How many calories per day???

ShellyBee

I am just wondering how many calories I should have per day. This program say's 1200 but that seems really really low. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

I am almost 33
5 foot 3 inches
195 lbs
My goal: 140-150 lbs
Goal for weight loss: As long as it takes to loose it naturally and keep it off.
I work out on my treadmill everyday for at least 30 minutes sometimes 1 hour if I have enought time.

katm427

Surprisingly, if you eat the right kinds of food, 1200 really isn't that low. If you want to start a bit higher and do something custom with your calories, I would personally talk to a doctor first and ask what kind of foods you should be taking in and the rough amoung of calories that you should be consuming per day.

Good luck!

SuzanneRogers

1200 is without exercise, that is cutting your calories by 300 from 1500 in order to lose a pound a week. you eat 1200 then add back your exercise calories.

Cina04

I'm 5'3 - started this site at 175 and I have the same goal weight.

My calories are set at 1200..they were higher but I just kept gaining weight. 1200 seems to be going pretty well. Also when you input your workouts your calorie count goes up. I eat some of those workout calories and still losing. Once I lowered my calorie intake to 1200 I've been watching the scale go down I try to get in at least two workouts a day (Insanity & a walk, Insanity & Brazil Butt Lift or even all three! lol)

You just have to figure out what works best for you. some people may have to up their calories to lose weight.

weelissa

I am just wondering how many calories I should have per day. This program say's 1200 but that seems really really low. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

I am almost 33
5 foot 3 inches
195 lbs
My goal: 140-150 lbs
Goal for weight loss: As long as it takes to loose it naturally and keep it off.
I work out on my treadmill everyday for at least 30 minutes sometimes 1 hour if I have enought time.

I agree with you, 1200 calories is not enough if you want to keep the weight off for good.

The last time I got my body statistics done by my trainer I asked about the 1200 calorie diet and he told me it wasn't enough for anyone and he suggested I should be eating 1900-2000 on my training days, and 1600 on a normal day. I'm 5'6 and 165 lbs (was 275lbs).

1200 calories is unrealistic and you rick putting your body into starvation mode, especially if you are exercising everyday. But that's just my opinion, everyone is different!

Good luck

Shawna35

The first few days are rough and it will feel like it's not enough. But surprisingly, you will adjust. I almost always have calories left over. Especially, when I work out and I've earned those "extra" exercise calories. I believe your stomach shrinks quickly and adjusts to the lesser amount of food.

My advice would be to watch what you eat. If you eat healthy foods, you definitely can be full all day. If you fill up on processed junk you will likely be hungry all day. Hang in there!

ashlee954

If you eat the right foods sometimes you find yourself having to force down those 1200 calories. I always seem to have some left over at the end of the day. If it feels to low to you then I agree maybe you should start higher and then ease into the lower cal intake. Doctor advice is great too when it comes to healthy dieting. Good luck to you!

Soon2Bfitmamaof3

You would be amazed at what you can eat with 1200 calories. I have been at 1240 for the past 2 weeks and I am doing great on it, I have never gone over my calories and eat all day long. I try to eat small amounts of food often, about every 2 hours. If you eat lots of fruits and veggies it is almost impossible to go over. I do love junk food though so I have my snacks too (thank god for 100 calorie packs). If you are very aware of the labels you will make smarter choices. Also, exercise is key, I usually don't eat back all of my exercise calories but I do try to eat some of them.

Life_is_Good

Alot of info but a great guide for calories/deficits you should use for healthy weight loss.

This information from www.bmi-calculator.net

Harris Benedict Formula
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:


If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9


Calorie Needs to lose weight
There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. So, if you create a 3500-calorie deficit through diet, exercise or a combination of both, you will lose one pound of body weight. (On average 75% of this is fat, 25% lean tissue) If you create a 7000 calorie deficit you will lose two pounds and so on. The calorie deficit can be achieved either by calorie-restriction alone, or by a combination of fewer calories in (diet) and more calories out (exercise). This combination of diet and exercise is best for lasting weight loss. Indeed, sustained weight loss is difficult or impossible without increased regular exercise.

If you want to lose fat, a useful guideline for lowering your calorie intake is to reduce your calories by at least 500, but not more than 1000 below your maintenance level. For people with only a small amount of weight to lose, 1000 calories will be too much of a deficit. As a guide to minimum calorie intake, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 calories per day for men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.

An alternative way of calculating a safe minimum calorie-intake level is by reference to your body weight or current body weight. Reducing calories by 15-20% below your daily calorie maintenance needs is a useful start. You may increase this depending on your weight loss goals.

... your BMR on here is 1559 calories. My opinion is that you should be eating at least at your BMR - especially for the amount of exercise you're doing.

nisijam5

the calories to maintain your current weight is approximately 16 per lb
So, at 175 lbs x 16 calories per pound, i am generally consuming 2800 calories per day to maintain that weight

1200 calories is BMR...that's what the body need to function properly...so, you can go higher and still lose weight

kcdrake

That does seem kind of low to start off at. (And I'm a fan of eating as much food as you can while still losing weight! :laugh:)

Do you have your weight loss goals set to 2lbs a week? Usually when people do that their calories are set at 1200. I would suggest making sure you're set to lose 1lb a week. Your workout goals also play a part in how many calories MFP sets for you, so you may want to play around with that. Just to give you an idea, I'm 5'6", 165lbs with my goal weight at 140, exercise goals at 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. Using that information, MFP set me at 1390 calories a day, and I earn more through workouts as well.

Hope this helped!