How many calories?!?!?!

kmorris246

OK, so I'm so confused. I have no idea how many calories I should be consuming every day. Some people think you shouldn't eat over 1200 calories to lose weight, and then others think you need to eat way over that so that you don't screw up your metabolism?

So I need someone to set me straight. I'm currently about 5 ft 5 1/2 in and my weight is currently fluctuating between 129-133 lbs (would like to get down to about 125). I normally work out between 4-5 times a week, and its usually a mixture of cardio circuit training/strength training for anywhere between 30-60 min.

I'm married, have 2 little girls, and I work part-time. Therefore, I cannot do the 2 hrs/day 7 days/week thing I see some people posting. That's just not a reality for me.

So any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated. I haven't lost any weight in the last 3 weeks :-(

spammyanna

Why don't you just let MFP calculate it for you? And if that doesn't work, tweak it on your own. At least with MFP you can get a good idea of what you should be aiming for.

NoAdditives

Since you don't have much to lose you'll need to eat more. When you have a low percentage of body fat the body will use either fat or muscle for energy depending on which is closer to the area that needs the energy. This means you need to eat more to ensure your body will continue to burn fat. It also means that you can spot reduce your problem areas. If your belly needs work, do lots of ab exercises, if it's your arms, work your arms, etc.

Set up your profile here to lose .5 pounds per week and eat the number of calories MFP sets for you. Also eat your exercise calories.

togetsomething

Hi Kmorris - question for you. What % of your calories are carbs?

kmorris246

According to MFP, I should be eating 1260 calories on non-workout days and usually around 1600 calories on the days I do work out. Is that really enough? And if so, I haven't lost any weight since sticking to that?

I don't want to substitute nutrition just so I eat 1200 calories/day.

And is it a good thing to be under your target calories for the day or should you just get as close as possible?

kmorris246

Hi togetsomething!

I normally don't track my carbs on a daily basis? I'm almost always within the range that MFP sets for me, but its not something that I really pay a lot of attention to?

sleepytexan

Choose 1/2 pound weekly weight loss goal, active lifestyle. Eat the base calories plus all exercise calories. Do not count laundry or walking across a parking lot as exercise.

When people tell you not to eat more than 1200 calories, or tell you not to eat your exercise calories, take a look at their profiles. Betcha they're not healthy, fit, people with healthy to athletic body fat percentages. Betcha they are either suffering from an ED, or are yo-yo dieters who can tell you just how they "lost weight successfully by eating only 1200 (or whatever ridiculously small amount of calories) last time". ya. last time.

There are some very helpful links on the 2nd page of this page called: SHOULD I EAT MY EXERCISE CALORIES?

shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

take the time to read them so you can understand the importance of properly fueling your body, no matter how much exercise you do.


blessings.

sleepytexan

Hi Kmorris - question for you. What % of your calories are carbs?

DO NOT BE SUCKERED IN BY CARB NAZIS!

kmorris246

Thanks NoAdditives! On my non-workout days, I literally feel like I'm starving with 1260 calories :-(. I'm a pretty active mom- ALWAYS moving and cleaning, etc. So I don't know about those "off" days, because I feel like I get a pretty good workout on a daily basis, exercise or not :-)

cmriverside

You need to eat much more than you have been eating.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12250-1000-calorie-deficit-not-for-people-with-healthy-bmi
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/8977-your-body-s-thoughts-on-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/30898-bmr-vs-tdee-what-mfp-is-telling-you

kmorris246

thanks SleepyTexan! Your post really made sense, and I'm definitely going to read that link you provided! I just worry, especially on the days that I don't work out.

its just been so frustrating.......... eating less, but no weight loss! So what you wrote totally makes sense!

And the carb thing..... i did a low card diet YEARS ago. Once I was back to normal eating, I gained every single pound back (quickly).

kmorris246

Also, do I really need to consume different amounts of calories on workout versus non-workout days? Can't I just find a happy medium and stick to that each day?

sleepytexan

Also, do I really need to consume different amounts of calories on workout versus non-workout days? Can't I just find a happy medium and stick to that each day?

You're welcome.

I personally think it works best to eat the calories you've earned within 24 hours, but many people find success by reconciling over a one week period. Once you get used to tracking your exercise and food it's no big deal. Often I will eat extra calories the day before a big workout (like a 4-6 hour bike ride) to ensure I have enough energy and so that I don't have to consume some ridiculous amount of calories all in one day.

EDIT: Another big reason not to eat such a low amount of calories is that being hungry is bad. It leads to a vicious cycle of HUNGER --> BINGE --> GAIN --> QUIT. This is the life of a yo-yo. Don't do it.

blessings.

kmorris246

Just changed to losing 1/2 lb/week instead, and it upped my calorie intake to over 1500 cals/day. YAY! Feeling like I need to head to the cupboard for a protein bar or something- lol

azzacca

I know there are a lot of people in my TEAM Fitness class that aren't losing weight because they're not eating enough. My husband should be getting a minimum of 1800 calories on non-exercise days and he isn't getting that much. He hasn't lost weight for 3 months.

It also makes a difference what heart rate zones you're working out in. If you want to lose weight, you want to stay in zone 2 & 3, which means you'll burn fat and not sugar. I can't explain how to find out what your zones are, since I did mine at the gym using their fancy equipment called Cardio Point.

MFP does actually calculate your calories based on what your work out patterns are. Knowing that, you can easily feel guilt free eating your exercise calories - at the very least half of them.

NoAdditives

Just changed to losing 1/2 lb/week instead, and it upped my calorie intake to over 1500 cals/day. YAY! Feeling like I need to head to the cupboard for a protein bar or something- lol

You should feel a lot better and you should start seeing some results. Also, since you're active throughout the day you should make sure your activity level is set at 'lightly active', if it isn't already. I'm a stay at home mom and that's where I am. I'm the same height as you and my daily calories when I'm losing (I'm on maintenance right now because I'm pregnant) are a little over 1500. I can't lose if I'm under that. My goal is to be where you are now but that's because I know I have a lot of muscle when I'm healthy. I have short-ish stocky legs (just what every woman wants! lol) and I know I can't change that or be healthy weighing much less than 130. I *might* want to work toward 125, but I'll see once I get close.

kmorris246

Congrats NoAdditives! There is nothing better than having a new baby on the way :-)

And thanks for the advice! I'm feeling so much better knowing that this could help!