Calories....

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RachelFlossy
RachelFlossy Posts: 2
in Introduce Yourself
Hi there! I am wondering if anyone knows how many calories I should be eating?? MFP is telling me that I should be eating 2000 calories per day, and I walk off about 400 calories or more per night....I lost 3.8kg in my first week, 2.5 in my second week and last week I gained 400 grams. Feels pretty varied to me?? Can anyone please help me to work out how many calories I should be eating per day and how much exercise I should be doing to maintain weightloss each week, I am currently weighing 153kg, thanks!! Rach :)

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  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    look up the harris benedict formula. its the most recognized and trusted formula to calculate your bmr and total energy expenditure. when you chose an activity level, this will include your daily activities and exercise.

    once you find you that, you can reduce your calories to lose weight. mostly people reduce by 500, so they'd in theory lose 1 lb a week. of course remember that our bodies fluctuate and we may lose more we may not lose at all on certain weeks. there really is no benefit to doing tons of exercise, moderate cardio everyday is fine. its also important to incorporate weight training at least 3 times a week. if you reduce your calories too much you run the risk of losing muscle mass. its important to always change up your exercise routine to keep from having plateaus. i change mine every month and half or so.
  • texastango
    texastango Posts: 309
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    XRaychick has an excellent response to your question. Just wanted to second her response. When dieting it's also helpful to distribute protein throughout the day (into 5 small meals or snacks if possible). Protein is harder to digest and makes your body work hard to do it. This burns more calories. Protein gets absorbed slowly, thereby not causing insulin level spikes. That's good for several reasons. Your blood sugar won't drop abruptly and make you hungry again quickly like it would with a simple (sugar) carb load and it will burn more calories digesting it. Adding fiber (soluble or insoluble) is also beneficial. Both are "good" carbs and do not cause a rise in blood sugar. Insoluble fiber is not digestable. Soluble fiber is, but doesn't affect insulin levels. Add water and fiber puffs up and makes you feel full. Balance and moderation are always important...work-outs, weights (alternating) and good sources of nutrition. It works. Need more help and just write!

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