Help me figure out how many calories I should eat, PLEASE :)
Mommareed4
Posts: 144
So will give you some back ground on me. My heaviest I was 230lbs. I am now currently 162. I did that basically by eating very little (1200 cals) and exercising alot (anywhere from 600-1000 cals) Well a few months back I was 159 feeling great bc I was finally in the average zone..when a few weeks later when I weighed myself I was 164!! I was upset bc I was eating and exercising the same. Now a couple months later I was able to loose 2 of those pounds but have basically been at a stand still. I decided yesterday I was going to eat 1600-1800 cals for a few day then drop back down to 1200 and be on my merry way. Then I read emswanson post and though I would give eating more a try.
I now need to know how much I should eat. I exercise 6 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday I do JM 30 day shred and 1 hour on the elliptical--these days I burn anywhere from 850-1000 calories. Tuesday and Thursday I go to a kick boxing class and burn anywhere from 600-700 calories all depending on what she does.
Thank you!!
I now need to know how much I should eat. I exercise 6 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday I do JM 30 day shred and 1 hour on the elliptical--these days I burn anywhere from 850-1000 calories. Tuesday and Thursday I go to a kick boxing class and burn anywhere from 600-700 calories all depending on what she does.
Thank you!!
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Replies
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Hi!
Congrats on taking a step forward and agreeing to feed your body. Your body will be very grateful
The sticky about TDEE shows how to do the basic calculations for how much you should be eating. It is different for each person and based on your personal stats (height, current weight, age, etc).
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr
Once you have your TDEE figured out, you will be able to figure out how much you need to eat based on a 15% or so deficit from that number.
Kiki 0 -
Thanks is says my TDEE is 2675 so after I minus out 15% it says 2273, thats how much I should be eating?!?!0
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Thanks is says my TDEE is 2675 so after I minus out 15% it says 2273, thats how much I should be eating?!?!
Yep- you got it
(Don't worry the shock soon goes away lol)0 -
Thanks is says my TDEE is 2675 so after I minus out 15% it says 2273, thats how much I should be eating?!?!
Yep- you got it
(Don't worry the shock soon goes away lol)
Haha yeah it is a shock when you first see the number! So 2273 PLUS your excercise calories.
A few people have dropped the intensity of their cardio after realising how much they would have to eat back. (Thinking about a certain someones 2000 cal Zumba burn *coughLuciacough*) : D0 -
Haha yeah it is a shock when you first see the number! So 2273 PLUS your excercise calories.
A few people have dropped the intensity of their cardio after realising how much they would have to eat back. (Thinking about a certain someones 2000 cal Zumba burn *coughLuciacough*) : D
heehee
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Thanks is says my TDEE is 2675 so after I minus out 15% it says 2273, thats how much I should be eating?!?!
Yep- you got it
(Don't worry the shock soon goes away lol)
Haha yeah it is a shock when you first see the number! So 2273 PLUS your excercise calories.
A few people have dropped the intensity of their cardio after realising how much they would have to eat back. (Thinking about a certain someones 2000 cal Zumba burn *coughLuciacough*) : D
ROFL...umm Jade you know I am at work right...you can't have me laughing at work girl!
But yes I sure did cut back. I will be doing zumba today, but only because I made sure to get in some serious calories so that by then end of workout I will have consumed 2100 or so, so after workout I will eat again and have EATEN BACK MY CALORIES...burp...lol0 -
geeze I dont know how I am going to do it..I have ate my brains out today and I planned out the rest of the day and I am only going to hit net 1417 calories (I have my diary set on 1800 for now) If I go higher though I will go over on carbs.0
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It gets easier as your metabolism revs up you will start to want to eat more. Check out others food diaries for ideas.0
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Still not understanding why is we are using TDEE as calories per day, we would eat back exercise calories when an activity factor is already in the equation for TDEE. Can anyone half with this?0
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Still not understanding why is we are using TDEE as calories per day, we would eat back exercise calories when an activity factor is already in the equation for TDEE. Can anyone half with this?
The main thing that you have to remember is that you always want your NET cals to end up back at that TDEE -15% number. Often people (specifically high cardio cal burners) are burning WAY more cals than are figured into their TDEE. So when they don't eat back those cals it puts them in a negative spot.
for instance, my TDEE is around 2070, which would put my "loss" number around 1759 (BMR 1320)
Imagine that I burn 700 cals spinning.
Even if I eat my TDEE (-15%) number of 1759, that only gives me a NET of 1057 cals, putting me 263 under my BMR.
And you NEVER want to end up under BMR, so I'd have to eat them back to get to a NET number higher than my BMR (but not above the original 1759)
IDK if that made sense? I think I just confused myself... lol0 -
Still not understanding why is we are using TDEE as calories per day, we would eat back exercise calories when an activity factor is already in the equation for TDEE. Can anyone half with this?
The main thing that you have to remember is that you always want your NET cals to end up back at that TDEE -15% number. Often people (specifically high cardio cal burners) are burning WAY more cals than are figured into their TDEE. So when they don't eat back those cals it puts them in a negative spot.
for instance, my TDEE is around 2070, which would put my "loss" number around 1759 (BMR 1320)
Imagine that I burn 700 cals spinning.
Even if I eat my TDEE (-15%) number of 1759, that only gives me a NET of 1057 cals, putting me 263 under my BMR.
And you NEVER want to end up under BMR, so I'd have to eat them back to get to a NET number higher than my BMR (but not above the original 1759)
IDK if that made sense? I think I just confused myself... lol
LOL...@Kiki, I was just about to ping you on this question for another board.
@Kim_MC this lady right here Kiki is the one that helped kick me into the eating more and helping me to stay focused on the prize. She just gave the same response I just gave you back on the other question you posted in the TDEE topic.
I have been asked this a couple times and what makes sense to me is how many calories would I eat on a nonworkout day...answer is 1950, so when I start burning calories then I am netting less than the 1950 so I need to eat what I burned to provide my body the NET amount of 1950.0 -
The other way to look at it is that TDEE figures in exercise cals, but *MFP* doesn't. So a lot of people will have their MFP cals still set to whatever number (say 1500), and then only pay attention to their total cals eaten (say 1530), but then burn a ridiculous amount of cals (say 1200). This puts them almost back at their starting point, and because so many people are terrified by receiving a large number when doing their TDEE calculations, they under estimate their "activity level" by putting sedentary or moderately active. There's no way that their TDEE would be figuring them to burn 1200 cals on a "moderately active" setting.
That's why MFP "gives" you the cals back. I usually just recommend that people cut back on the crazy high cal burns, or else just eat more, because their TDEE is actually MUCH higher than they're figuring it to be.
To people that aren't ridiculously high cardio cal burners, I usually tell them it's perfectly fine to just eat their TDEE -15% (since their REAL activity level is figured in), but people who aren't willing to forgo the zillion cal burns, need to set their activity level much higher, and be prepared to scarf some food.0 -
Maybe I'm just not getting it here but isn't your TDEE much higher than the MFP site because it already gives you extra calories to eat because you are exercising, say, 5-6 x/week? LOL! I think I'm going to understand. I get that you are telling me to NET my TDEE but it confuses me because it's already higher due to my activity factor....??0
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Yes, your TDEE is much higher than MFP. I'm only saying that a lot of people are still using their MFP figures (not changing the settings), OR not setting their TDEE accurately, burning cals far beyond what is calculated in their TDEE, so I have to guide them to EAT back the cals.
If you change your settings in MFP, you are basically just making sure that you hit that TDEE (-15%) number.
So say a person figures out their TDEE using "desk job" or other sedentary status and comes up w/a BMR of 1309 and TDEE of 1800. This means that TDEE is assuming that they burn 491 cals (1800-1309 = 491) *ALL DAY*. So, if that person decided that they want to run 5.5 miles on the elliptical every day (burning 550 cals), they are exceeding TDEE's cals each day just in exercise cals, not including their "assumed activity" of being "very lightly active". So their TDEE figures are not correct, thus they need to eat more to reach the desired number..
Remember BMR is the number of cals to lay in bed all day. As soon as you get up, your TDEE numbers start to calculate. Your BMR, *plus* exercise cals should be LOWER than your TDEE, unless you just woke up, worked out, and lay back down for the remainder of the day. There are still other cals involved in moving throughout your day.
So as long as you have your TDEE figured out correctly you do not *HAVE* to eat back cals that are already figured in to your TDEE. 0 -
Ok, thanks for explaining!0
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Im so confused lol. Numbers are not my thing. Even with the calculators I am very lost. Am I the only one? lol I feel so dumb :sad:0
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Sorry but what does tdee stand for?0
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@Crystonia - TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure (aka the total cals that you burn each day)
@Shanna- Awww, don't feel dumb. :frown: The numbers just make it seem more confusing than it is really is. What part is confusing to you?
You just basically
1) go here:
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
2) punch in your stats
3) deduct 15% from the TDEE number that it gives you (multiply the number by .15 to find out what 15% is)
4) that's how much you eat :drinker:0 -
@31prvrbs Thank you. Now once I get that number is that what I eat no matter if I work out or not? Or if I work out do I have to eat those as well or is it already figured out in the TDEE- 15%
I will get the hang of this lol0 -
@31prvrbs Thank you. Now once I get that number is that what I eat no matter if I work out or not? Or if I work out do I have to eat those as well or is it already figured out in the TDEE- 15%
I will get the hang of this lol
As long as your TDEE is figured out correctly (see the *** section of the original TDEE sticky), then your final TDEE -15% calculation will include exercise cals. So you just eat that amount no matter what.
Don't sweat it, it gets easier 0 -
Personally, I always like to calculate everything based on being sedentary and then I have the motivation to exercise as it allows me to then eat those calories back. If, however, you prefer to eat the same number of calories a day then you can include your exercise in your TDEE calculation and then you don't need to track and eat back those exercise calories. That is my understanding anyway.
So I either get to eat around 1400 plus exercise calories on the days I work out (though I'm upping this to 1500 just to try) or I can eat 1600 and not eat back the exercise calories.
Personally, I have been doing the 1400 plus exercise for a while and didn't lose, so I'm upping to 1500. I think it is because i'm a dreadful fidget and probably burn more just doing nothing than the calculator can assess.0 -
2239 is the number I got after subtracting the 15%
I put in my info then chose moderate exercise. I work 40+ hours a week, walk 2-2.5 miles at lunch, and try to ride my bike 3 or 4 days a week and I'm goin to start strength training. Would that be about moderate?It said moderate is exercising 3-5 days a week.
So then I should be eating 2239 calories a day and I should still lose?
Thanks for the help :flowerforyou:
Edit: I used the BMR calculator on that page and got 1699
2nd Edit lol: So should I change mfp goals to show 2239 calories?0 -
I did the calculator and subtracted my 15% and came out with 1900 calories. I'm currently eating around 1200. I'm freaked out, is this truly what I should be eating? I've hit a giant plateau that I can't get through and need something to help me out. My other huge stumbling block is that I'm not hungry, so to eat extra calories when I'm not hungry doesn't seem to make sense...0
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I did the calculator and subtracted my 15% and came out with 1900 calories. I'm currently eating around 1200. I'm freaked out, is this truly what I should be eating? I've hit a giant plateau that I can't get through and need something to help me out. My other huge stumbling block is that I'm not hungry, so to eat extra calories when I'm not hungry doesn't seem to make sense...
Yes if you entered your data right- 1900 is not that high. I eat 2000 a day AND eat exercise cals.
It takes a day or two before I can really start eating at the new calorie limit- don't worry your body will get used to it. For the first few days I use protein shakes and meal replacement shakes (Myoplex original has 300 cals in it) to get used to having more calories.0 -
2239 is the number I got after subtracting the 15%
I put in my info then chose moderate exercise. I work 40+ hours a week, walk 2-2.5 miles at lunch, and try to ride my bike 3 or 4 days a week and I'm goin to start strength training. Would that be about moderate?It said moderate is exercising 3-5 days a week.
So then I should be eating 2239 calories a day and I should still lose?
Thanks for the help :flowerforyou:
Edit: I used the BMR calculator on that page and got 1699
2nd Edit lol: So should I change mfp goals to show 2239 calories?
Yep, sounds right
How you set it up is up to you. You could either set up your MFP goals to 2239 and NOT eat back cals, or use MFPs settings, knowing that you will need to eat back cals up to 2239 (gross).
Happy eating! :bigsmile:0 -
Thank you for the help. Ok I can do this lol. I'm scared, ive upped my calories to 1700. Now i need to get up to 2200. 500 more :noway:
I can do it I can do it!0 -
:flowerforyou: I did it! I bummed my calories up to 2000. Now I am really scared lol. This weekend has been hard because we were out of town but I did get to walk/jog 3 miles. And I did it in 37 minutes down from the 47 it took me a few weekends ago (there were hills and this was flat but still excited lol). I have a few more weeks till my birthday to reach my goal and I am just really hoping that I am not gonna mess this up. :happy:0
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:flowerforyou: I did it! I bummed my calories up to 2000. Now I am really scared lol. This weekend has been hard because we were out of town but I did get to walk/jog 3 miles. And I did it in 37 minutes down from the 47 it took me a few weekends ago (there were hills and this was flat but still excited lol). I have a few more weeks till my birthday to reach my goal and I am just really hoping that I am not gonna mess this up. :happy:
What goal are you trying to reach by your birthday?0 -
31prvrbs: RIght now I am 205.6 (at least last time I got on the scale) I want to make one-derland by April 13. I'm getting down to the wire and I'm afraid its gonna be too much for me to lose in a few weeks (especially if I have gained a little from eating more).
I understand if I cant make though since I started eating more to weigh less. I'll just have to make a new goal then 0 -
31prvrbs: RIght now I am 205.6 (at least last time I got on the scale) I want to make one-derland by April 13. I'm getting down to the wire and I'm afraid its gonna be too much for me to lose in a few weeks (especially if I have gained a little from eating more).
I understand if I cant make though since I started eating more to weigh less. I'll just have to make a new goal then
Just want to encourage you to "stay the course"....it's wonderful to have goals (and I *do* hope you make your "one-derland" goal on time), but don't be afraid to give yourself some time.
I'm assuming you want to be healthy LONG after you reach onederland?
Blessings on your journey, Shanna!0
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