Big favour: PLEASE work out my daily calorie allowance

zealey77

I know it's a big ask, but I've been dieting now for 4 weeks and so many people (and websites especially) have been giving me totally conflicting advice on what my TDEE and goal calorie intake should be. I'm talking a vast range from 1800 up to 3000!

My age is 39
My height is 6ft 2inches (74 inches)
My current weight is 16 stone 5lbs (231 lbs)
My waist is 37inches (but my belly round navel is 42 inches)
My neck is 17 inches
My BMI is 29%

I jog at a moderate pace for 2 hours a week. I walk fast for about 1 hour a week. I cycle moderately for 2 hours a week. Other than that I am a coach potato.

What should my daily calorie allowance REALLY be? I want to lose 3 stone. (42lbs) as quickly and healthily as possible.

A million thanks and blessings upon you if anyone can be arsed to work it out.

Mx

yarwell

On the "Hairy Dieters" TV show the specialists from Newcastle university put the two guys on 1400 calories a day. They're a useful reference as they're big blokes and were put on an exercise regime similar to what you describe.

It's probably on youtube or similar. - here it is https://player.vimeo.com/video/64269326 Dietitian starts at 29m30s

SezxyStef

Enter this into MFP and it will set your calories for you.

Since it's 42lbs you want to lose set weight loss goal for 1lb a week

Log your exercise and eat back 50-75% of those calories and your set.

If you really want to do the TDEE Method ensure you are logging accuratly, which means weighing food, measuring liquids, choosing the correct entries in the MFP database (no generic, no homemade, non * marked entries whenever possible) do this for about 3-4 weeks and then do this calculation

Total calories consumed+(weight lost x 3500)/# days then it's not an estimate.

SezxyStef

On the "Hairy Dieters" TV show the specialists from Newcastle university put the two guys on 1400 calories a day. They're a useful reference as they're big blokes and were put on an exercise regime similar to what you describe.

It's probably on youtube or similar.

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

MeanderingMammal

What should my daily calorie allowance REALLY be? I want to lose 3 stone. (42lbs) as quickly and healthily as possible.

Given what you're describing I'd suggest just using the MFP calculation rather than faffing about with TDEE. All of the training that you talk about can be easily assessed in terms of energy expenditure using a Heart Rate Monitor, or even a smartphone tracking app.

Put your objectives into MFP and let it do the work.

yarwell

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

recommended by whom, where. I was quoting a professional.

staveshabr

BMR: 1980
TDEE:2723

zealey77

On the "Hairy Dieters" TV show the specialists from Newcastle university put the two guys on 1400 calories a day. They're a useful reference as they're big blokes and were put on an exercise regime similar to what you describe.

It's probably on youtube or similar.

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

NOT TRUE. MFP has just given me a daily allowance of 1530. See what I mean about confusing advice out there...

staveshabr

no exercise at all TDEE: 2376

zealey77

BMR: 1980
TDEE:2723

Thanks, but if my BMR is 1980. why has MFP given me a recommended daily intake of 1530? (I used their recommended settings, and was accurate in my details).

yarwell

Thanks, but if my BMR is 1980. why has MFP given me a recommended daily intake of 1530? (I used their recommended settings, and was accurate in my details).

The 1530 will be 1000 below the estimated 2530 MFP calculated based on your BMR and activity level.. The 1000 comes from setting 2 lbs/week.

Edit: Also your BMR isn't specifically a factor in setting your calorie goal, it's just a large proportion of your daily expenditure. Anyone setting "sedentary" and "2lbs/week" is likely to get a target below their BMR - it's just maths.

TheGirlsATimeBomb

if i were you, i'd eat at 1900-2000 calories a day, 40/30/30-P/F/C.
i'm obviously not you, however, feel free to take the advice (:

kshadows

BMR: 1980
TDEE:2723

Thanks, but if my BMR is 1980. why has MFP given me a recommended daily intake of 1530? (I used their recommended settings, and was accurate in my details).

Because MFP is a computer and doesn't take anything into account aside from the numbers you enter.

staveshabr

BMR: 1980
TDEE:2723

Thanks, but if my BMR is 1980. why has MFP given me a recommended daily intake of 1530? (I used their recommended settings, and was accurate in my details).

it recommended i eat 1200 calories a day and my BMR is 1800 so i really dont know maybe it has you losing 2 pounds a week is my guess

moonraker2014

I'm 6 foot and 185 pounds at the moment.

I used to run about 20 miles per week up till I go injured in sept 2013 Then my wt was 174 pounds.

My daily calories whilst I was running and injured and laid up on the couch is between 2500 and 3500 this kept my wt at 174-178 whilst running but now after unable to run have gained 11 pounds to 185.

So I guess my maintenance level at the moment with out any exercise would be lets say 2000 calories per day.

So I will hazard a guess and say with your bigger build (6' 2") your maintenance will be lets say 2500 per day.

To lose 2 pounds per week you would need to reduce your intake to 1500 calories per day:

This means 1000 cals less per day or 7000 cals per week which is 7000 / 3600 = 1.94 pounds loss per week.

I've not taken into account your present exercises per week which have estimated as follows:

2 hours jog at mod pace of 11:5 min mile at a wt of 231 = 1886
1 hour fast walk at 4 mph at a wt of 231 = 524
2 hours of 10-12 mph cycling at a wt of 231 = 1257
giving you the total number of cals burned 3667 this is = to another 1 pound loss per week or you could use them burnt cals to eat a little more if you feel like it (upto 500 extra cals a day to take it to 2000)

MaryJane_8810002

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

SuperCrsa

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

YES!

zealey77

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

SezxyStef

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

recommended by whom, where. I was quoting a professional.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

SezxyStef

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

If you are going to pay someone pay a registered dietician who is current.

As for what your intake should be MFP worked it out based on what you put in...2lbs a week which is too much with 43lbs to lose.

If all you are interested in weight loss and not maintaining muscle go ahead and be Hangry lots...but if you are concern with maintaining what Lean body mass you have then go for 1lb a week, eat enough protien and away you go...

This shouldn't be difficult...if you enter in the data MFP does all the math for you without any guessing...

ETA: to give you an idea..I am a 41 year old woman. I weight 162lbs and lift weights 3x a week and do 30mins of HIIT a week..I eat 1600 calories a day everyday and lose on average 0.55lbs a week...so if you as a man are eating less than me there is an issue.

My Husband can eat 2500-3000 calories a day and lose weight...my son can lose weight on 3500-4000 calories a day (he is 19 and has a very active job in a trade, as does my husband but he is smaller) so as you can see it's all based on you and your goals...I suspect you could eat 2300-2500 a day and lose weight if you are moderately active.

jimandpam87

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

Unfortunately, no web site can magically examine your body and tell you exactly the right answer. They are all estimates. Therefore, you have to take those estimates and experiment with what works for you. If you eat 1500 calories and are starving, then eat 1800. If you are not losing weight at 1800, then drop it to 1700. You have to experiment until you figure out what works. And you really should be shooting for 1-1.5 lbs per week unless you want to be hungry all the time. Set MFP to 1 lb per week loss (as already recommended to you). You should lose weight, especially with the exercise you do.

yarwell

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

He isn't American, so that's OK. Your table of estimated calorie requirements are "Estimated amounts of calories a needed to maintain calorie balance for various gender and age groups at three different levels of physical activity" and hence broadly useless for weight loss.

The professionals filmed on the show are professional, one's a well published researcher, see the screenshot above that shows their suggested intake. They prescribed a dietary restriction rather than an excessive exercise regime.

WBB55

I'm talking a vast range from 1800 up to 3000!

My suggestion is to eat a total of 2000 calories every day for a month. Don't eat more if you exercise. Don't eat less because you don't believe calculators. Just eat 2000 every day. You sound like the kind of person that wants things simple. I promise, you WILL NOT GAIN ANY FAT eating 2000 calories per day.

If after a month you aren't losing weight fast enough, drop it to 1800 every day.

zealey77

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

Unfortunately, no web site can magically examine your body and tell you exactly the right answer. They are all estimates. Therefore, you have to take those estimates and experiment with what works for you. If you eat 1500 calories and are starving, then eat 1800. If you are not losing weight at 1800, then drop it to 1700. You have to experiment until you figure out what works. And you really should be shooting for 1-1.5 lbs per week unless you want to be hungry all the time. Set MFP to 1 lb per week loss (as already recommended to you). You should lose weight, especially with the exercise you do.

Thanks for advice. Trouble is I'm not a patient man, but I do have strong willpower, so ignoring hunger hasn't been a problem. My goal is to get down to my target weight as quickly (realistically) as possible, then start maintaining with higher exercise and more calories to build muscle back up. (Like Christian Bale in that film 'The Machinist' - except without his good looks, money or talent

I agree with you on trying and experimenting with what works. So I'm ignoring MFP's computer stat of 1530 and sticking with 1870, see how that goes for a few weeks.

dpandori

Per this site: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

"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."

I dunno man, I think you're probably OK with the caloric intake. But I'm no personal trainer. A guy I train with swears by HIIT and chats me up about it a lot. HIIT is a lot of fun and it really torches you and kicks your metabolism in high gear.

jimandpam87

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

Unfortunately, no web site can magically examine your body and tell you exactly the right answer. They are all estimates. Therefore, you have to take those estimates and experiment with what works for you. If you eat 1500 calories and are starving, then eat 1800. If you are not losing weight at 1800, then drop it to 1700. You have to experiment until you figure out what works. And you really should be shooting for 1-1.5 lbs per week unless you want to be hungry all the time. Set MFP to 1 lb per week loss (as already recommended to you). You should lose weight, especially with the exercise you do.

Thanks for advice. Trouble is I'm not a patient man, but I do have strong willpower, so ignoring hunger hasn't been a problem. My goal is to get down to my target weight as quickly (realistically) as possible, then start maintaining with higher exercise and more calories to build muscle back up. (Like Christian Bale in that film 'The Machinist' - except without his good looks, money or talent

I agree with you on trying and experimenting with what works. So I'm ignoring MFP's computer stat of 1530 and sticking with 1870, see how that goes for a few weeks.

I think that's a very realistic number to start with. I agree with you about being impatient, I'm the same way. However, I turn into a serious grump when I get hungry, so I can't agree with you on the willpower thing lol.

SezxyStef

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

He isn't American, so that's OK. Your table of estimated calorie requirements are "Estimated amounts of calories a needed to maintain calorie balance for various gender and age groups at three different levels of physical activity" and hence broadly useless for weight loss.

The professionals filmed on the show are professional, one's a well published researcher, see the screenshot above that shows their suggested intake. They prescribed a dietary restriction rather than an excessive exercise regime.

doesn't matter nationality 1800 calories is the minimum healthy recommened amount of calories for a grown man just because a lot of American men eat in excess doesn't mean that the science behind the recommendations are wrong.

But lets be frank you eat 1400 a day...you are slowly depriving your body of what it needs and losing lots of muscle in your process I actually think you need to seek professional help....and that isn't said to be mean it's actually out of conern

but if you are going to insist that caloric needs change due to nationality

Here

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5686e/y5686e00.pdf

Joint paper by Joint
FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation on Human Energy Requirements so World health org, United Nations etc and Published by Oxford university Press...check page 42..min for a man between the ages of 30 and 59.9 is 2100 calories and that is a small man who is not active

bio_fit

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

recommended by whom, where. I was quoting a professional.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

I for one am definitely not going to argue with their credentials...

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs/people/profile/ashley.adamson
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/research/brc/profile/Roy.Taylor

Not sure how much more professional you could want :laugh:


Though I should say, I wouldn't suggest using Si King's example as a template, as it was developed specifically for that one person, taking all his individual stats into account.

SezxyStef

Bypassing all the responses, has anyone told this dude to meet Scooby?

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

Yes, thanks, but Scooby gave me a totally different calorie intake of 2347! Even I know that's too high. So what is the point of any of these sites if we can't trust them? I guess I just need to pay to see a nutritionist professional then. Surely if my BMR is X and MFP is telling me to eat a lot less than X then that is dangerous and there should be safeguards in place to stop the computer giving such stooooopid advice?

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, but with most of you saying completely conflicting things, I'm still no clearer what my healthy daily calorie intake should be

Unfortunately, no web site can magically examine your body and tell you exactly the right answer. They are all estimates. Therefore, you have to take those estimates and experiment with what works for you. If you eat 1500 calories and are starving, then eat 1800. If you are not losing weight at 1800, then drop it to 1700. You have to experiment until you figure out what works. And you really should be shooting for 1-1.5 lbs per week unless you want to be hungry all the time. Set MFP to 1 lb per week loss (as already recommended to you). You should lose weight, especially with the exercise you do.

Thanks for advice. Trouble is I'm not a patient man, but I do have strong willpower, so ignoring hunger hasn't been a problem. My goal is to get down to my target weight as quickly (realistically) as possible, then start maintaining with higher exercise and more calories to build muscle back up. (Like Christian Bale in that film 'The Machinist' - except without his good looks, money or talent

I agree with you on trying and experimenting with what works. So I'm ignoring MFP's computer stat of 1530 and sticking with 1870, see how that goes for a few weeks.

I think that's a very realistic number to start with. I agree with you about being impatient, I'm the same way. However, I turn into a serious grump when I get hungry, so I can't agree with you on the willpower thing lol.

Realize this tho if you don't fuel your body you will lose muscle along with the fat...not sure that's what you want...

You will be the weight on the scale but you probably wont like what you see...

SezxyStef

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

recommended by whom, where. I was quoting a professional.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

I for one am definitely not going to argue with their credentials...

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs/people/profile/ashley.adamson
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/research/brc/profile/Roy.Taylor

Not sure how much more professional you could want :laugh:

I don't care what degree they have or where they went to school or where they work...if a "professional" is recommending a man eat under 1800 calories a day they are a quack...

Guess what you call a doctor who graduated last in their class....Doctor...letters behind names mean nothing if the knowledge isn't there...and if they don't stay current. All I am gonna say is...Dr. Oz...now that's a laugh...and so are these two if they recommend for a man...full grown man to eat under 1800 calories.

bio_fit

1400 is below the minimum recommended for men. That Min is at least 1800 calories a day.

recommended by whom, where. I was quoting a professional.

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/USDAFoodPatterns/EstimatedCalorieNeedsPerDayTable.pdf

If he was 4-6 years old 1400 would e great...and sorry a TV show doesn't not qualify as a "professional" in dietary needs.

I for one am definitely not going to argue with their credentials...

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ihs/people/profile/ashley.adamson
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/biomedicine/research/brc/profile/Roy.Taylor

Not sure how much more professional you could want :laugh:

I don't care what degree they have or where they went to school or where they work...if a "professional" is recommending a man eat under 1800 calories a day they are a quack...

Guess what you call a doctor who graduated last in their class....Doctor...letters behind names mean nothing if the knowledge isn't there...and if they don't stay current. All I am gonna say is...Dr. Oz...now that's a laugh...and so are these two if they recommend for a man...full grown man to eat under 1800 calories.

You didn't even look, did you?