1960 calories...or 1200 calories???? I am so confused!!

MissMe9669

Okay...so when i went through the whole sign up process... it tells me that I should be eating 1960 calories a day...to lose 1lb a week. I have checked on other websites and they all say that I should be eating about 1200 calories a day to lose about 1lb a week... some help please?!?!

MissMe9669

Okay...so when i went through the whole sign up process... it tells me that I should be eating 1960 calories a day...to lose 1lb a week. I have checked on other websites and they all say that I should be eating about 1200 calories a day to lose about 1lb a week... some help please?!?!

rissa1322

when i did mine.. i was told to eat 1200 a day to lose 1 pound a week.

i think it depends on your weight and height as well. i am 5ft 7 and weigh 160... so they want me on a 1200(and never any less) to lose 1 pd a week.

if you work out, and then log your calories you burnt.. those go toward your day. so if i worked out today and burned 400 calories.. i would be able to eat 1600 cals today.

hope that helps. let me know if you have any other questions

icandoit

It is based on how much exercising you do. My intake is 1440, but when I exercise more it goes up to 1600+. Other web site told me 2000 plus. It wasn't working. My doctor agreed that 1440 was good too. 2000 was too much. You will notice as you fill in your exercising each day, your calories will change.
I am 5'7" and 240. I burnt almost 600 calories yesterday and my intake was moved up by about 200. I am trying for 2 pounds a week

MissMe9669

It is based on how much exercising you do. My intake is 1440, but when I exercise more it goes up to 1600+. Other web site told me 2000 plus. It wasn't working. My doctor agreed that 1440 was good too. 2000 was too much. You will notice as you fill in your exercising each day, your calories will change.
I am 5'7" and 240. I burnt almost 600 calories yesterday and my intake was moved up by about 200. I am trying for 2 pounds a week
[/quote

Okay... so does that mean that I shouldn't eat all of the calories that it allows me? ( I am 5'9" and weigh about 260lbs)

I don't get too much exercise... my job requires me to do 20 minute mail runs (this requires pushing a mail cart...and it takes about 20 minute) I do 4 runs a day...plus I try to do 10-15 squats, 10-15 wall pushups, and 10-15 jumping jacks everytime i go to washroom...:blushing:

icandoit

It is based on how much exercising you do. My intake is 1440, but when I exercise more it goes up to 1600+. Other web site told me 2000 plus. It wasn't working. My doctor agreed that 1440 was good too. 2000 was too much. You will notice as you fill in your exercising each day, your calories will change.
I am 5'7" and 240. I burnt almost 600 calories yesterday and my intake was moved up by about 200. I am trying for 2 pounds a week
[/quote

Okay... so does that mean that I shouldn't eat all of the calories that it allows me? ( I am 5'9" and weigh about 260lbs)

I don't get too much exercise... my job requires me to do 20 minute mail runs (this requires pushing a mail cart...and it takes about 20 minute) I do 4 runs a day...plus I try to do 10-15 squats, 10-15 wall pushups, and 10-15 jumping jacks everytime i go to washroom...:blushing:

You should take in your suggested calories. As you calculate your exercising the intake will increase. Does that make since??

ToJam

Ok...so here's how my experience went. When I first signed up, it figured out what my daily caloric intake was to maintain my current weight and then I chose to manually set my goals to reach my goal weight. If I were to lay in bed all day and do nothing, my body would burn 1754 calories. If I wanted to continue to lay in bed and do nothing but still lose weight (NOT) then subtract 500 calories a day from that for a 1lb/wk weight loss. But since I was already fairly active, the recommendation was to increase to my caloric intake to like 2100+ but my goal is to lose a minimum 2lbs/wk. So I eat like I'm not active and I subtract 500 calories from the "lazy" factor but never below 1200 calories a day. I don't log my exercise because it looks too much to me like it's okay to cheat a little by adding an extra snack or something. I started on Oct 20th at 215 lbs. I'm glad to say I've lost 20 lbs so far and since my weight loss has caused a shuffle in my caloric intake, I'm eating a little more to maintain a minimum 1.8 lbs weight loss per week. You just have to figure out how much your body needs to maintain your current weight and then subtract however many calories according to your "realistic" weight loss goal from that number. At a 500 calorie a day deficit, you're on track for a 1lb/wk weight loss - burn an extra 500 a day for a week and you'll lose 2lbs a week.......Keep Pushing

diannholland1965

Well I understand the confussion and I hope that this does not make it worse.
I will try to keep it short. Unlike me I know. :laugh:
One pound is equal to 3000 calories.
If you eat 3000 calories you gain, if you burn 3000 calories you lose. (Don't freak if that sounds high!see PS)
It is that simple in the basic HOWEVER!
you burn 1 calorie a minute each minute that you are alive which means that in a 24 hour time frame you will naturally burn 1440. Some people, (Men and people who work with weights.) burn more cals a min because their metabolism is high due to the muscle. However you still have to eat. which adds calories, and most people do get up and move from time to time, which takes calories.
which is where I think that the numbers came from for MFP.
Because it is hard to put every person in ONE area of calories, they gave you a round figure based on your weight and what the normal person in your weight area would need to burn to lose weight, and still be able to eat healthy
I hope this helps and did not confuse you more. :ohwell:
--Diann...
*PS* 3000(calories in one pound)-1440(calories we burn just being alive)=1560 This is the extra amount that we need to burn to lose weight. Which is why somedays you step on the scale and see that you burned one whole pound. Does THAT sound more reachable?:bigsmile:

ToJam

Keep in mind the 3000 calories is a cumulative number at the end of a week. If you have consumed a surplus of 3000-3500 calories in a week, then that's a pound gained. But if you have a 3000-3500 cumulative calorie deficit at the end of the week, then that's a pound lost. Divide that number up over a 7 day week and you've got your daily caloric deficit for weight loss. That's another reason to never weigh yourself more than once a week. Try weighing yourself only on Mondays to give yourself an idea of where you are in your journey and how hard you need to push through the week to keep on track....:huh: (thoroughly confused yet?)

MissMe9669

Thanks everyone for trying to help me understand this!! I appreciate all of your explanations!! :flowerforyou:

Nich0le

Reset your goals manually.

I am 5'9" and started at 247lbs. I set my goal to loose 2lbs per week it gave me 1368 calories a day. This number is as if you were only going to focus on diet. If you exercise you calories will go up to prevent loosing too much too quickly, doing so is not any better than keeping the weight on as far as your heart is concerned.

I do not usually take in the full amount of calories recommended after exercise because the calorie counts of the exercise are not always right on. I have lost 31 lbs to date (since sept). Some weeks I loose a few ounces and other weeks I drop 3-4 lbs.

If you have started talking to your doctor you may want to find out if there is a nutritionist you can speak with because they can focus on your specific needs and challenges and it may be covered by insurance if you can get your doctor to write on your behalf that you need a nutritionist!

kewlmama

im eating 1200 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week..1960 seems like alot but the more you exercise the more calories you get per day

songbyrdsweet

As a general rule, you should never eat less than 10*bodyweight in calories. Most online calculators are very, very rough estimates. I've had plenty tell me I should eat 1300 calories a day, but I lose quickly at 1600. Some of the calories I'm seeing look incredibly low, and that can really be a problem when you plateau because you won't be able to reduce your calories anymore without eating so little that it's unhealthy. It's best to try out a large range on calculators that take your activity level and body fat into account (if you know it) and find an average.

tonidemeza

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

songbyrdsweet

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

That is an odd little addition to the calorie counter...I already know how many calories I want to eat and how many I burn on average, so I'm really not 'earning' anything. In any case, eat 500 calories less than what you have available to eat. If you ate all of those calories, you'd maintain your weight, because there would be no deficit. I burn 2200 calories a day, so I eat 1700 a day for fat loss.

diannholland1965

I agree with songbyrd on this.
Because the object is to LOSE weight, we will worry about maintaining when we are at the weight we want to maintain.
Rule of thumb that I follow is:
Eat your calories for the day. try to stay around that range give or take a few here and there.
If you go over, you need that much extra excersive BEYOND what you would do to burn it off.
If you are eating you NORMAL alotted calories for the day and then working out. I do not think you are in starvation mode like the quip says.
NOW if you calories for the day where total ALOT UNDER 1200 (IE: anything under 1000 cals,)and you are working out and burning over 500 calories in doing so, YEAH then I would believe you are in starvation mode.
THIS HOWEVER IS JUST MY THOUGHT ON THE MATTER! I AM NOT A DOCTOR!
--Diann...

tonidemeza

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

That is an odd little addition to the calorie counter...I already know how many calories I want to eat and how many I burn on average, so I'm really not 'earning' anything. In any case, eat 500 calories less than what you have available to eat. If you ate all of those calories, you'd maintain your weight, because there would be no deficit. I burn 2200 calories a day, so I eat 1700 a day for fat loss.

So I should steer clear of that so-called earned or extra calories in order to lose, correct?

diannholland1965

Well I do.
I try to stay in my calorie AREA of 1200 calories. (NEVER BELOW 1000)
which is easy for me to do.
I am a night time workerouter, so Excersize is the last entry of the day before I log it in.
Needless to say, there are very few days if any that I do not get the little blurb about me
starving myself.
I am however loseing weight at about 1/2 a pound a day to about 2 to 3 pounds a week or more, consistantly. I have lost 5 pounds in one week twice. But this is because of a harder then normal workout.
I am not starving (I eat a LOT of fruit and veggies.)and I have noticed that as I lose weight that I am also not NEAR as hungry as I was before. But I am still in the 1200 cals a day range.
I hope this helps.
--Diann...

songbyrdsweet

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

That is an odd little addition to the calorie counter...I already know how many calories I want to eat and how many I burn on average, so I'm really not 'earning' anything. In any case, eat 500 calories less than what you have available to eat. If you ate all of those calories, you'd maintain your weight, because there would be no deficit. I burn 2200 calories a day, so I eat 1700 a day for fat loss.

So I should steer clear of that so-called earned or extra calories in order to lose, correct?

Yup, that's right. All you need to do is look at how many calories you burn in a day with exercise and everything, and eat 500 less. That's why I choose not to use just a calculator...if I ate 1300 calories, I'd be in trouble after a 2 hour workout! If you only burn 1800 calories in a day, then 1300 is acceptable. Like diann said, if you want to maintain, eat all those calories once you reach your target weight. It's also a good idea to have one day every couple of weeks where you do eat all those calories because it helps your leptin levels from falling, so it helps to prevent plateaus.

tonidemeza

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

That is an odd little addition to the calorie counter...I already know how many calories I want to eat and how many I burn on average, so I'm really not 'earning' anything. In any case, eat 500 calories less than what you have available to eat. If you ate all of those calories, you'd maintain your weight, because there would be no deficit. I burn 2200 calories a day, so I eat 1700 a day for fat loss.

So I should steer clear of that so-called earned or extra calories in order to lose, correct?

Yup, that's right. All you need to do is look at how many calories you burn in a day with exercise and everything, and eat 500 less. That's why I choose not to use just a calculator...if I ate 1300 calories, I'd be in trouble after a 2 hour workout! If you only burn 1800 calories in a day, then 1300 is acceptable. Like diann said, if you want to maintain, eat all those calories once you reach your target weight. It's also a good idea to have one day every couple of weeks where you do eat all those calories because it helps your leptin levels from falling, so it helps to prevent plateaus.

OK here's my problem. Today, I have a 1 hour strength training session with my personal trainer...AND I did 1 hour of cardio. I have only took in about 1235 cals today. I actually FEEL hungry right now...and I think thats probably bad, and now its 915PM and I try not to eat so late in the evening.

songbyrdsweet

so heres my question...Should I actually be eating the extra calories I've "earned" from exercise or not?

That is an odd little addition to the calorie counter...I already know how many calories I want to eat and how many I burn on average, so I'm really not 'earning' anything. In any case, eat 500 calories less than what you have available to eat. If you ate all of those calories, you'd maintain your weight, because there would be no deficit. I burn 2200 calories a day, so I eat 1700 a day for fat loss.

So I should steer clear of that so-called earned or extra calories in order to lose, correct?

Yup, that's right. All you need to do is look at how many calories you burn in a day with exercise and everything, and eat 500 less. That's why I choose not to use just a calculator...if I ate 1300 calories, I'd be in trouble after a 2 hour workout! If you only burn 1800 calories in a day, then 1300 is acceptable. Like diann said, if you want to maintain, eat all those calories once you reach your target weight. It's also a good idea to have one day every couple of weeks where you do eat all those calories because it helps your leptin levels from falling, so it helps to prevent plateaus.

OK here's my problem. Today, I have a 1 hour strength training session with my personal trainer...AND I did 1 hour of cardio. I have only took in about 1235 cals today. I actually FEEL hungry right now...and I think thats probably bad, and now its 915PM and I try not to eat so late in the evening.

Eat! You're only doing harm if you're not eating enough. Your leptin levels will fall, causing a decrease in your resting metabolism. And you'll be hungry and fatigued! You need to add all your activity to your BMR, and eat 500 cals less than that. It doesn't matter what time you eat either. It's 9:45 pm here, but if I was on the other side of the world it'd be 9:45 am. Your body doesn't know what time it is, and there's no magical hour at which you begin to store fat. You metabolize foods the same way at all times of the day or night. You only store fat when you've had more calories than you've burned. That's it. You could wake up at 3am and have a full meal, and if you were still in a deficit, you wouldn't gain any fat. I eat from 8am to 10pm, and have yet to gain any.

lovableditz

ok so basically you should eat 1200 but this website accounts for all your excercise too so if you burn more it tells you you can eat more

i say don't eat more you wont lose weight. well you might if you used to eat 3000 calories a day. but really just eat 1200-1500 a day depending on your motabolism and height

tonidemeza

Ok today....I took in a total of 1431 cal.....and I burned 600 cals in one hour according to the elliptical machine I used at the gym today (I sure hope thats accurate!!)....so should I subtract that from the amount I took in instead of adding these so called "earned' cals to my net total?

songbyrdsweet

You should eat your BMR calories + Workout Calories - 500. So if your BMR is say 1300, and you burnt 600, that's 1900 total. So you should eat 1400.

tonidemeza

You should eat your BMR calories + Workout Calories - 500. So if your BMR is say 1300, and you burnt 600, that's 1900 total. So you should eat 1400.

OK my estimated BMR is: 1,580 calories/day* plus my burned 600 cals for the day is 2180....minus 500....gives me 1680....and thats what I should be eating...right? I'm just trying to get a good idea of what I should be eating so my body will not go into that starvation mode...I really need to lose this weight! BAD!

songbyrdsweet

You should eat your BMR calories + Workout Calories - 500. So if your BMR is say 1300, and you burnt 600, that's 1900 total. So you should eat 1400.

OK my estimated BMR is: 1,580 calories/day* plus my burned 600 cals for the day is 2180....minus 500....gives me 1680....and thats what I should be eating...right? I'm just trying to get a good idea of what I should be eating so my body will not go into that starvation mode...I really need to lose this weight! BAD!

Exactly! :happy: Don't be afraid of those calories. If you stall for more than a week, you can decrease by 50-100 cals until you begin to lose again. And if you burn more or less on a certain day, eat more or less. The one exception is days off...if you're taking a rest day on purpose, you can have a slightly smaller deficit, like 300 calories, so you aren't eating too little; when you're resting you're repairing, so it's important to eat enough.

MissMe9669

It feels good to know that I was not the only one confused about this!!

flachix

Diann
what time do you work out at night? is there a time that is too late? I have read that if you work out too late it will keep you awake, or interrupt your sleep pattern, has that ever been an issue for you? I have trouble sleeping and don't want to lose what little sleep I do get. thanks flachix

Happines6500

Hi

Im new but i think it will be to do with ur overall weight and the larger you are at the start the more you will be able to eat..........so 1900 calories may be ideal for your weight now but as time goes by that will reduce and eventually get closer to the 1200..........but on the average if u lower to 1500 eventually u shud still lose weight............ps 1200 is far too low xxxxx


Happiness