How do you really know?

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lavender101
lavender101 Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I hear all different numbers on the amount of calories you need per day, and I'm a bit confused on how to know just how many. For instance, you see all over magazines/tumblr/pinterest that women should eat 1200 calories, then other places I see about 1400, then I hear that you need at least 1300 just to sustain life, then I'm reading the blog of a nutritionist saying that if you're eating healthy foods, you should be eating around 2500, and I just am not too sure what to believe. I'd love if what the nutritionist says is the true statement, because that sounds the most doable/enjoyable, but what do ya'll think?

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  • GotShellica
    GotShellica Posts: 15 Member
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    Easy.

    Are you losing weight?
    If yes: congratulations, you are eating at a deficit.
    If no: you need to drop your calories to create a deficit.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
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    ^ What GotShellica said. Also based on results (e.g. specific weight gained or loss) you can adjust your calories up or down more specifically. After several months of experimenting with input and output you can confidently say what works for your body.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
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    What is your age, activity level, height and starting weight? With that information you can find a good figure to start with at least.
  • OkamiLavande
    OkamiLavande Posts: 336 Member
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    There's plenty of calculators online to help you find out how many calories you really need to lose weight if you don't trust the MFP way. You can compare a bunch or different results and play around to see what works for you.
  • writergeek313
    writergeek313 Posts: 390 Member
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    This site seems to have an accurate calculator for how many calories you should be eating based on your goals: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

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