Quite confused and needing some help please

XxAngry_Pixi

So I am feeling pretty stupid at the moment but I can't seem to work out the numbers. Started back on mfp 2 weeks ago at 1200 cals, which was not working for me, changed my goals to lose less weight per week, and mfp has given me 1690 cals a day, which id definitley doable for me, but according to the calculators is below my BMR.

And this is the part that is confusing me, I'm trying to work out the BMR TDEE - 20% thing and I guess I was wondering if someone could help talk me through it?

XxAngry_Pixi

Basically I just want to do this right, I'm not in it to drop the weight as fast as I can and deprive myself, I want to teach myself to look after my body properly, and stick with it for life.

PinkNinjaLaura

What did you calculate as your BMR & your TDEE?

XxAngry_Pixi

BMR is 1726 and TDEE is 2675 with me selecting the moderate exercise option. I walk 5 days a week, and am joining a gym next week and plan on strength training 3 days a week.

cdahl383

I've used this calculator from another website in the past with success, its usually pretty close...

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It factors in your age, gender, current weight and height, and your activity level. It provides a good starting point and then you can fine tune it after a few weeks of weighing yourself to see how much weight you're losing. The general rule of thumb is 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So you want to cut out 3500-7000 calories per week to lose 1-2 lbs. That's very simplified but generally works out pretty close to those figures for me.

Generally when I start blaming the calculator for not working right, its not the calculator, but its me. I start slipping in more food during the day or my portion sizes creep up. That's why I've found that a digital food scale is awesome for determining portion sizes, then you know for sure how many calories you're taking in during the day.

Hope some of that helps you out!

XxAngry_Pixi

I've used this calculator from another website in the past with success, its usually pretty close...

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It factors in your age, gender, current weight and height, and your activity level. It provides a good starting point and then you can fine tune it after a few weeks of weighing yourself to see how much weight you're losing. The general rule of thumb is 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So you want to cut out 3500-7000 calories per week to lose 1-2 lbs. That's very simplified but generally works out pretty close to those figures for me.

Generally when I start blaming the calculator for not working right, its not the calculator, but its me. I start slipping in more food during the day or my portion sizes creep up. That's why I've found that a digital food scale is awesome for determining portion sizes, then you know for sure how many calories you're taking in during the day.

Hope some of that helps you out!

Thank you I have a digital food scale and am being very honest with myself about everything I am eating, and changing the crap out for healthier options It's the math bit that is confusing me. So I should subtract 3500 to 7000 from my TDEE X7 and then divide that number by 7 to get my daily calorie goal? Is that right?

yarwell

So I am feeling pretty stupid at the moment but I can't seem to work out the numbers. Started back on mfp 2 weeks ago at 1200 cals, which was not working for me, changed my goals to lose less weight per week, and mfp has given me 1690 cals a day, which id definitley doable for me, but according to the calculators is below my BMR.

And this is the part that is confusing me, I'm trying to work out the BMR TDEE - 20% thing and I guess I was wondering if someone could help talk me through it?

Stick to one method to preserve sanity.

A) MFP - 1 lb/week deficit = 1690 calories a day. This assumes TDEE is 2190 as 500 cals/day per lb/week is subtracted. You're expected to eat more when you log exercise - hamster wheel motivation.

20% of TDEE = 2190 * 0.8 = 1750 calories a day.

None of these things is accurate to better than +/- 10%, so the answers above are the same.

Ilysandrew11

I've used this calculator from another website in the past with success, its usually pretty close...

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It factors in your age, gender, current weight and height, and your activity level. It provides a good starting point and then you can fine tune it after a few weeks of weighing yourself to see how much weight you're losing. The general rule of thumb is 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So you want to cut out 3500-7000 calories per week to lose 1-2 lbs. That's very simplified but generally works out pretty close to those figures for me.

Generally when I start blaming the calculator for not working right, its not the calculator, but its me. I start slipping in more food during the day or my portion sizes creep up. That's why I've found that a digital food scale is awesome for determining portion sizes, then you know for sure how many calories you're taking in during the day.

Hope some of that helps you out!

I just used that scale and the calories on there are lower then what Myfitnesspal says. By like 100 calories. Thank you for sharing that!

arabianhorselover

I don't know what should be in there for the macros, though.

I've used this calculator from another website in the past with success, its usually pretty close...

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

It factors in your age, gender, current weight and height, and your activity level. It provides a good starting point and then you can fine tune it after a few weeks of weighing yourself to see how much weight you're losing. The general rule of thumb is 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So you want to cut out 3500-7000 calories per week to lose 1-2 lbs. That's very simplified but generally works out pretty close to those figures for me.

Generally when I start blaming the calculator for not working right, its not the calculator, but its me. I start slipping in more food during the day or my portion sizes creep up. That's why I've found that a digital food scale is awesome for determining portion sizes, then you know for sure how many calories you're taking in during the day.

Hope some of that helps you out!