How many calories are you guys eating?

Ratrap

What are guys who are similar to my stats eating?

248lbs
5'11"

theninamartine

That TOTALLY depends on how much weight you want to loose/gain

robster160

I am only a little lighter and shorter than you. I aim for 1800/day.

MisterZ33

when i started logging, i was 5'10, 246 lbs or so...i was eating around 1900 calories - taking roughly a 1200 caloric deficit (calories burned through exercise included)

now at 232 lbs, im intaking 1890 calories.

i re-adjust my caloric deficit every 5 lbs lost, or so...

earlnabby

I am a little heavier and a little shorter (5'8", 254) and my target is 1720 a day.

cwolfman13

5'10" and pushing 40 and currently 180 Lbs...I've been maintaining for 16 months or so and I eat around 2800ish calories per day on average.

When I was losing I generally ate anywhere from 2100 - 2300 calories depending. I started out at 220 Lbs.

I have a desk job, but I'm pretty active...I generally ride between 60 - 80 miles per week or so and I hit the weight room a couple days per week as well. When I'm not at the office, I'm also up on my feet quite a bit...I have a 2 y.o. and a 4 y.o. so I'm always chasing them around, cooking something, cleaning something, fixing something, doing yard work, etc....always something going on.

ana3067

23, 5'7, 175lbs, eating 2100 for fat loss and 2500-2600 for maintenance/refeed days/weeks. Currently on a maintenance week since I've been at a deficit for almost 3 months straight. In september I will be doing refeeds once a week or every other week, whatever feels needed.

As far as activity goes, I work out ~5 hours a week (possibly more, if I feel like doing a bit of LISS once or twice a week on my rest days) and then otherwise I'm quite sedentary. A bit of walking, more standing, a lot of sitting.

Ratrap

5'10" and pushing 40 and currently 180 Lbs...I've been maintaining for 16 months or so and I eat around 2800ish calories per day on average.

When I was losing I generally ate anywhere from 2100 - 2300 calories depending. I started out at 220 Lbs.

Man trying to figure out how much I need to be eating is maddening.

kshadows

That TOTALLY depends on how much weight you want to loose/gain

This.

I'm a female. 5'5, 150 lbs and eating 1600-1800 cals/day.

Ratrap

I am only a little lighter and shorter than you. I aim for 1800/day.

How did you figure out how much to eat?

Ratrap

That TOTALLY depends on how much weight you want to loose/gain

This.

I'm a female. 5'5, 150 lbs and eating 1600-1800 cals/day.

Ok so 6 times a week including weights, HIIT workout, and running. How do I get a real idea. its so confusing

drazani

Im 5'11. 251lb im currently eating 2305 calories based on TDEE i am currently excercising 6 days a week for 45 mins a time

jmt08c

5'10" 173 lbs @ 12% BF and I am maintaining around 2800/day. 2200/day to lose and 3400/day during bulk. Exercise 6 days a week.

tuffykia

I try to get about 1200 calories a day but sometimes have trouble getting that many All of my calories are from healthy natural foods. I make a smoothie of organic plain greek yogurt , fruit, spinach, carrots and protein powder, lunch and supper are both meat and veggies . I am only 5'1 1/2 inches tall and weigh 180. I have been told to get half my weight in protein grams. So I am trying, but if you try it, you may find it as difficult as I do. Just keep plugging away. ya'all

ana3067

5'10" and pushing 40 and currently 180 Lbs...I've been maintaining for 16 months or so and I eat around 2800ish calories per day on average.

When I was losing I generally ate anywhere from 2100 - 2300 calories depending. I started out at 220 Lbs.

Man trying to figure out how much I need to be eating is maddening.

It's really all about finding estimates of your energy burn, subtracting 10-20% (the higher the greater the fat loss rate - but 20% is still ~1lb a week only) and monitoring your weight and measurements for a month or so. If you lose, great! If not, then lower by 100 calories, monitor for a few weeks, repeat this until you are losing.

I like exrx.net and health-calc.com for TDEE calculators since you are inputting minutes spent on intensity levels of activity instead of just saying "i work out 4x a week" because.. one person's 4x a week is not MY 4x a week!

ETA the websites are for averages. So you work out 6x a week doing, say, 30 minutes of moderate exercise each of those days, then that is on average 26 minutes a day (divide by 60 to get decimals for exrx.net). Or input an active day and then do a separate rest day calculation, average them out and it should give you a number that is either exactly what the first method gives or almost identical.

wonderwoman234

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

ana3067

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

wonderwoman234

LOL Just realized you are a male! Your calories would be 2277 to lose 1 lb. per week. Use the calculator to figure it out for yourself, though!

wonderwoman234

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

I would disagree. I feel like it estimates high.

The_Godwin_72

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

this is what is use also- only I fast 2 days a week and try TRY to hit TDEE 5 days.

cwolfman13

I am only a little lighter and shorter than you. I aim for 1800/day.

How did you figure out how much to eat?

Just put your stats in here, select an activity level that best resembles your day to day (WITHOUT EXERCISE) and pick a reasonable rate of loss...1 Lb per week is very manageable. MFP will calculate your goal for you...keep in mind that your exercise is NOT accounted for which is why you log it after the fact with MFP and get those calories to "eat back".

The difficulty with the MFP method is that it can be tricky estimating burn so allowances have to be made for estimation error. To boot, there is a lot of inherent error when it comes to intake as well.

Ultimately, you just need to get a number to start with...get things going and then make adjustments as per your real world results. None of these calculators are gospel...they're just meant to be tools to help you get started....there's going to be some trial and error involved.

grogers511

I'm nowhere near your stats, but maybe this will help you.

How much you need to eat to lose weight will depend on several factors: height, weight, age, gender, activity level, whether you want to lose, gain or maintain weight - and how much you want to lose or gain.

There are many calculators available to help you figure this out. I went with the one provided through My Fitness Pal when I first set up my account. I tweaked it some to adjust carbs, sodium and fiber macros.

Here's a great posting explaining more about it: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Ultimately - you need to set an amount and try it for a while. Then tweak it until it works for you.

ana3067

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

I would disagree. I feel like it estimates high.

Most of the other websites I have come across that estimate even higher than IIFYM are ones that are recommended more as being fairly accurate. I'd guess that if someone doesn't weigh (or at least measure) all food, then a very low estimate might work better to allow for likely under-logging of calories/macros. Otherwise, most people I've spoken with agree that IIFYM calculator isn't ideal for getting an average estimate of caloric needs

Ratrap

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

I would disagree. I feel like it estimates high.

Most of the other websites I have come across that estimate even higher than IIFYM are ones that are recommended more as being fairly accurate. I'd guess that if someone doesn't weigh (or at least measure) all food, then a very low estimate might work better to allow for likely under-logging of calories/macros. Otherwise, most people I've spoken with agree that IIFYM calculator isn't ideal for getting an average estimate of caloric needs

I guess I would feel better if there was just one set way and I could feel in control of the situation and I don't feel in control of it. To many variables I guess and theories it frustrates me.:explode:

cwolfman13

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

I would disagree. I feel like it estimates high.

Most of the other websites I have come across that estimate even higher than IIFYM are ones that are recommended more as being fairly accurate. I'd guess that if someone doesn't weigh (or at least measure) all food, then a very low estimate might work better to allow for likely under-logging of calories/macros. Otherwise, most people I've spoken with agree that IIFYM calculator isn't ideal for getting an average estimate of caloric needs

I guess I would feel better if there was just one set way and I could feel in control of the situation and I don't feel in control of it. To many variables I guess and theories it frustrates me.:explode:

For one thing, you're not going to get a tremendous amount of variation between calculators...some yes...but not much...they pretty much all use the same assumptions of average individuals of similar stats. Where most people get confused is in understanding the method being uses...as well as comparing apples to apples in RE to loss rate goals.

For example, people constantly wonder why MfP's goal is so different from other calculators...a quick read of the stickes tells you why...it's because of the method being utilized. The vast majority of calculators will include some estimate of your exercise activity up front in your activity level...MFP does not...you account for that activity after the fact. But if you're doing it right, the methods should come out pretty much 6 of 1.

For example, with MFP, my net goal was 1850...with exercise, on average i was eating around 2250 gross...this was to lose about 1 Lb per week. using the TDEE method with a 20% reduction from TDEE, my goal was 2,240 calories (those exercise estimates were already included in my TDEE of 2800)...as you can see, there's a mere 10 calorie difference here.

Also, like I said before...it's all an estimate...these are just tools to help you get started...they aren't gospel...nobody has an exact caloric requirement of what one of these calculators states...these numbers are just to get you started.

MisterZ33

rattrap, i was in your exact shoes a few months ago and then i started doing my research and everything started making sense to me.

add me as a friend and i will send you some info. im no expert, but i seem to be doing well with what i am doing...

Ratrap

Use this calculator to help you. Lots of folks on MFP, including me, use this instead of the MFP method.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

If you are a 35 year old woman working out 3 days a week (at your current weight and height) your TDEE is 2619. Subtract 20% from that to figure out how many calories you need to lose 1 lb. per week. For this example, that would be 2095. Then you would just adjust for every ten pounds lost.

I would just encourage you to lose slowly so that it becomes a true lifestyle change, not just another diet where you lose fast and then regain. Good luck!

Just adding to this, IIFYM calculator is notorious for estimating low. so use the 10 or 15% deficit only that is on there if you want to use that calculator, and if your losses are too slow after a month, decrease another 100 and monitor.

I would disagree. I feel like it estimates high.

Most of the other websites I have come across that estimate even higher than IIFYM are ones that are recommended more as being fairly accurate. I'd guess that if someone doesn't weigh (or at least measure) all food, then a very low estimate might work better to allow for likely under-logging of calories/macros. Otherwise, most people I've spoken with agree that IIFYM calculator isn't ideal for getting an average estimate of caloric needs

I guess I would feel better if there was just one set way and I could feel in control of the situation and I don't feel in control of it. To many variables I guess and theories it frustrates me.:explode:

For one thing, you're not going to get a tremendous amount of variation between calculators...some yes...but not much...they pretty much all use the same assumptions of average individuals of similar stats. Where most people get confused is in understanding the method being uses...as well as comparing apples to apples in RE to loss rate goals.

For example, people constantly wonder why MfP's goal is so different from other calculators...a quick read of the stickes tells you why...it's because of the method being utilized. The vast majority of calculators will include some estimate of your exercise activity up front in your activity level...MFP does not...you account for that activity after the fact. But if you're doing it right, the methods should come out pretty much 6 of 1.

For example, with MFP, my net goal was 1850...with exercise, on average i was eating around 2250 gross...this was to lose about 1 Lb per week. using the TDEE method with a 20% reduction from TDEE, my goal was 2,240 calories (those exercise estimates were already included in my TDEE of 2800)...as you can see, there's a mere 10 calorie difference here.

Also, like I said before...it's all an estimate...these are just tools to help you get started...they aren't gospel...nobody has an exact caloric requirement of what one of these calculators states...these numbers are just to get you started.

I just redid my MFP settings and it says I should only be eating 1890 calories. That seems like an awful low numbers compared to IIFYM.com, Scooby workshop and others. I guess im confused on your explanation

For example, with MFP, my net goal was 1850...with exercise, on average i was eating around 2250 gross...this was to lose about 1 Lb per week. using the TDEE method with a 20% reduction from TDEE, my goal was 2,240 calories (those exercise estimates were already included in my TDEE of 2800)...as you can see, there's a mere 10 calorie difference here.

Are you saying you ate 2240 cals a day and burned enough to hit 1850?

queenb39

I am 5'6 and 222. I am eating 1400.

cwolfman13

I just redid my MFP settings and it says I should only be eating 1890 calories. That seems like an awful low numbers compared to IIFYM.com, Scooby workshop and others. I guess im confused on your explanation

Because MFP doesn't give you credit for your exercise until you actually do it and log it...then you get calories to "eat back"

IIFYM calculator includes some estimate of those exercise calories up front in the equation in your activity level.

With MFP, if you ate 1890 calories per day, you would theoretically lose at whatever rate you chose without any deliberate exercise...exercise then becomes an additional activity that you log after the fact...then you get to eat those calories back.

In my example of 1850...that was my net to lose 1 Lb per week...that means that MFP was calculating my NON EXERCISE theoretical maintenance at 2,350 calories (1,850 + 500)...so then I would exercise and (adjusted for estimation error) burn 400 or so calories...i would log that and MFP would give me 2250 calories then to eat. But I maintained that same 500 calorie deficit because now my NON EXERCISE maintenance number includes exercise of 400 calories, giving me a new maintenance number of 2,750 calories and 2,750 - 2,250 = 500 calorie deficit still.

With IIFYM, all of that exercise estimate is included in your overall goal...you don't eat back exercise calories with that method.

Ratrap

I just redid my MFP settings and it says I should only be eating 1890 calories. That seems like an awful low numbers compared to IIFYM.com, Scooby workshop and others. I guess im confused on your explanation

Because MFP doesn't give you credit for your exercise until you actually do it and log it...then you get calories to "eat back"

IIFYM calculator includes some estimate of those exercise calories up front in the equation in your activity level.

With MFP, if you ate 1890 calories per day, you would theoretically lose at whatever rate you chose without any deliberate exercise...exercise then becomes an additional activity that you log after the fact...then you get to eat those calories back.

In my example of 1850...that was my net to lose 1 Lb per week...that means that MFP was calculating my NON EXERCISE theoretical maintenance at 2,350 calories (1,850 + 500)...so then I would exercise and (adjusted for estimation error) burn 400 or so calories...i would log that and MFP would give me 2250 calories then to eat. But I maintained that same 500 calorie deficit because now my NON EXERCISE maintenance number includes exercise of 400 calories, giving me a new maintenance number of 2,750 calories and 2,750 - 2,250 = 500 calorie deficit still.

With IIFYM, all of that exercise estimate is included in your overall goal...you don't eat back exercise calories with that method.

Oh that makes so much more sense. Thank you for explaining that. It helps

robster160

I am only a little lighter and shorter than you. I aim for 1800/day.

How did you figure out how much to eat?

Ratrap - when I started, MFP calculated my non-losing calorie load at 2400 cals/day, so I cut it to 1900 on the theory that a decifit of 500/day equals 3500/week. Then 3500 cals = 1 lb. So that should get me losing 1 lb a week ... great.

However, that didn't quite do it. 1800, plus a little exercise, seems to work. Then, if I get more exercise, I lose more.