.


    If you choose one of those above, either 1390 or 1490, make sure you are eating more calories on the days you exercise.


    I started at low calories when I was 220 pounds (Female, 5'8") and after some time I ended up raising them to 1550 PLUS my exercise calories. I lost nearly all my weight at that - so around 1800-1900 on exercise days.


    The only way for you to know what will work is by collecting data on your experiment. You have enough weight to lose that either of those numbers above should be fine for a little while BUT eat more on exercise days.
  • angelakl2016
    angelakl2016 Posts: 15 Member
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    What is your weight doing on your current calorie level? If you are maintaining, you would need 750 - 1000 fewer calories per day than you are eating now. If you are losing 1 lb. per week, you would need to increase your deficit by 250-750 calories per day. There's not quite enough information to answer this question.

    Sorry for the lack of information. Let me add some more information.

    I have already lost 55 pounds and I regulary lose 2 pounds a week give or take becuase some weeks I go up and down. I am coming off a diet break and exercise break due to injury. I gained 5 to 7 pounds but i have been back on point with diet and exercise and in 5 days i have dropped all the weight I gained. People say I am under eating but I feel fine and full. I eat lots of protein and vegetables and I was just curious if I was under eating.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,421 Member
    angelakl2016 wrote: »
    autumnblade75 wrote: »
    What is your weight doing on your current calorie level? If you are maintaining, you would need 750 - 1000 fewer calories per day than you are eating now. If you are losing 1 lb. per week, you would need to increase your deficit by 250-750 calories per day. There's not quite enough information to answer this question.

    Sorry for the lack of information. Let me add some more information.

    I have already lost 55 pounds and I regulary lose 2 pounds a week give or take becuase some weeks I go up and down. I am coming off a diet break and exercise break due to injury. I gained 5 to 7 pounds but i have been back on point with diet and exercise and in 5 days i have dropped all the weight I gained. People say I am under eating but I feel fine and full. I eat lots of protein and vegetables and I was just curious if I was under eating.

    So if you have lost all that weight, you know your TDEE. Use your past numbers to set your current goals.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    If you feel full, satisfied, energetic and you're confident you are meeting your nutrition needs: keep going for now as you are. Just be aware that as your weight continues to come down, your total calorie burn will go down also. So at some point one of the following will happen:

    1. You will keep eating/exercising at the same levels as now and your deficit will decrease meaning a slightly slower rate of loss
    2. You will need to drop your intake to keep your deficit the same
    3. You will need to increase your activity/exercise (so that your calories burned does not decrease for being smaller) to keep the deficit the same.

    Some combination of 2-3 is likely, but at some point your deficit will also decrease. When you are closer to your goal weight, it will be hard to exercise enough for the bigger burns without also eating more to fuel your exercise.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    If you're already losing 2 lbs per week, then what you're eating is what you should eat to lose 2 lbs. per week. I am not qualified to say whether you're under-eating at that rate of loss. At over 200 lbs, it's less than 1% of your weight, so I'd say it should be fine. As you near goal, you will probably do better to lose slower. The recommendation is to lose no more than 1% of your weight per week, and a good rate of loss is between 1/2% and 1%.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    OP what's your age?
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,002 Member
    Without knowing your age, based only on your height and activity level, you should be able to lose fat at a range of 1700 - 2000 calories a day. That should be a pretty good place to start. Make adjustments as you go...
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Do what you were doing before. Problem solved.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited August 2020
    angelakl2016 wrote: »
    L1zardQueen wrote: »
    When you put in your info into MFP, what did it tell you?

    It gives me

    1390 for 2 pounds
    1490 for 1.5 pounds

    Sorry, but you're doing something wrong in the Goals tool. The caloric difference between losing 1.5 vs 2.0 pounds per week is always exactly 250 calories per day. It can't be 100. Try rerunning the numbers.

    Like all calorie tools, MFP assumes one pound of fat = 3,500 calories. Since there are 7 days in a week, MFP, like all other tools, assumes 500 calories per day will add up to 1 pound per week. In other words, to lose 1 pound per week, you have to eat 500 calories less than your maintenance / break even level. And if you eat 500 calories more than break-even, you'll gain a pound per week.

    So ... to lose 1.5 pounds per week, it's gonna be 750 calories less than your maintenance level. And to lose 2 pounds, it'll be 1,000. The difference = 250. It can't be 100.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    Save a copy of this spreadsheet. Enter the information at the top (starting with start date) and then enter your weight and caloric intake every day. After about three weeks, the spreadsheet will hone in your actual TDEE and how many calories you need to be eating to lose weight at your desired rate.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EbfzFB0mBrMGJ6V2N5QWNfeTg/view

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