Females: How many calories are you eating daily?

Kymmu

My calorie goal is 1200. I often don't eat that much.
I do weights which doesn't track on the calories burned so not sure. i figure if I eat under 1200 and exercise I can't lose!

Kymmu

I find that the calories burned estimated are pretty generous. Also, without weighing food we may tend to underestimate our portion sizes, this could be the difference between losing and plateau.

i_love_vinegar

I average 1,250-1,300. Don't eat back my exercise cals and work out on average 30 or so minutes a day. I figure if it is part of the way I live, why eat back the calories. -I zig zag a ton! My weight has been a stable 118 pounds - 5'7in and I'm happy with that. If I wanted to loose I'd probably eat 1,000-1,200...maybe I have a slow metabolism? But I feel good and am satisfied with how much I eat I've been counting calories for a very long long time and know that 1,300-1,400 calories I maintain, 1,600 up I gain, 1,000 ish I get smaller.

Considering you're at the LOWEST weight to be considered healthy for your height it's not surprising that you're maintaining on a weight loss amount. 1250-1300 calories is "dieting" for MOST people and should be for you as well but I suspect that this is an unnaturally low weight for your body and it simply isn't losing because you're already at a dangerously low weight/body fat for your height.

Her weight is no where near "unnaturally" and "dangerously low." Where are you getting your information, and where do you get off thinking it's acceptable to jump to all of these judgmental conclusions? <.<

Kymmu

hey rockerbaby, thanks for your reply.

I am full of energy, my skin has improved and I feel great in my clothes now.
By cutting out wheat and sugar I've never felt better, and I'm back to my old high school weight, 30 years on.
I only eat when I'm actually hungry, so it's all good.
I'm definitely not going hungry.

TavistockToad

I am 26, female,170 lbs and eating 1,260 calories a day. Just curious where you are at? Also. do you eat back your burn calories?

I am 29, 123lbs and i NET 1800 cals.

I am at maintenance so i eat all my exercise cals back, which usually puts me at about 2000 - 2100 cals per day.

sweet_peas_94

I went through a phase of eating under 200.. I lost a lot of weight but also got really weak and sick and ick. Then for awhile I lost control and got stuck in Bulimia's binge/purge/binge/purge.. Now I try to be healthier and stay under 700-800 calories everyday ! xx

xSophia19

Im 19, i weigh 195lbs, im 5ft6 and im on 1400 cals a day, and i do not eat my excercise cals back!

SueGeer

Maintaining at 130lbs and on 1400 a day...I eat back some of my exercise cals....or all of them if I'm REALLY hungry

Sue x

Sebnem123

I eat 1200 though i don't eat exercise calories...

merrick7871

I usually eat back some of them, some days more than others.

BerryH

I'm on 1,580 and eat back all my exercise calories, so I often eat over 2,000.

Lyadeia

I am a 32 year old female at 146 pounds right now, 5'5" tall. I eat around 1500 calories or so a day regardless of exercise calories. MFP placed me at 1200, which is nearly starving for me, so I added 300 to that and call it "exercise cals" LOL. I exercise 5-6 days a week, but still eat that 1500 on rest days. Hunger pains suck, and I love food.

asyouseefit

This thread makes me sad... So many MFPers are litterally starving themselves and thinking they're doing the right thing.

unsuspectingfish

I'm shocked by how few calories most women here eat. I eat about 2,000 to 2,200 calories per day, which, minus exercise, nets me about 1,600 to 1,800. I dropped down to a net of about 1,400 for a couple weeks and stopped losing (not to mention that I was STARVING). I changed my goals to 1.5 pounds a week, and I've started losing consistently, again (and often more than 1.5 per week).

TavistockToad

This thread makes me sad... So many MFPers are litterally starving themselves and thinking they're doing the right thing.

I agree!

I started on 1200, and did it for about 10 weeks, but i was hungry ALL the time!

I would never drop below netting 1400 now, not that i need to as i'm maintaining thankfully!

unsuspectingfish

This thread makes me sad... So many MFPers are litterally starving themselves and thinking they're doing the right thing.

I agree!

I started on 1200, and did it for about 10 weeks, but i was hungry ALL the time!

I would never drop below netting 1400 now, not that i need to as i'm maintaining thankfully!

Even when I was at 1,400, I felt like I was starving. I would rather lower my weight loss goals than my calories.

Kymmu

Don't be sad, it all depends on build, height , activity, metabolism and the food you eat. I'm not starving, at all and eat under 1200 regularly. Some foods have more staying power than others, so you are not as hungry afterwards. Different strokes for different folks!

HeidiMightyRawr

When I started out I was on 1500 + exercise cals, then I switched to around 1750 + exercise cals when I was near my goal as I couldn't stick to that low number, and I actually lost quicker on the higher cals!

hush7hush

Lol. Probably not near as much as I should be.

hottottie11

I eat an average 1900+ calories a day (including exercise calories) so I net about 1490 for a 1/2 lb weight loss

mamitosami

I am 5'11", 160 lbs. I eat every single last one of my exercise calories back!! I am basically maintaining now, I would like to lose 5 more pounds, but I'm tired of eating at a deficit, so I'm going to try feeding my body for a while and see what happens.

I, too, am shocked at how little everyone on here can survive on! I'm a whiny baby!!! MFP had me on 1500, I thought I would die!! Then I upped it 1600, then 1700 and then finally just upped it to maintenance, which is just over 2000 PLUS I eat my exercise calories(I exercise 6 days a week)!! WOW! All I do is eat!! Some days I am eating 2800 calories (once a week on my long run day). I really still struggle to stay at or below my daily target of calories... I am amazed at the self control other women have, eating so few calories and not eating exercise calories--I think I would drop dead! lol!!!

KimmieBrie

Between 1200 and 1500 a day (I've added leniency for pregnancy)

When maintaining weight in the 120's I was 1200 calories...and always net calories. My body needs those
extra calories if I do strenuous exercise, I did not gain from eating back the exercise calories.

armaretta

I zig zag my calories, so I eat between 1600-2100+ I think I average around 1800-1900. I have a BodyMedia Fit armband to measure my calorie burn all day, so I have my diary set at maintenance. The little green number represents my true deficit at the end of the day most of the time. To maintain, I'd have to eat 2300+/day

I used to bet set at 1200 and never ate back my exercise calories, often netting 800 or less. That worked when I had a lot to lose, but I felt like crap alllllll the time.:sick: :sick: :sick: I thought it was normal to feel like crap. When I got to the point where I was nearing the healthy weight range, i stopped losing. It stopped like a brick wall and didn't budge for two months. :explode: I juggled the same couple pounds forever it seemed. I still felt like crap, and was depressed at not losing anything in measurements or weight. :brokenheart: :sad: :grumble: :explode: :mad: :frown:

I did some research, asked some questions, and found that I was eating way to little! Not eating back my exercise calories while only eating 1200 was the equivalent of only eating 800 calories all day, sometimes less. Sometimes I didn't even eat all 1200 calories. That, under all variations of the definition, was nearly starving myself. :noway: :noway: :noway:

Now I eat as much as I can most days, and I feel better for it. I lose more weight and even eat at maintenance every now and then. I highly recommend a BodyMedia Fit for those wonder if they are burning enough or are worried their estimates aren't accurate.

FYI, I have my activity level set to very active. I wouldn't have thought I was very active, but I think MFP underestimates for a lot of people and over estimates for some. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, but having the largest deficit possible while eating as little as possible, is not necessarily a good thing.

For some perspective, I"m 5'2" 26y/o female/ 126 pounds/ 23% BF/ I work on my feet a large portion of the day, but it's not vigorous by any means. The absolute lowest number of calories I've burned in one day was sitting ALLLLLLLL day watching an NCIS marathon with my grandmother. I burned 1800 calories that day.

MrsRipdizzle

I zig zag my calories, so I eat between 1600-2100+ I think I average around 1800-1900. I have a BodyMedia Fit armband to measure my calorie burn all day, so I have my diary set at maintenance. The little green number represents my true deficit at the end of the day most of the time. To maintain, I'd have to eat 2300+/day

I used to bet set at 1200 and never ate back my exercise calories, often netting 800 or less. That worked when I had a lot to lose, but I felt like crap alllllll the time.:sick: :sick: :sick: I thought it was normal to feel like crap. When I got to the point where I was nearing the healthy weight range, i stopped losing. It stopped like a brick wall and didn't budge for two months. :explode: I juggled the same couple pounds forever it seemed. I still felt like crap, and was depressed at not losing anything in measurements or weight. :brokenheart: :sad: :grumble: :explode: :mad: :frown:

I did some research, asked some questions, and found that I was eating way to little! Not eating back my exercise calories while only eating 1200 was the equivalent of only eating 800 calories all day, sometimes less. Sometimes I didn't even eat all 1200 calories. That, under all variations of the definition, was nearly starving myself. :noway: :noway: :noway:

Now I eat as much as I can most days, and I feel better for it. I lose more weight and even eat at maintenance every now and then. I highly recommend a BodyMedia Fit for those wonder if they are burning enough or are worried their estimates aren't accurate.

For some perspective, I"m 5'2" 26y/o female/ 126 pounds/ 23% BF/ I work on my feet a large portion of the day, but it's not vigorous by any means. The absolute lowest number of calories I've burned in one day was sitting ALLLLLLLL day watching an NCIS marathon with my grandmother. I burned 1800 calories that day.

YES! I, too, did some research after I realized I was not losing weight very quickly (at least I had my MFP settings to lose 1.5 lbs per week and I was lucky to get .5 to 1 lb)...turns out I wasn't eating enough. I had a baseline of 1200 and at first I rarely ate back my exercise calories. Then I started eating some back. And then I ate all of them. The more I ate the more I lost. Hmmm...go figure!

WELLLLLLL.....I got a BodyMedia Fit and found that my TDEE (the calories my body burned for a whole day) was about 2200...and higher on days that I moved more (2600-2800). So it would make sense that I was losing so slowly given I wasn't eating enough compared to what my body was burning. So now I just have my MFP set at 1340 (recommended 1 lb per week loss at lightly active setting)...but I don't go by it all the time for eating. I use it to journal my food and get my calorie estimate - then put that in to my BMF and I make sure I have a 500 cal deficit each day based on my BMF settings.

Like you - yesterday was my lazy day. Sat on my butt all day (it was a rest day and I was VERY sore from DOMS). My BMF said I burned 1984 for the day...sitting on my butt. So if I only ate 1200, what MFP said to eat (or 1340 since I raised it a bit in my settings)....I would have too large of a deficit. Again, sitting on my butt.

LADIES:::: ya'll need to eat some more! In essence, what many of you are doing is SLOWING your metabolism DOWN in your efforts to lose weight quickly. Your body is learning to rely on less food...which is bad news when want to stop losing weight and you decide you want to EAT AGAIN (because you know, this is for LIFE...and you WILL EAT AGAIN, LOL). I know everyone's body is different...and some of us have slower metabolisms than others...but you are not doing your body a great service by depriving it on so little. I did fad diets the past ten years...lost weight fairly quickly...gained it all (and then some) back! So trust me, I know! I know how frustrating this process can be. But man, there is NOTHING like losing weight and still EATING GOOD (as in, eating ENOUGH! Never feeling hungry or deprived!)....I have tons of energy for my workouts and throughout the day. I feel good, no more snapping at my kids or husband because I'm hungry. I can go out and enjoy a meal without feeling like I have to eat rabbit food off the diet menu. I eat chocolate (everyday)! And guess what?!?! I've lost over 50 lbs!!!! (My ticker only shows what I've lost on MFP).

For reference, I'm 5'4.5", 169 lbs, 31 years old. I'm not tall, I'm not really young, I've had a couple of kids...I'm average all the way around. I EAT! I love to eat! (But, my body is also changing because I workout, so if you really want to be excited with the way you look even if the weight comes off slowly - pick up some iron because it does amazing things for your body and metabolism!!)

By the way, for those of you who are interested in nourishing your body with MORE HEALTHY FOOD...we have a group on here for women who eat 2000+ calories. No, all of us do not eat 2000+ EVERY DAY...because some of us are still in weight loss mode and have to vary up our intake depending on our activity levels (but the women in maintenance are all eating 2000+ cals a day! And guess what, they look DAMN GOOD! I've never seen so many nice abs in one group at once!)

fimm

I'm 39, 5"7', 56 kg, eat over 2000 calories most days including my exercise calories. Trying to maintain/ build a bit of muscle.

summer827

I'm 5' and to lose weight while exercising 3-4 times per week for an hour, I try to net 1500-1600 calories per day. Usually I'm eating 1750-2000 cals, depending on that day's exercise. This works well for me and I don't feel deprived. I have never been successful with a very low calorie diet.

NovemberJune

I aim for about 1500-1600 calories consumed per day on average. my TDEE is 2225ish, so i subtract from there.
i pay less attention to the net calorie goal actually. i know, weird, for a MFP devotee

bcattoes

I am 5' 5" and 151 lbs. In past 30 days my total calories eaten have varied from 1300 - 2000, with the average being around 1650. Generally I come pretty close to the MFP goal with exercise calories included.

ElizabethRoad

My goal is 1290 per day but realistically I probably average about 1350 net. It sounds like very little to me. But I don't get hungry until right before mealtime; I don't feel weak or tired or anything; and I am losing weight. But trust me I am not the type to starve myself!

KatFierce

Im 21 5'5 and weigh 201.4 my daily goal including breastfeeding is 2280 calories, I eat back some of my exercise calories if I am hungry.