How many calories are you eating?

bcattoes

Over the last 30 days I've averaged about 1400 net calories per day (lowest = 1100, highest = 2600). I am 5' 5", weight 153.6 and I'm 50 yo. I have lost 25 lbs. I lost the original 20 at about 1 lb per week, then it began tapering off and I am now losing very slowly (about 1 lb per month).

amanda07425

H: 5'2
W: 153 lbs
Age: 27
Calories: 1490 + exercise calories
Goal: 1/2 per week
Weight loss rate: 1/2 to 3/4 lbs per week.

looks like around 1490 is working for you.. have you always been eating this amount??

kcmartian

H: 5'6"
W: 169
Age: 27
Calories: 1600-1800 average
Goal: 0.5-1 lbs per week

I don't believe in really restrictive diets mainly because I ALWAYS end up binging at some point. It's just been my experience from the last 5+ years of dieting and exercising. MFP told me I should be eating 1200 calories...ummmm I don't think so. I'm trying to think long-term. I can definitely eat 1200 calories a day and for a long period of time, but forever? Definitely not. So my goal / strategy is to find a eating and exercising plan that I can definitely keep up for years. I work out really hard (5-6 times a week) so that I can eat some of the things I like. It's been working for me. I know I can lose the weight faster if I don't eat back my exercise calories, but again, my concern is I won't be able to keep it up in the very long term. There's nothing more frustrating than losing a bunch of weight and then gaining it all back and then some (again, from experience). Following my plan, I've been consistently losing 1-2 lbs a week for the last 5 months now. I don't feel deprived at all because I still eat things I like on a regular basis and I don't kill myself exercising, so I feel good that I can do this for years to come. My next course of action is to incorporate more strength training to tone up.

msshiraz

Age: 26
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 188

Calories: Usually eat between 1900-2400, burn 250-600 depending on the day (strength training I eat 2200-2400), and I am only eating exercise calories if my net ends up being less than 1750 (this is the lowest I should really be going). Yep, I'm a woman and I eat a ****load. I also lift heavy weights.

Really, my suggestion is stop being afraid to eat. Keep increasing your calories and see what happens. A wonderful MFP friend gave me some great advice: If you're not losing anything now, what's the harm in increasing your calories? You might gain a pound, but at least something is happening, and you'll have a starting point to scale back your calories from.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I eat 1400 net (which means that most days are over 2000/day). I'm supposed to be in maintenance but am still sometimes finding I'm down. I only let the scale get down to 123, then I eat it back up to 127.

5'4"
33
123 - 127
size 0-2

hottottie11

H: 5'2
W: 153 lbs
Age: 27
Calories: 1490 + exercise calories
Goal: 1/2 per week
Weight loss rate: 1/2 to 3/4 lbs per week.

looks like around 1490 is working for you.. have you always been eating this amount??

At first I was at 1200 net calories. I went on maintenance last spring and picked up strength training. I gained some muscle and now I'm focusing on cutting the fat. 0.5 lb per week is a good rate if you are less than 15 lb towards your goal. You minimize muscle loss while cutting the fat. That's why I eat back my exercise calories. I'm not going by weight anymore. I'm a size 6-8 trying to get into a solid 4

fabi8081

height: 5'3"
weight 194
age: 30
cals: 1300 This works great for me!!!

amanda07425

Weight: 174.6
Height: 5'9"
Age: 24
Calories:1440
And I don't eat back my exercise calories

have you always been eating that many?! I know were friends on MFP so i know you have been very successful

rockstarginaa

Age: 26
Height: 4'11''
Weight: 111
Calories: 1100 - 1200*
Weight lost: 36lbs

I don't eat my exercise calories.

*Also, while it may say in my log under 1200 calories, chances are it is 1200 or higher because I leave room for miscalulations.

GreenGettingLean

Hi there, another Amanda here! :flowerforyou: You and I were in similar situations. I also started out on MFP eating 1200 net calories a day, plateaued, then upped it to 1390 calories a day by changing my goal to "lose .5 lbs a week." That was over a month ago, and since then, I have seen fairly steady results! As for exercise calories, I typically eat back 75% of them or so and I always make sure to net 1200. Which isn't too tough, I love to eat!

It did take a week or so of eating at the higher level to start losing, so hang in there! I also struggled a LOT about upping my calories, as it seemed rather counter intuitive. Feel free to add me if you need any help/support in the future

Jess22542

I'm 5'6", 128 lbs, and 25 years old. I am eating 1400-1500 calories/day. I exercise 6 days/week. I have lost 20 lbs (I was eating 1200-1300 calories/day then) and I'm basically maintaining now and working on getting more toned.

MikeSEA

5ft 11, 211lbs, 33, and I eat 2200/day. I'm also in the gym 6 days a week, but fairly sloth-like otherwise. I'm ok with the amount I'm losing.

azzledazzle

230lbs, 5ft 9, 21 years old, "2200 Calories a day,

I have a very active job, And i gym 6 days a week, Im also weight training at the same time so the calorie thing is important.

I also dont eat back exercise calories, Unless its my cheat day..

Losing 3.5lb a week

kjannan

142lbs, 5ft 4, 36 years old and 1420 calories a day.

I have it set at active although some days my job isn't but it works for me. I exercise 6 days a week & struggle to eat the whole 1420, usually I leave about 300 uneaten.
I'm losing 1lb a week so it works for me. Funny thing is, when I've eaten a lot & feel full until I go to bed I usually find the next day I've lost weight. Who would have thought eating this much would make the weight drop off?? :bigsmile:

sagetracey

Weight - 105kg
Height 172 cm
Age - 47
Calories - 1300 (plus my exercise calories)

I've lost 44kg since April. My lifestyle is set at sedentary and I exercise six days a week.

nosugarcoating

I eat 1600 cals + exercise calories. I don't always hit my goal but I don't think I ever eat less than 1500.

I'm 28 years old, 5'7" and about 194 lbs right now. I've lost 21 pounds since I started on MFP 9 weeks ago (then my goal was 1630).

I have my profile set to sedentary and a loss of 1lb / week but as you can see I've lost more than 2lb / week on average, so that setting isn't very accurate for me.

keiraev

I have been playing about with numbers for the last month or so.

I was on 1200 for ages and lost about 17lb, then I upped it to 1300 and lost another couple of lbs but over a few weeks.

I figured that being so near goal I should change it to 0.5 lb a week which was about 1400, but in my head I think this subconsciously gave me a licence to eat more than I should have and kept going over to about 1600 (my maintenance is currently 1680 and I didn't gain).

I am determined to lose the last few lbs now so I have put my cals at 1255 which is my BMR. I think I am gonna do this for about 2 weeks and then try upping it to 1400 again but be sensible this time

crux

6 foot, 38 yr's... 182 ish pounds...

Averaging 2850/day over the past month, losing consistent 1lb/week in that time.

Quite a bit of running is helping notch up the numbers

yary317

Weight 138
Height. 5'6"
Cal: 1,200
I started a week ago and lost 2 pounds so far! I think it's working for me!

seal57

When I started: 8 August
Weight: 125.7kg
Height: 170cm
Age: 53
Calorie intake: 1890

Now:
Weight: 120.9kgs
Height: 170cm
Age: 54
Calorie intake: 1800

I have my normal activities set to sedentary as I'm a taxi driver...

So far it's working for me.....

melsinct

Just curious as to how many calories people are eating that are making them lose weight..

What's your weight, height, age, and calorie intake??

I have calculated my BMR dozens of times but I'm just not sure if I'm eating the right amount.

Im 164, 5'7 and 22. I started MFP eating 1200.. lost 13 lbs n the weightloss stopped.. I was told to increase so I am now eating 1400 but no change...


just curious as to what everyone else is doing.

Thanks!

I have probably told you this already, but...

5'7" started MFP at 175 pounds and eating 1200 calories. Plateaued for 2 months, upped calories to 1400 for 2 weeks with no change. I then changed my MFP activity level to "moderate" even though I am a desk worker in order to account for the daily brisk walking/cardio I do. I also changed my MFP setting to lose 0.5 pounds/week. This gave me 1600+ calories/day and I started losing again. The only exercise I enter now is strength training, which eliminates the whole "exercise calories" debacle for me. I just had to keep tweaking MFP until it started working for me again.

amanda07425

Just curious as to how many calories people are eating that are making them lose weight..

What's your weight, height, age, and calorie intake??

I have calculated my BMR dozens of times but I'm just not sure if I'm eating the right amount.

Im 164, 5'7 and 22. I started MFP eating 1200.. lost 13 lbs n the weightloss stopped.. I was told to increase so I am now eating 1400 but no change...


just curious as to what everyone else is doing.

Thanks!

I have probably told you this already, but...

5'7" started MFP at 175 pounds and eating 1200 calories. Plateaued for 2 months, upped calories to 1400 for 2 weeks with no change. I then changed my MFP activity level to "moderate" even though I am a desk worker in order to account for the daily brisk walking/cardio I do. I also changed my MFP setting to lose 0.5 pounds/week. This gave me 1600+ calories/day and I started losing again. The only exercise I enter now is strength training, which eliminates the whole "exercise calories" debacle for me. I just had to keep tweaking MFP until it started working for me again.

I think I might up again.. I'm just afraid cuz my BMR is 1576 so if I go around 1600 won't i gain?

baisleac

I think I might up again.. I'm just afraid cuz my BMR is 1576 so if I go around 1600 won't i gain?

Your BMR is what you would burn in a coma... the minute you get out of bed you burn more calories than your BMR. Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is your BMR + your daily activity.

If you eat at your BMR + your exercise calories, you will LOSE weight.

Rae6503

Trying for 2000 plus exercise calories. Was losing a half pound a week with that. The last month has been bad all around however.

choconuts

WEIGHT 164
HEIGHT 5'5"
AGE 34
CALORIES 1200

Eating back all of my exercise calories.

anitam1987

WEIGHT 167
HEIGHT 5'11"
AGE 24
CALORIES 1450-1600

When I used the online calculators for base metabolic rate I got around 1605. When I went in to see a dietician yesterday, the test showed that I only burn 1430 kcal. Therefore, I commit to 500 kcal cardio burn 3-5 days a week and the above calories.

Angelic_Butterfly

5'4" ; 17 years old
98 lbs
I ate between 150 and 500 kcal a day for months..
I am a recovering anorexic and now I try to eat 1200 a day..
I am a football player so I run for 30 minutes and do 30 minutes of leg lifts every day...

sarah_ep

5'7" 27 years old and 146 lb

I am netting around 1500 - MFP has me set to 1430.

I was losing 2 pounds a week then started a new exercise regiment and stopped losing, but am still losing inches.

fromaquasar

Hey - I'm 5"4, weigh 120. I had a similar thing, started on 1200 cals, lost weight then had a looooooong plateau so I decided to do my calculation myself which you can see the results of here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/fromaquasar/view/going-geek-140951 (and actually in the following post I adjust slightly a week later.

This was about a month ago. First two weeks I just maintained, the next two weeks I have lost about a pound each week

amanda07425

I think I might up again.. I'm just afraid cuz my BMR is 1576 so if I go around 1600 won't i gain?

Your BMR is what you would burn in a coma... the minute you get out of bed you burn more calories than your BMR. Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is your BMR + your daily activity.

If you eat at your BMR + your exercise calories, you will LOSE weight.

then why do I say if I want to lose a lb a week, MFP sets me at 1420? Should I eat around 1600? i just NEED to kick this damn plateau!