How many calories are you eating?

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24

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  • Pea4jjab
    Pea4jjab Posts: 216 Member
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    I am 43 years old, weigh 198, 5'4" and MFP has me set at 1450. Sometimes I eat back my exercise calories, sometimes half, sometimes not at all. I only use them if I'm really hungry and needing that extra bit. I also just started zig zagging my calories this week using the calculator on freediet.com. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure it's just a fluke, but I've lost 1.5 lbs. since Saturday. My brother-in-law thinks it was because my body needed the extra calories that we had over the weekend (football, birthday party, etc.)

    Guess I should have added...I've been serious about my lifestyle change since the beginning of May and have lost 32.5 lbs. total so far.
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
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    I am 43 years old, weigh 198, 5'4" and MFP has me set at 1450. Sometimes I eat back my exercise calories, sometimes half, sometimes not at all. I only use them if I'm really hungry and needing that extra bit. I also just started zig zagging my calories this week using the calculator on freediet.com. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure it's just a fluke, but I've lost 1.5 lbs. since Saturday. My brother-in-law thinks it was because my body needed the extra calories that we had over the weekend (football, birthday party, etc.)

    I tried zig zagging and gained but only for a week so idk whether to keep trying or not.
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
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    5'4"
    145
    27 F
    1200 calories per day, usually don't eat back my exercise cals.

    are you still losing with this amount?
  • KateHubb
    KateHubb Posts: 366 Member
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    You can see my stats in my signature. I ate 1450 cals the first month and decided I wasn't eating enough. I increased it to 1700 and I feel like I'm losing faster now, not as hungry, and have more energy. I rarely eat back my exercise calories. I've only hit one plateau and it lasted for about a week. I still keep losing, so I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing since it's working! I usually workout 5-6x a week for 80 minutes... mainly focusing on cardio.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    5ft 6.5 in, started MFP at 254, two weeks later, Ive dropped six pounds.

    Im under the advice of an Endocrinologist who specializes in my current medical conditions... Im on 1600 Cal/120g carbs daily...
  • meggers123
    meggers123 Posts: 711 Member
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    I'm 26, CW 168, SW 185 (in June 2011).

    I eat 1390 calories, usually eat enough work out calories to be above 1200, if not all of them. I've also sometimes gone over and it didn't seem to ruin me. Still losing steadily.
  • Loves2snack
    Loves2snack Posts: 112 Member
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    Im 5'5 167.5 i started last tuesday Ive lost 1.5 pounds so far.
    I try no to eat my exersize calories and stay at 1200.
  • krissykross
    krissykross Posts: 61
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    I'm 21, 5'4", and 158lbs. I eat 1,200-1,300 calories a day usually and I've been losing about 1.5 pounds a week.
  • Cassandraemilyann
    Cassandraemilyann Posts: 12 Member
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    Weight: 174.6
    Height: 5'9"
    Age: 24
    Calories:1440
    And I don't eat back my exercise calories :)

    Does this work pretty good for you? We're about the same height and weight and I just increased my calories to 1400 to try to break through a plateau.. hasn't seemed to be working for me yet.
  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    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.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    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
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
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    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
    kcmartian Posts: 18
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    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
    msshiraz Posts: 327 Member
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    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
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    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
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
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    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
    fabi8081 Posts: 232 Member
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    height: 5'3"
    weight 194
    age: 30
    cals: 1300 This works great for me!!!
  • amanda07425
    amanda07425 Posts: 105 Member
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    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
    rockstarginaa Posts: 1,529 Member
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    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
    GreenGettingLean Posts: 252 Member
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    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 :)

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