Some help please:)

Melnjoku

Ok so I am a little confused on how many calories I should be eating to lose weight . I am eating roughly around 1500 calories a day . I do not weight my food so maybe a little more or less ... anywho I am reading posts about TDEE calculators and BMR and I its making my head spin so just wondering if anyone could maybe help me figure out how many calories I need to lose around a pound a week ..
Little about me .. female , 5'10 , 225 LBS and I have a labor intense job but do not workout .. HELP he he ..

Thanks

mebepiglet123

If you google scoobys accurate calculator you should be able to work it out yourself.

Chronicle113

It all depends on your goal. How many pounds you want to lose a week. Your diary on this site is very beneficial for this. However, if you need any help on your groove of eating, I'm willing to help.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Why is it making your head spin? The TDEE calculators are extremely simple and straightforward: Input your info, subtract 20% from the number it gives you, and eat that number of calories. Very simple. Where's the head-spinning part?

edited for typo

Melnjoku

Well my TDEE is 2465 and my BMR is 1793 I am eating around 1500 calories and I am stuck at this weight for about 3 months now but before that I was losing weight and eating around 1800 calories a day so just wondering what I am doing wrong maybe I should be eating less??

segovm

Ok so I am a little confused on how many calories I should be eating to lose weight . I am eating roughly around 1500 calories a day . I do not weight my food so maybe a little more or less ... anywho I am reading posts about TDEE calculators and BMR and I its making my head spin so just wondering if anyone could maybe help me figure out how many calories I need to lose around a pound a week ..
Little about me .. female , 5'10 , 225 LBS and I have a labor intense job but do not workout .. HELP he he ..

Thanks

It's never a little less

You just need to weigh stuff likely. My 1700 a day was about 2300 a day when weighed. From what I understand, I'm not the only one with a bad eye for estimating food weight.

Once you know how much you are eating, to lose weight you probably just need to eat a little less.

lauradupree

Weigh your food. Be scrupulously honest about how much you are eating. When you plateau, you might try incorporating a cheat day into your diet plan. Once every couple of weeks, have a day with an extra 800 or so calories. This tricks your body and increases your metabolism. This has worked for me and others. Be careful not to add too many calories or add too many cheat days. It can backfire.

Niagarasun

I have a very physical job as well and a coach told me that because my body is used to this it doesn't recognize it as a workout. Might want to try to throw in something different like aquafit or cycling a few times a week. Another tip to jump your metabolism is to chose one day a week and eat anything you want for one hour and one hour only

Melnjoku

Thanks guys , I think I will have to buy a food scale just really didn't want too ... just seems like so much work to weight everything .. But I am stuck ...

liftingandlipstick

As someone just starting out, I would not worry about TDEE methods. Set your activity level (in the "Goals" tab) to lightly active to account for your job. Enter in 2# per week loss, and see what MFP gives you. If you feel like you need to eat more, drop it to 1# per week. Go with the numbers you're given. Once you get into the game a bit more you can worry about macros, TDEE method, adding exercise, etc. Definitely weigh your food though, or stick with pre-portioned foods (that's what I did before I got a food scale). You can get a food scale for $5 if you can't afford a better one.

myfitnesspale3

weigh everything for a couple weeks then your estimates become better too.

kp1439

thank you .... really helpful info ...

tycho_mx

Thanks guys , I think I will have to buy a food scale just really didn't want too ... just seems like so much work to weight everything .. But I am stuck ...

It is a lot of work. So it becomes a matter of priorities. Are you managing your weight to your expectations? If so, don't change. Do you wish to improve your weight management? Then improve the process. The simplest (not easiest) thing to do is to make your intake estimates more accurate i.e. weigh your food.

OliviaCeed

Tracking food is your best approach in meal portioning. The more accurate you are, the more successful you will be. MFP makes it easy. Download the App for every electronic device you have and make vigorous use of it!

MFP sets you up initially with input from you. Follow that plan for a week and see how you fare. Remember, keep accurate track of your food. Adjust the plan as needed. I know you know this and I hope repeating it reaffirms you are on the right track.

I'm lucky, I'm with a program and my meal plan gets adjusted for me with careful testing and monitoring that they do. For my age, gender, general health, it's been calculated I would need 1900 calories a day to maintain my weight. It was recommended I eat 1400 calories a day for a net caloric deficit of 500 calories. That would represent 3500 calories a week - or about a 1 lb loss a week.

It's been suggested to me by the Wharton Clinic to eat 6 to 8 times a day. To have a 200 cal breakfast. To eat a carb "snack" (not to be confused with sweet treat) before a main meal; carbs have a way of both stimulating hunger and satiating it if you can wait 20 minutes for it to settle - hence why you'd eat it before a main meal with a bit of delay. Drink plenty of water; 8 cups a day minimum. Exercise. 3500 calories is 1 LB. So if you divide 3500 / 7; you need to do 500calories of exercise a day to loose a pound in a week.

Between diet and exercise, I can expect up to a 2 LB weight loss per week; notwithstanding water retention, general fluctuations, slightly inaccurate accountability in tracking etc. The little things do add up.

FYI - I live in Ontario, Canada. The Wharton Clinic is a medical, evidence-based weight loss center sponsored by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan - aka, the government of the province). It is intended for people with one or more of these: heart problems, diabetes and obesity. It is a comprehensive approach with the aid of dieticians, bariatric nutritionist (not sure on the difference between the former and the latter), cardiologist and GP. They are very thorough with all manner of testing and support. If you live in Ontario, Canada, I strongly suggest you ask your family doctor to provide you with a referral. There are centers spread out over the province.

Good luck with your lifestyle changes! You've already taken a big step - you started!

Melnjoku

Thanks Olivia great advice:))

Keepcalmanddontblink

Thanks guys , I think I will have to buy a food scale just really didn't want too ... just seems like so much work to weight everything .. But I am stuck ...

Its work at first, but it becomes second nature and it's really helped me in the long run,

Marlena0708

Well my TDEE is 2465 and my BMR is 1793 I am eating around 1500 calories and I am stuck at this weight for about 3 months now but before that I was losing weight and eating around 1800 calories a day so just wondering what I am doing wrong maybe I should be eating less??

If your TDEE is 2465 and you are netting 1500 calories per day, that is roughly a 1000 cal deficit per day, 7000 cal deficit per week, which means you should be losing ~2 lbs per week.

If those numbers are right and you are losing 0 lbs per week you should see a doctor to rule out some kind of metabolic derangement.

My guess would be that something is incorrect in the numbers. Either your TDEE is significantly less than 2465 or your calories are significantly more than 1500. In the absence of a medical issue, one of those numbers HAS to be wrong. Since your are not measuring/tracking/weighing your food, I would start there. Weigh and log every single thing you eat and drink every single day for two weeks. Do not guess. Do not estimate. Verify. When I started weighing and logging everything I was eating I was astounded at how far off my "estimates" were.

Also, I would seriously reconsider the idea of losing weight without doing some kind of strength training. It's important to maintain as much lean body mass (muscle) as possible when you try to drop fat. Check out Stronglifts 5x5. It doesn't take much time and it's an easy routine to keep up with.

Good luck. You'll do great if you keep at it.

TavistockToad

Thanks guys , I think I will have to buy a food scale just really didn't want too ... just seems like so much work to weight everything .. But I am stuck ...

depends how much work you're willing to put into losing weight?

cathipa

Agree with the food scale. Even though at first it seems to be "a lot of work" it will become second nature. By not weighing you can grossly underestimate your calories which would keep you from having a deficit. I would consider increasing your calorie goal to at least your BMR. This is the minimum your body needs to function. If your work is as labor intensive as you suggest you will still lose even by increasing a few hundred calories. Best of luck to you!!

nxd10

The easiest way to do it on this site is to go to My Home. Click on Goals. Put in the information it asks for plus how much you want to lose/gain/maintain at hit go. It will calculate your calories for you.

Because MFP is set up to add your exercise in, you can choose a basic activity level and add exercise above and beyond or just set at sedentary and log everything. You earn extra calories for the exerise you log. Because of this, MFP tends to have lower calories than some other sites because it expects you to eat back the extra exercise calories you log. Worked great for me.

DO measure though. At least until you're used to it. I measure and weight periodically and use online pictoral portion guides. Once you're used to it, you just have to spot check.