So confused on calories per day

spendsitwell

Can someone please help me? I am trying to figure out what my calories per day should be. I have had people tell me to use RMR, BMR, 1200 per day and so on. My problem is that each time I try to figure out what my RMR or BMR is I get a different answer. I started my weight loss a week ago today and as of today I have offically gained 1lb. This is so frustrating.

This is what I have done so far. I cut my calorie intake to 1200 per day and I started running for 60 minutes a day. I have really stuck to this and thought it would be a sure fire way to lose weight. Here are my stats:

I am 32 year old female, 5'1" and currently 144lbs. I have a desk job and the only excersise I get is when I run. I have been running for 1 hour 5 days a week.

I have not been eating back my calories burned so I have been right around 800 calories per day after my run (burn about 450 calories). I went onto livestrong.com and it tells me to lose 2 lbs per week I should stay at 828 calories a day. If I do this and then eat back my calories that puts me back at the 1200 per day that I was at before.

So why is it that after a week I gained a pound? Can anyone help? Am I going into starvation mode? What calories should I stick to?

hlandry6

You should lower your lb/week to 1lb a week...and you should eat your exercise calories back or at least some...800cal a day is way to little

swimcoach07

We have access to a nutrionist at work. She won't put anyone on diet of below 1300 calories a day (if female) or 1600 (if male). You should be consuming at least 1300 calories a day, which means eating back at least some of your workout calories. Otherwise your body will believe you are starving and it won't allow any weight loss. And when you do up your calorie intake, your body will store the calories all as fat because your metabolism will be so out-of-whack.

Hope this helps.

emmyvera

There are so many topics on here that discuss your question. I'm sure you will get a variety of responses. . .

Here's what I do and it works for me: We have similar stats, so I figured I should share
I'm a 31 female with a desk job. I workout 4-6 days a week. I am too on a 1200 calories per day allotment. I eat those calories AND my exercise calories back. This has been why I've lost weight consistently from week to week. Before the holidays, I weighed in at 139-140! I had gained weight back over the last several months of summer/fall. Since the holidays, I've lost 5-6 pounds already and I am gaining muscle definition and have more endurance.

Following these personal guidelines keep me on track:
1. Changing up my exercise routines so I'm using different parts of the body in different ways
2. Eating back my exercise calories and keeping my body fueled
3. Eating healthy (of course ) AND watching carbs and sodium in take
4. Drink plenty of water
5. and No. 2 again :laugh: - because I think this is so important. You must eat. I eat a lot and I keep losing.

Hazel_mck

Also remember that if you have recenrly started running that you are probably gaining muscle which weighs more than fat.

jellybaby84

You are not going to have gained a pound of muscle in a week!

You are also not going to have made your body shut down by netting 800 for a week.

You really ought to have lost weight on what you have done but bodies aren't always reliable or obliging. If you go for another week without changing anything you'll probably lose some. However, you'll probably also lose some next week if you eat more this week. Or if you eat less this week. It's entirely up to you.

Basically, as long as your calories out are more than your calories in you will lose weight at some point.

spendsitwell

Thanks for the replys. I have really been eating pretty good and sticking to my running. I will try to add some additional activies to help change it up a bit. The BMR says 1300 calories so I am going to stick to the 1200 calories and start to eat back most of my burned calories. Its so strange to get into that mindset of "eat to lose weight".

The only thing that I can think of that I did that might be "bad" was that I did have a few beers on saturday. I thought it would be okay since they were low calorie and I still stayed in my calorie intake for the day. Would drinking beer have that much of an affect on weight loss? I drink water all day long outside of that.

jacksonpt

First off... what's your diet been like? What are you eating? What does "eating pretty good" mean?

Second, always base your calorie goal off your BMR. MFP has one, or you can google it. They are all pretty similar... do a handful of them then take the average if you aren't comfortable going by just one recommendation. If the BMR here says 1300, why are you going to 1200? Are you smarter than the calculator is? Is there some condition or circumstance we don't know about to warrant this?

Next, you've been at this for a week... that's not long enough to know anything about what your body is doing. Give it a month before you evaluate anything.

Also, the scale isn't the best way to guage progress - it's doesn't know when you're building muscle, retaining water, etc. Buy a tape measure and take your measurements, then compare those over a longer stretch of time.

spendsitwell

By eating pretty good, I mean eating healthier and sticking to my calories. I am not out eating fast food or candy and junk food. I am eating alot more salads, fruits and veggies. So I consider that eating pretty good. Do I still have a piece of candy now and again, yes but I calculate that into my calories for the day. So I am not perfect but I'm doing pretty good.

I am going off of 1200 calories instead of the 1300 because that is what the MFP app said to do for my info. No I have never claimed to be smarter than the calculator. So why would the app tell me 1200 but the BMR tell me 1300? I dont know. But I have been doing 1200 for the past week so I figure that is what I will stick with.

I have taken measurements as well and I am gauging my progress on both weight and inches. I know a week is not a long time but I thought for sure I would see some results even if it was only a half pound.

jacksonpt

If the app told you 1200, what are you referring to when you say the BMR told you 1300?

Are you eating any protein? How's your sodium intake? Are you drinking enough water?

It's very possible that you have lost a little weight but are retaining water so the scale doesn't reflect it.

spendsitwell

The app on my phone told me 1200 but when I go under tools and do the BMR it says 1300. So I dont know what the difference is.

I am eating protein, mostly grilled chicken and turkey and usually this is at lunch or dinner. I really dont eat any protein before that. I have also been eating sweet potatoes and cauliflower. I have been drinking about 5 bottles of water a day. I dont drink anything else usually. On occasion I like a diet coke. I try to stay away from alot of sodium but I really havent focused on that alot. Should I monitor that better?

How can I tell if I am retaining water? I pee alot so I dont know.

Also I have a hard time eating in the morning. I usually get my run in at about 9-10am and I dont eat anything until after my run. I have coffee in the morning then run, then shower, eat lunch and continue on with my day. I feel sick if I eat before I run.

Bubs05

What is your water intake/day? Are you drinking enough?
You mentioned you are running 1 hours 5 days a week. Have you just started this schedule? Your body may be retaining water in order to repair your muscles.
Tracking your calories...are you weighing and measuring your food? A common mistake is under estimating food calories and over estimating exercise calories.
Also, you may technically be doing everything right but sometimes it takes a little experimenting with your calorie count to find your groove.
Stick with it though!

* EDIT: I didn't see your post about water before I posted my reply

jacksonpt

Sounds like you're doing at least reasonably well (assuming your tracking accurately - very easy to mis-estimate calories burned and cals consumed). If you're sodium intake isn't that high and you are drinking a lot of water (which it sounds like you're doing), then I doubt you're retaining a ton of water, at least not due to your diet. You could be retaining water due to the increased muscle activity from running, but I'm not sure how you'd measure that.

You could probably stand to increase your protein a bit, but I doubt that's causing you problems.

I'd stick with your BRM for a couple of weeks and see what you see. My guess is that you aren't seeing results because it's only been a week. Patience is often the hardest part of all this.

As for MFP saying 1300 and your phone saying 1200, they are all just calculations to estimate your BMR. They generally use pretty similar formulas so they aren't usually that far off, but it's not unheard of by any means. I'd error on the side of caution and use the higher number to start with. After a month or so when you have a better feel for things you can start tweaking things as necessary.


.

Smuterella

I think the MFP tracker is a good place to start, and either 1lb or 0.5lb a week loss is a sensible option. It already gives you your calorie defiicit so you should always eat up to this level.

If you exercise you then need to enter that in the tracker and eat those calories too, due to that pre-programmed deficit.

Your net calories should never be UNDER 1200 / day.

Follow this for two weeks and if you haven't lost anything you should then think about deviating from the basic strategy. Try upping your calories for example, or, double check that you are entering everything on the tracker Every drizzle of olive oil, every cup of coffee etc. things can easily slip by. They can slip by me anyway!

I took a look at your blog and am not sure which of the two you are from the photo, but you both look slim already - its the last 10lbs that are hardest to lose and so if you dn't have much to go in the first place it might take a little longer to see results.

Keep at it!

:-)

jrich1

Also remember that if you have recenrly started running that you are probably gaining muscle which weighs more than fat.

more like your muscles are retaining water from the running..

therealangd

Eat your exercise calories. You NEED those calories to fuel your runs.

Sorry. I missed the point of your post.

Let MFP do it's job. It works if you let it. Set your goal to lose 1 lb per week. MFP will tell you how much to eat. and how much you have left to eat.

Do that for a couple of weeks and then reassess once you have figured out how your body is behaving.

karinaes

Can someone please help me? I am trying to figure out what my calories per day should be. I have had people tell me to use RMR, BMR, 1200 per day and so on. My problem is that each time I try to figure out what my RMR or BMR is I get a different answer. I started my weight loss a week ago today and as of today I have offically gained 1lb. This is so frustrating.

This is what I have done so far. I cut my calorie intake to 1200 per day and I started running for 60 minutes a day. I have really stuck to this and thought it would be a sure fire way to lose weight. Here are my stats:

I am 32 year old female, 5'1" and currently 144lbs. I have a desk job and the only excersise I get is when I run. I have been running for 1 hour 5 days a week.

I have not been eating back my calories burned so I have been right around 800 calories per day after my run (burn about 450 calories). I went onto livestrong.com and it tells me to lose 2 lbs per week I should stay at 828 calories a day. If I do this and then eat back my calories that puts me back at the 1200 per day that I was at before.

So why is it that after a week I gained a pound? Can anyone help? Am I going into starvation mode? What calories should I stick to?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

4theking

You are losing at that intake along with your exercise it's just not showing up yet.

spendsitwell

Okay I am going to stick with it. I know its only been a week and I just thought maybe I was doing something wrong to not see any results. We will see where we are next week.

Thanks for all the great advise.

And I am the one on the left in my photo and it was when I was skinny. LOL That is my motivation to get down to that weight again. My "FAT" picture in in the blog under the first day.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

happinessawaits

What Ive learned is its different for each person, What works for someboday may not work for you... you have to play around with your calories etc and see what works for you... of had mine at different levels on and off and things finally are moving again.

kellicarter11

However this personally works for me. I do little exercise as I am a student and I have a very slow metabolism...When I stick to a diet of 800 cals a day I can lose about a pound a week. So i think it should be done by how you feel. One week is not really enough time to tell.....
I eat lots of low calorie foods. so I tend to eat more but still stay at less calories.
Popcorn is a great snack

therealangd

The app on my phone told me 1200 but when I go under tools and do the BMR it says 1300. So I dont know what the difference is.

I am eating protein, mostly grilled chicken and turkey and usually this is at lunch or dinner. I really dont eat any protein before that. I have also been eating sweet potatoes and cauliflower. I have been drinking about 5 bottles of water a day. I dont drink anything else usually. On occasion I like a diet coke. I try to stay away from alot of sodium but I really havent focused on that alot. Should I monitor that better?

How can I tell if I am retaining water? I pee alot so I dont know.

Also I have a hard time eating in the morning. I usually get my run in at about 9-10am and I dont eat anything until after my run. I have coffee in the morning then run, then shower, eat lunch and continue on with my day. I feel sick if I eat before I run.

All of that is fine. You aren't doing anything wrong there, if that's what works for you. Except of course not eating back your exercise calories. :P

As far as 1200 vs 1300. I'd go with the 1300 as the minimum number of calories to eat, if you are not running that day. if you run, you'll be eating probably another 4 or 500 depending on your pace.

Mom2M_and_O

Like others have said, give it a month before you start worrying. When I first started, I dropped 2 pounds then "gained" it back the next week. I was up and down for three weeks before I started seeing a true downward trend. You just have to stick with it and not let the scale be your only source of encouragement or discouragement.

Also, it may be possible that you are already at a reasonable weight for your height and it may just take longer for your body to be willing to give up the little bit. I've heard people here talk about the last 10 pounds being hardest to lose, so you may be starting out near that point already.

But definitely don't let your total food intake go below your BMR calories and just be willing to give your body time to lose the weight. If you're eating around 1300 cals/day and you're exercising and you're eating healthy foods, then you're doing everything right. Give it time.

dyiaane

I suggest eating at least half of your exercise calories. Sometimes I eat some, sometimes half, and sometimes all. You have to change it up. Good luck.

caveats

Eat more.

You shouldn't eat less than your BMR, and you should definitely NOT eat less than 1200 calories. Over the long term, this WILL screw with your body.

Google "BMR" or even "basal metabolic rate" for some calculators that will explain exactly what those numbers mean. Get familiar with the acronyms (BMR, RMR, TDEE, NEAT, etc.), as they will all explain how to more accurately evaluate what your body needs and how to come up with a more appropriate caloric deficit. MFP works great for those who have a ton of weight to lose. You don't. So you need to educate yourself and get smarter on how to lose your pounds.

Here is one BMR calculator to get you started:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

(And according to that calculator, your BMR is ~1400, so you are definitely eating too little.)

If you insist on using MFP for recommendations, set your activity level to "lightly active". I also have a desk job, and "sedentary" is too low unless you're really tied to your desk for 12+ hours/day. There's tons of little activities like getting up and walking around (to talk to coworkers, take a break, go out to lunch) that don't get accounted for in the strictly "sedentary" activity level.

Also, there is no way in living hell you will be able to lose 2 lb./week at your current weight and still be healthy and treat your body right. Slow down, give this time (aim for 0.5 lb./week). You didn't gain all of this weight overnight. You won't drop it overnight, either.

For reference, I have similar stats as you (32 yo, 5'3", ~130 lbs.), and I can MAINTAIN my weight range (I fluctuate +/- 2 lbs. normally throughout the month) on 1800-2000 calories/day.

fireflyangel22

Any time I start trying to eat better and exercise more, I always gain a couple pounds first. I can't explain it, but I know that if I stick with it, the weight eventually comes off. Give it some more time before you start worrying or stop trying. Good Luck!

mlh37214

Just a quick note on the app vs BMR: I would say both are probably correct. You are trying to lose weight? BMR is your base. The app is showing you your calories needed to lose whatever your goal is, ie. you need a daily deficit of 100 cals to lose your goal per week. Example: My BMR is 2400 and I have a goal of losing 2 lbs per week (I'm much larger than you), so my app tells me I need a daily deficit of 900, or a net intake of 1500.

Hope that explains a little.

fimary

I have read all these posts, but my doctor has sent me to the dietician she put me on an 800 calorie a day diet and said this was my 4ft 10 needed? i have been about 1000 cals, only started so dont know if will be ok long term i have lost 11lbs but as first stone always comes of easy not sure, contacted doctor for another appointment but she is booked up for 3 months?

taso42

What about going by the MFP numbers for several weeks, then re-evaluating.

I can guarantee you that you're way, way off at 800 calories. Try doubling that.

Justjoshin

What about going by the MFP numbers for several weeks, then re-evaluating.

I can guarantee you that you're way, way off at 800 calories. Try doubling that.

Sound advice.

midwifekelley2350

i was sticking to the 1200 benchmark and working out and was noticing no changes. a friend encouraged me to increase my calories due to hard workouts. i am 46 years old and have always worked out and watched what i ate. over the past couple of years i felt like i was getting "soft" around the middle and i didn't like it! i have increased my calories to 1500 and then eat back at least half of my workout calories so i am usually eating 1600-1700 and am losing body fat. less is not always better!