Help with calorie calculation?

orangebluesun

Could somebody tell me point blank how many calories I should be eating in order to lose the pounds? I am currently at 199.4 at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 41 years old. What is my TDEE and BMR? Nothing is moving and I am gym active. Currently I am eating at 1200 calories. What should my calorie goal be to lose?
Also on weighing food with a scale how do you know how much you should be weighing? For example , fish, chicken, vegetable in order to lose?
Oh I don't need information on where to go to get my TDEE/BMR. I just need to know what calorie amount I should be eating each day to lose weight?
Thanks for all you all do.

Added
Light exercise 3 times a week

Yooperm35

Activity Level

Daily Calories

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1721
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1972
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2223
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2474
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2725

Yooperm35

I know it sounds counteractive - but when I hit a plateau, I ate more and the scale started moving again - at the rate of about 1-2#/week

Yooperm35

I guess I really don't understand the question about weighing food. I usually eat 4-6oz of meat. I weight out that much . . . and then eat it

orangebluesun

Lightly Active
Taking in around 1200 calories a day.

orangebluesun

I guess I really don't understand the question about weighing food. I usually eat 4-6oz of meat. I weight out that much . . . and then eat it

Okay I here members say that they weigh their food with a scale. My question is it important to do this, is it important to be eating so many ounces of meat as well as vegetable in order to lose? Hope this helps somewhat in order to help you help me. Thanks.

RachyLovesRattys

Hey there!! I'm probably not going to be the only person to say this- but you're definitely not eating enough (as crazy as that sounds). At your height and weight, you should be eating about 1,600-1,800 calories a day minimum. In addition to the slew of other reasons, it's mostly because as you lose weight (and have less of a caloric need) you will need to lower your calories progressively. If you start off at 1,200- there's no room to lower- and even if you do lose weight, you'll hit a HARD plateau that may be damn near impossible to break. Also, at 1,200 calories- you are absolutely below your BMR and TDEE (I'm only 4 foot 11 and 120 pounds and my BMR is 1,200--I eat about 1500 cals a day and I'm losing weight) Your body thinks it's starving and will hold on to any bit of food you put into it for dear life because it doesn't have enough to run. Think of gas in your car---you started with a full tank. Gradually, by eating under your BMR, you've been using gallons of fuel- but only putting one gallon back each day. Eventually, you'll run out of gas and the car won't move anymore. This "car" is your metaphorical "scale". Eventually, you're going to stall your progress. I'd add back at least 600 calories to your diet. And if you are still stuck, I'd switch up your routine--add more weights (an often ignored aspect- as muscle burns more calories than fat) or add more cardio...or just do more than you'd usually do. The body is amazing at adapting to things, so anything after a while will not give the same results it once did. Also, having more protein as opposed to carbs can also be miraculous for breaking a plateau.

The first step is you being here...now if you adjust your eating a bit (and hey, who doesn't love eating MORE?! :drinker:) you should see some results!

I wish you the best of luck!!

orangebluesun

I know it sounds counteractive - but when I hit a plateau, I ate more and the scale started moving again - at the rate of about 1-2#/week

So do you include carbs in such as rice, potato, etc? I have only completely eliminated carbs such as bread, rice from my eating? What is your/ anyone take on this?

Yooperm35

you should be eating around 1900- but you could go as far down at 1600 calories. I always go for the upper number when I plateau. I weight my food because (example- not real numbers) 6oz of beef is 320 calories - so I know that if I had 6oz of meat I just at 320 calories. I do not eliminate carbs from my diet. I try to get at least 40- 50% of my calories to be carbs.

Yooperm35

Why do we need carbohydrates?

Carbohydrate is a nutrient that our body needs, it is an organic compound made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for our body- they are the energy that gets used first (before protein, fat and alcohol). It is recommended that about 45-60% of our energy intake should come from carbohydrates.

orangebluesun

Yes, yes, yes you are right! I have hit a plateau and I must be honest still working on cleaning up my eating. I sneak a sweet in here and there but we are not perfect. If you saw my tickler (I think that's what it's called) I started out at 220 and now at 199 and every time I weigh the scale is not moving.
Duhhhh.... it makes me want to stop.

orangebluesun

Why do we need carbohydrates?

Carbohydrate is a nutrient that our body needs, it is an organic compound made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Carbohydrates are the main energy source for our body- they are the energy that gets used first (before protein, fat and alcohol). It is recommended that about 45-60% of our energy intake should come from carbohydrates.

See that's why I am sooo glad I found this board because of helpful people like you. Thanks for the great advice!
I have been researching (well thought I was doing great) anyhow I thought that if I eliminated the carbs like white rice and such then this would be good for now anyway. If I do it this then I am assuming I just need to eat in moderation. However you have just gave me a great lesson on why I need it.

orangebluesun

Hey there!! I'm probably not going to be the only person to say this- but you're definitely not eating enough (as crazy as that sounds). At your height and weight, you should be eating about 1,600-1,800 calories a day minimum. In addition to the slew of other reasons, it's mostly because as you lose weight (and have less of a caloric need) you will need to lower your calories progressively. If you start off at 1,200- there's no room to lower- and even if you do lose weight, you'll hit a HARD plateau that may be damn near impossible to break. Also, at 1,200 calories- you are absolutely below your BMR and TDEE (I'm only 4 foot 11 and 120 pounds and my BMR is 1,200--I eat about 1500 cals a day and I'm losing weight) Your body thinks it's starving and will hold on to any bit of food you put into it for dear life because it doesn't have enough to run. Think of gas in your car---you started with a full tank. Gradually, by eating under your BMR, you've been using gallons of fuel- but only putting one gallon back each day. Eventually, you'll run out of gas and the car won't move anymore. This "car" is your metaphorical "scale". Eventually, you're going to stall your progress. I'd add back at least 600 calories to your diet. And if you are still stuck, I'd switch up your routine--add more weights (an often ignored aspect- as muscle burns more calories than fat) or add more cardio...or just do more than you'd usually do. The body is amazing at adapting to things, so anything after a while will not give the same results it once did. Also, having more protein as opposed to carbs can also be miraculous for breaking a plateau.

The first step is you being here...now if you adjust your eating a bit (and hey, who doesn't love eating MORE?! :drinker:) you should see some results!

I wish you the best of luck!!

Thanks Rachy ...much, much needed!

orangebluesun

Rachy:
I love the example about the Gas. You make it a little bit more understandable.

splitaces

the amount of calories that you need to consume to be maintaining that wait is about 2737 in a day as long as you remain active, i can send a link that will help with all of the following: Body Fat, BMI, Caloric Needs, Ideal Weight, Nutrition, Pace, Target Heart Rate. the site is http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/calories.htm, it can help you find what you need most likely.

Iron_Feline

I guess I really don't understand the question about weighing food. I usually eat 4-6oz of meat. I weight out that much . . . and then eat it

Okay I here members say that they weigh their food with a scale. My question is it important to do this, is it important to be eating so many ounces of meat as well as vegetable in order to lose? Hope this helps somewhat in order to help you help me. Thanks.

You weigh your food to find out how many calories you are eating, otherwise how do you know what to log.

Francl27

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

This should help!

geekyjock76

I would do a 5 day experiment by repeating what you ate in the last 5 days once you start making use of the food scale. That should provide you with enough data to back the likelihood that you've been underestimating caloric intake. You can then prepare the same meals, but reduce ingredients so the total calories end up where you need them.

Yooperm35

I guess I really don't understand the question about weighing food. I usually eat 4-6oz of meat. I weight out that much . . . and then eat it

Okay I here members say that they weigh their food with a scale. My question is it important to do this, is it important to be eating so many ounces of meat as well as vegetable in order to lose? Hope this helps somewhat in order to help you help me. Thanks.

I weigh/measure everything. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I had diabetes and had to watch my carbs closely - and adjust insulin according to how much I ate. I discovered that my idea of a serving and the actually serving were WAY off. What I thought was 2 servings of cereal at breakfast time - when weighed out actually ended up being FOUR servings! So, instead of eating 120 or 240 calories at breakfast, I was actually eating 480 calories. It's amazing how SMALL a serving of cereal really is. Then I discovered a lot of facts about the calories in food. This explains how I got fat. I always thought I was eating the 'right' amount. I was way over eating!

QuietBloom

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

This should help!

Apparently they don't want to know how to figure it out themselves. LOL Fortunately there are lots of much nicer folk than me, willing to do the work for them.

cwolfman13

I guess I really don't understand the question about weighing food. I usually eat 4-6oz of meat. I weight out that much . . . and then eat it

Okay I here members say that they weigh their food with a scale. My question is it important to do this, is it important to be eating so many ounces of meat as well as vegetable in order to lose? Hope this helps somewhat in order to help you help me. Thanks.

It is the most precise way to get your calories...i.e. X has YYY calories per Z grams/ounces. Your serving size is up to you...just hit your calorie goals. If you're not losing on 1200 you are underestimating your intake significantly. Also, 1200 is for sedentary...if you're doing that and exercising you should be eating exercise calories back (adjusted for estimation error). Most people do 1/2 - 1/3 of their exercise calories.