Is the goal to net 1200 or net your daily calorie goal?

graysmom2005

In order for me to net 1200 calories I have to eat a lot, as I workout a bunch for work...but the losses are still horribly, horribly slow. Like almost non-existent. Is the goal to net my daily goal of 1510 calories? Or just to be over the magic 1200? Thanks for checking!

tigersword

Always net your goal calories. 1200 is the bare minimum, and depending on a variety of factors, may not be enough for you. Your daily calorie goal should equal your net calories at the end of the day.

JennLifts

of you didn't work out at all, and it told you the 1500 number, your goal is to net that number

ASaxe23

I just try to be at a calorie deficit of at least 500. That' my magic number. If I can get to 750 even better, but I only like a deficit of 750 if it's including exercise!

RinaMax

Net calories = Calories Eaten minus Calories Exercised

You obviously want to eat your 1200 calories or close to that. However, you do not have to eat back all your exercise calories. I average net calories of 800 a day, meaning if I eat 1200, I work out 400 OR I eat 1500 and workout 700...

I suggest NOT eating back all your exercise calories...so DO NOT net 1200 unless you don't work out for the day.

Hope this helps. I lost 25 lbs over just under a 3 month period with this strategy. So I know it works.

tigersword

Her goal calories are 1500, not 1200, if you tell her to net less than 1200 that is very bad advice. Losing weight fast is not the same as losing weight healthily. Plus it's a lot harder to maintain a goal weight if you suddenly go from ridiculous deficits to maintenance calories.

taso42_DELETED

How slow are the losses? Not sure how current your pictures are but you look like there isn't very much fat left at all. When it's down to those last few lbs, about .5 lbs per week is about as fast as it's going to happen. If your settings aren't already set to that level, you might try changing it up. It will tell you to eat still yet more, but you may be surprised to see the weight coming off easier....

graysmom2005

Net calories = Calories Eaten minus Calories Exercised

You obviously want to eat your 1200 calories or close to that. However, you do not have to eat back all your exercise calories. I average net calories of 800 a day, meaning if I eat 1200, I work out 400 OR I eat 1500 and workout 700...

I suggest NOT eating back all your exercise calories...so DO NOT net 1200 unless you don't work out for the day.

Hope this helps. I lost 25 lbs over just under a 3 month period with this strategy. So I know it works.

My net calories are just over 1500. I lost 30 pounds with a low net too...and then I hit an endless plateau as my body was ACTUALLY in starvation mode from too little calories over a long period of time. I didn't lose a pound and actually ended up gaining for almost two years. Since I started eating most of my exercise calories back I've gone down a pant size. First time I've lost weight since I started eating more.

graysmom2005

How slow is are the losses? Not sure how current your pictures are but you look like there isn't very much fat left at all. When it's down to those last few lbs, about .5 lbs per week is about as fast as it's going to happen. If your settings aren't already set to that level, you might try changing it up. It will tell you to eat still yet more, but you may be surprised to see the weight coming off easier....

I'm actually set to half a pound now, but I'm not sure how accurate MFP is. When I plug in my numbers to other calculators they have me eating WAY more. It's so confusing.

psuLemon

If you want to lose fat and not muscle, then you need to eat a lot if you are working out a lot (case in point, I eat 3000 calories a day). If you don't eat your caloric needs, your body will hold onto the fat and burn the muscle. Once all the energy is used from your fat stores, it attacks the protein in your muscles to get energy. Less muscle means slower metabolism. So how do you offset that? You eat more throughout the day and weight train. Below is a link that i would highly consider you looking at. If you enter in your stuff you can figure out what your caloric needs are based on lifestyle and activity level. Based on what you have said, you are probably considered very active. Using this method, you can aim to eat the same calories each day regardless of what you burn off. Below is the example from my data.



http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

Entered information: 29 year old male, 71 inches tall, weighing 195 pounds.

From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 185 lbs.


Harris-Benedict Formula

There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1985 calories.


Katch-McArdle Forumla

The numbers above are fairly accurate, however they don't take into account your lean body mass. A more accurate formula that does take your lean body mass into account is the Katch-McArdle formula. Since many of us have scales that will tell us our current body fat, this formula may yield more accurate results. Based on the information you provided, body fat percentage of 11.75%, you have a lean body mass of 172 lbs., and your BMR is 2059 calories.


How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2308
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2644
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2981
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3317
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3654

Based on this method, i would eat 2981 calories a day regardless if I workout of not. I have lost 33% of my body fat using this method over 6 months. I average 1% body fat loss per month (was 18% BF and now 12%).

AngieDee12

bump

taso42_DELETED

How slow are the losses? Not sure how current your pictures are but you look like there isn't very much fat left at all. When it's down to those last few lbs, about .5 lbs per week is about as fast as it's going to happen. If your settings aren't already set to that level, you might try changing it up. It will tell you to eat still yet more, but you may be surprised to see the weight coming off easier....

I'm actually set to half a pound now, but I'm not sure how accurate MFP is. When I plug in my numbers to other calculators they have me eating WAY more. It's so confusing.

FWIW, I was in the exact same boat as I got close to my goal... I ended up manually overriding my calorie target. I was eating a few hundred cals more per day than MFP was suggesting for me, and I felt a lot better and my weight loss went like clockwork.

This isn't necessarily guaranteed to work, but since you say you're somewhat stalled out, and other calculators are backing up the evidence, increasing for a few weeks might be worth the experiment..

graysmom2005

If you want to lose fat and not muscle, then you need to eat a lot if you are working out a lot (case in point, I eat 3000 calories a day). If you don't eat your caloric needs, your body will hold onto the fat and burn the muscle. Once all the energy is used from your fat stores, it attacks the protein in your muscles to get energy. Less muscle means slower metabolism. So how do you offset that? You eat more throughout the day and weight train. Below is a link that i would highly consider you looking at. If you enter in your stuff you can figure out what your caloric needs are based on lifestyle and activity level. Based on what you have said, you are probably considered very active. Using this method, you can aim to eat the same calories each day regardless of what you burn off. Below is the example from my data.



http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

Entered information: 29 year old male, 71 inches tall, weighing 195 pounds.

From the information that you entered, you'd like to weigh 185 lbs.


Harris-Benedict Formula

There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1985 calories.


Katch-McArdle Forumla

The numbers above are fairly accurate, however they don't take into account your lean body mass. A more accurate formula that does take your lean body mass into account is the Katch-McArdle formula. Since many of us have scales that will tell us our current body fat, this formula may yield more accurate results. Based on the information you provided, body fat percentage of 11.75%, you have a lean body mass of 172 lbs., and your BMR is 2059 calories.


How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

Activity Level Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2308
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2644
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2981
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3317
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3654

Based on this method, i would eat 2981 calories a day regardless if I workout of not. I have lost 33% of my body fat using this method over 6 months. I average 1% body fat loss per month (was 18% BF and now 12%).

See now this says I should be eating between 2400-2600 calories a DAY! Is that too much for a 5ft 6in tall GIRL? Would I subtract 500 calories from this to make a deficit...or would I be eating 2400 calories a day every day in order to lose weight? It doesn't seem possible. LOL!

veganbaum

Please read:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

graysmom2005

Bump. Are there any ladies out there losing on 2500 calories a day???

psuLemon

Bump. Are there any ladies out there losing on 2500 calories a day???

There are plenty of women that eat the much. Remember, if you are burning 1000 calories a day and you caloric needs before working out is 1500, then 2500 is completely possible. I can tell you from the women I am personally working with, 1800 - 2000 calories is common and they aren't very active. Heck, once I start p90x again (after I finish chalean extreme) I will bump my calories from 3000 up to 3400.

I know it's a rather hard concept because most women keep hearing they should only eat 1200 calories... well it's wrong. 1200 calories will only make you fat! It's simple, food is fuel. If you look at the below link, it is data I am working to gather to look at the correlation between caloric needs and body fat. All the women with very low body fat consume over 2000 calories. So if you are looking to lose weight and you are very active, then why wouldn't you follow the same concept. I posted a second link below (shapefit.com) That really explains BMR and TDEE. The math is simple and I can tell you the math works for both men and women. I have found, those who don't follow the math tend to plateau quickly or don't lose weight and they end up on the boards complaining.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat



http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

Crystalchaos72

Bump. Are there any ladies out there losing on 2500 calories a day???

I eat about that.......more when I exercise. I manually put in my caloric goals since I have had to tweak it over time. I have stopped completing my diary entries because it tells me I will gain xx amount of weight in 5 weeks(it p*sses me off cuz I know better). I did an experiment and ate 2500-2800 a dAy without exercise and stayed the same......for 3 weeks. Mind you I didn't go that long without exercise, jjust can't do it, but I had to eat even more. I have NEVER eaten a net of 1200, I would starve. My stomach dictates my life.......lol
P.4. I am slaso 5'6 and have manged to lose 114# overall.......the body needs fuel, so I listen