How many calories should I eat a day?

motal003

So MFP says I should eat 1200 calories a day. After working out consistently for 6 weeks, I only lost a measly 5 pounds. My husband, who is very knowledgeable about fitness and stuff said I am not eating enough calories. So I did some research on the internet and a link on shape.com said I need to follow the Harris-Benedict equation for women formular, which for me (30 years old, 154 pounds, female, 5'5) says 1489 calories.
But web MD says I should eat 2400. My husband says 2400 sounds about right.

SO whose advice do I follow?

hearthwood

Have you set MFP at a two pound loss per week? If you're exercising a lot 1200 calories probably isn't enough at your age. Re-adjust your settings to 1 pound a week, eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories burned, and see how that works.

I am older than you and I am set at 1240 calories a day, don't work out as much as you, and I am only 2 pounds from goal weight now. So the 1240 works for me. I am set at 1 pound a week, and believe those last 10 to 15 pounds come off very slow. I learned to be ecstatic about a 1/2 and then a 1/4 pound loss a week.

The only people who can quickly shed weight are the super obese, those that are accustomed to eating 4 to 7 thousand calories a day, that are put on less than 1500 calories a day. But even they slow down as they continue to lose weight.

michikade

If you are working at a calorie deficit, you should lose weight.

That being said, if you work with a TDEE system, here's what I got for your stats (I assumed "working out consistently" means 3-5 hours / week - diary's closed so I don't know for real so TDEE and 20% reduction may be different):

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1440
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE): 2232
Daily calories for 20% reduction:1786

This assumes around a pound a week weight loss, btw, and for someone of your body weight and height it may not be recommended to lose any quicker than that, although you could (I'm a believer in eating more than BMR, but not everyone agrees with that)

This was done with the Mifflin-St Jeor system, btw.

Personally, I think 2400 is too high for weight loss at your height and weight unless you have a very physically demanding job and work out all a heck of a lot.

ETA: The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is newer than the Harris-Benedict equation and is generally regarded as a little more accurate. YMMV.

norifurikake

2400 sounds like a bit much, but thats my own opinion (I'd probably feel sick eating all that).

Don't be alarmed and swayed by these numbers and stats, keep going off of what is right for you. Losing five pounds in 6 weeks is good, its a solid gradual loss and it's more healthy than dropping 10+ pounds of water weight. Right now you've got something that is working for you, why not just stick with it? A pound a week doesn't sound like much, but it really adds up (I've been doing that for about thirty weeks now, don't lose focus!)

MKEgal

So MFP says I should eat 1200 calories a day. After working out consistently for 6 weeks, I only lost a measly 5 pounds. My husband, who is very knowledgeable about fitness and stuff said I am not eating enough calories. So I did some research on the internet and a link on shape.com said I need to follow the Harris-Benedict equation for women formular, which for me (30 years old, 154 pounds, female, 5'5) says 1489 calories.
But web MD says I should eat 2400. My husband says 2400 sounds about right.

First off, have you read the sexypants thread?
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
Weigh / measure everything you eat, at least for a few weeks, and log accurately.
If you're taking in less than you're burning, you'll lose weight. You have to. It's simple physics.

Since you have so little to lose, 1 lb a week is actually a pretty large change!
Congrat's on that!! :drinker: :flowerforyou:
So you're doing fine.
1/2 lb would be just fine too, quite healthy.

The other thing to consider is that by working out you may be adding muscle while losing fat, so you're improving more than you know (are you taking measurements?) but it's not showing on the scale. Fat is fluffy, muscle is sleek.

I did a blog post about goal-setting (weight & calories)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MKEgal/view/2014-06-08-setting-goals-667045

It includes links to several BMI calculators: http://www.shapeup.org/bmi/bmi6.pdf
One of them will also tell you how many servings of what food groups to eat.

At 5'5", your healthy BMI range is between 115 & 145.
To lose weight, take your healthy goal weight & multiply by 10.
So let's say you're aiming at the top end of the range to start with --> 1450.
If you don't lose at least 1/2 lb per week, drop by 50-100 cal & try again.
Don't go below 1200 unless you're supervised by a doctor.

Once you get to your healthy goal weight, eat about 15 cal per lb to maintain it.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HB_web/calorie-counting-made-easy.htm

And those calories are TOTAL, not net. Ignore net.
The only time you eat back any of your exercise calories is if you're really hungry at the end of the day, and then only have 1/3 to 1/2 of them. (This is what my doctor told me.)