**READ THIS** Figuring out your calorie goals

Becky1971

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Flissbo

bump, thank you!

nekochanpurr

My first post here. I hope its okay. o.o; (lurker)


First off i'd like to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this!!! Numbers are usually so confusing and evil for me, but this all kind of makes sense...

Question though (and this probably has been asked over and over and.. SORRY >.< )

So i eat over my BMR but under my calories per day goal thing? Mfp usually tells me to eat 1690 and i usually average about 1300/1400...

Heres the stuff from fat2fit

Neck 15
Waist 39
Hips 49

Body fat # 55.7%
My BMR - 1224
Goal Body Weight- 110 (i thought i had to aim higher? o.o;)
I am lightly active so it gave me 1733....

But lightly active because i work as a cashier at a grocery store.. So i am walking back and forth to get ciggerattes, put away back stock... Moving by ringing up customers and cleaning. That's the right one, right? I am only part time, so its only about 4 times a week (sometimes five) and thats anywhere between 4-8 hours a day.. Depending on the day/week everything changes. >.< I try and do work out during the week but i kind of suck at that.


...Help? Sorry, i am needy.

the number the chart gives you on fat2fit is what you should eat. this is the TDEE for your GOAL weight, to get your current TDEE, multiply by 1.2.
Eat between your BMR & current TDEE, ideally at the level on the chart.
just based on your job with no official exercise, go for lightly active.
If you exercise as well, go for next one up.

Thank you so much!!!!

Another question, if thats okay... Should i change my numbers on mfp to reflect what i got from fat2fit? Or should i just use it as a base line and stick with 1690? Or should i be eating 1733?

Are you saying when i reach my goal weight i should be eating 2079 (.6? lol). I'm really sorry.. I'm kind of really math dumb..

CourtneayB2010

So does this mean i shouldnt follow my fitness pal calorie guide because my bmr is 1810 but my daily calorie intake with mfp is 1260....

I weight 228, 5'5 and exercise only 3 times a week for a hour....

Does this mean I am stopping my body from functioning correctly...

That BMR doesnt take into account body fat %, which can make a big difference to your calorie needs. Id suggest getting your BF checked and rerun the numbers.
Mine comes out almost 200 lower when I add in body fat%.

1260 seems low, Im the same height as you and was your weight back in January. At that time I was eating 1650 net and doing NO exercise, lost between 1.5-3lbs a week.(MFP said i would lose 1lb/week at this).
The calorie intake with MFP is NET so you should be eating back exercise on top of the 1260, maybe try reducing your goal slightly on MFP for now to 1.5 or 1lb, see how that works.

Thanks, the bmr I posted was off of the fat to fit site, the bmr I got on mfp was 2260 which was probably the reason they only suggested me to eat 1260 for a 1000 calorie deficit a day... but i will definitely try changing my goal on mfp to see if that will spark any changes...

Lose_It_Leo

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fontinathefox

Bump to do this properly over the weekend.

Ravenesque_

Okay. I am epically confused.

My stats:
BMI 38.7
168 cm tall
103.8 kg atm
goal weight is 55ks
body fat = 56.3%

I put all my stats in and got :

BMR = 1352 (1552 if you add the recommended 200cal over)
TDEE = 2270 (lightly active)

I understand that these are the min and the max of what I should be eating to lose weight. I need to be in the middle somewhere.

What I dont understand is MFP has put me on 1510 daily max. Any exercise I do I should eat back the calories of -according to this site-? Or should I only eat back only enough calories to bring me up to the 1500 ish total?

Basically If I trust this site to know what I should eat, its not going to screw me up, is it?

I've only been here a couple of days and while It's brilliant, its confusing at the same time.

MFP doesnt include exercise cals, you have to log exercise and eat back the extra cals.
F2F they are already included, you just eat the total cals, same every day.

As an example:
MFP is 1500. say you exercise an average of 300 a day. that would put you at 1800 eaten, which is pretty much in the middle of your range.

your stats are pretty similar to mine, apart from your BF is a bit higher therefore BMR is lower. I eat 1950-2000 total (1650 net) and lose 1.5 most weeks, so around 1800/1500net should work for you x

OKay, so the fitness website ASSUMES you excercise while MFP doesnt.
Thats great, cause I like the additional flexibility, esp with a hectic lifestyle

i still dont get what NET means, but i got the excecise bit. Thanks! )

rachmass1

Great stuff!

endasdyet

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DivaMaria225

bump, handy info!

Reni421

Has anyone opted to set their calorie goals according to F2F and then just not log their exercise? I am thinking that if I do that, all I have to worry about is meeting my calorie goal every day, and not worry about doing the math involved with eating back exercise calories. ( I also don't have an hrm, so this seems the safest way around that).. The calories listed on F2F already has a deficit built in for regular exercise according to the level you choose, correct? Then, anything additional I do will be a bonus deficit on those days and will keep me balanced during the week if I indulge, or from plateauing hopefully.. I'm thinking I can track my exercise for myself in the exercise notes section without adding the calories burned to the diary...

Does this make sense, or has anyone done this already successfully?

hastenbeck

bump

rachmass1

This is such great information but I remain a bit confused.

According to F2F my BMR is 1441 and sedentary adds only a few calories where lightly active adds a couple hundred. Can I just set my net calorie goal on MFP to 1441 and eat back exercise? Or do I have to add 200 to BMR and eat to that regardless of what I do?

I do not "exercise" per se but do walk 2-4 hours a day at a slow pace while working (trek desk setup) so typically burn about 110-120 calories per hour walking. Since that equates to 200-500 each day, it is more than light and less than moderate and I really would like to lose a pound a week (emotionally I would like 1.5 but am trying to be realistic).

Does it make sense to set MFP to BMR and then eat back what you exercise?

prjoy98

OMG!!! I am so confused!!!
So I have been losing lbs by sticking to around 1200, not eating back my workout calories, working out on average about 1hr/day, eating healthier, and still having a piece of chocolate once in a while.

My daily workouts consist of 30min walk with the dogs @ around 3mph, and 25 mins of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 (during which I am drenched in sweat!!)

So I went to the Fat2Fit website and it shows my
body fat at 27.3%
BMR= 1446/1440/2221 (mod active-1hr at least 4 days a week)

According to this, I should then be eating somewhere around 1800cals/day!!! I can't even phantom eating that much.

Is this correct??
Anyone with logical and "dumb down" advice please chime in!

seth02

bump - thanks for sharing

kasarin

So I tried to work this through but it actually showed lower calories than what MFP recommends and I was surprised:

Here are my stats Male 32y/o weight 174 hieght 69'' neck 14'' waist 36'' hips 35'' Sedentary with 6-7 days of activity (500cals burned 5 days a week 2K+cals burned on Sundays playing 5 hour of Ult. Frisbee per HRM)

I am curious if those who know this stuff could double check my entry, I think I may be misunderstanding sonmething because I got 1650 calories and that can't be accurate can it (MFP has me at 1970)

Thanks in advance!

em9371

My first post here. I hope its okay. o.o; (lurker)


First off i'd like to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this!!! Numbers are usually so confusing and evil for me, but this all kind of makes sense...

Question though (and this probably has been asked over and over and.. SORRY >.< )

So i eat over my BMR but under my calories per day goal thing? Mfp usually tells me to eat 1690 and i usually average about 1300/1400...

Heres the stuff from fat2fit

Neck 15
Waist 39
Hips 49

Body fat # 55.7%
My BMR - 1224
Goal Body Weight- 110 (i thought i had to aim higher? o.o;)
I am lightly active so it gave me 1733....

But lightly active because i work as a cashier at a grocery store.. So i am walking back and forth to get ciggerattes, put away back stock... Moving by ringing up customers and cleaning. That's the right one, right? I am only part time, so its only about 4 times a week (sometimes five) and thats anywhere between 4-8 hours a day.. Depending on the day/week everything changes. >.< I try and do work out during the week but i kind of suck at that.


...Help? Sorry, i am needy.

the number the chart gives you on fat2fit is what you should eat. this is the TDEE for your GOAL weight, to get your current TDEE, multiply by 1.2.
Eat between your BMR & current TDEE, ideally at the level on the chart.
just based on your job with no official exercise, go for lightly active.
If you exercise as well, go for next one up.

Thank you so much!!!!

Another question, if thats okay... Should i change my numbers on mfp to reflect what i got from fat2fit? Or should i just use it as a base line and stick with 1690? Or should i be eating 1733?

Are you saying when i reach my goal weight i should be eating 2079 (.6? lol). I'm really sorry.. I'm kind of really math dumb..

there's not much difference between 1690 / 1733 so it doesnt really matter either way.

The number in the chart is TDEE / maintenance for your goal weight.

mrseelmerfudd

this is great. my problem is i dont have a clue of my measurements. i need to invest in a measuring tape lol!

watergirl626

Has anyone opted to set their calorie goals according to F2F and then just not log their exercise? I am thinking that if I do that, all I have to worry about is meeting my calorie goal every day, and not worry about doing the math involved with eating back exercise calories. ( I also don't have an hrm, so this seems the safest way around that).. The calories listed on F2F already has a deficit built in for regular exercise according to the level you choose, correct? Then, anything additional I do will be a bonus deficit on those days and will keep me balanced during the week if I indulge, or from plateauing hopefully.. I'm thinking I can track my exercise for myself in the exercise notes section without adding the calories burned to the diary...

Does this make sense, or has anyone done this already successfully?

This is what I am doing now, because I wanted the flexibility to still be able to eat on rest days (when your body needs the calories anyway to help your muscles heal!) and to help with more consistent planning. I set my MFP goal manually to 2200 calories (MFP thinks I am going to gain 0.6 lbs per week. Just ignore that part, because it isn't figuring in the exercise yet). I do still log my exercise because I like keeping track of it, but I just aim for the 2200/day, and if I do exercise, then I end up having that as my deficit. It would work without posting your exercise too, or just writing what you did in your food journal notes.

watergirl626

BTW, for those of you who cannot fathom eating what F2F recommends, go back through your diary and look at your totals on the days you exercise. When my net was 1540, I was still eating 1800-1900 total because of eating back exercise calories.....

mahjohweeee

bump! Great info! It's working for me!!!

kasarin

anyone able to help a befuddled computer/math illiterate like me (see my previous post)

Craigggggggggg

First time posting here so bare with me. I have been following this thread and I think I have everything correct. just a few questions.

HB BMR: 1915 (This should not be important because I entered my body fat percentage using a tape measure. correct?)
KM BMR: 1656

So I need to multiply my KM BMR(1656) by 1.4 for something near moderately active to give me my suggested calorie intake? If thats correct I came up with 2318.

SUGGESTED CALORIE INTAKE: 2318

Then to get my TDEE I need to multiply my suggested calorie intake(2318) by 1.2 giving me 2782.

TDEE: 2782


So IF all the information I have entered is correct, then I need to eat about 2300 calories every day, even on days I work out and on my rest days? Or would it be better to eat around 2300-2500 calories on days I do work out and my rest days around 2000 calories?

Basically I need to eat under my TDEE(2782) and over my KM BMR(1656) and I think I read something about making sure your net calorie intake is at least 200 over your KM BMR making that 1856.

Is everything I listed above correct? Open to any corrections or helpful advice, thanks!

you got it spot on!!
using the fat2fit calcs, you would eat the same every day. That results in a 'zigzag' calorie pattern, with higher nets on rest days, lower on workout days.
Using MFP's eat back exercise, your net is the same every day.
Varying the net helps you avoid plateaus as your body cant adapt to the cal level as its always changing :-)

Thanks for the help em9371, I see you helping a lot of people on this thread and I can't explain how much I appreciate it!

em9371

First time posting here so bare with me. I have been following this thread and I think I have everything correct. just a few questions.

HB BMR: 1915 (This should not be important because I entered my body fat percentage using a tape measure. correct?)
KM BMR: 1656

So I need to multiply my KM BMR(1656) by 1.4 for something near moderately active to give me my suggested calorie intake? If thats correct I came up with 2318.

SUGGESTED CALORIE INTAKE: 2318

Then to get my TDEE I need to multiply my suggested calorie intake(2318) by 1.2 giving me 2782.

TDEE: 2782


So IF all the information I have entered is correct, then I need to eat about 2300 calories every day, even on days I work out and on my rest days? Or would it be better to eat around 2300-2500 calories on days I do work out and my rest days around 2000 calories?

Basically I need to eat under my TDEE(2782) and over my KM BMR(1656) and I think I read something about making sure your net calorie intake is at least 200 over your KM BMR making that 1856.

Is everything I listed above correct? Open to any corrections or helpful advice, thanks!

you got it spot on!!
using the fat2fit calcs, you would eat the same every day. That results in a 'zigzag' calorie pattern, with higher nets on rest days, lower on workout days.
Using MFP's eat back exercise, your net is the same every day.
Varying the net helps you avoid plateaus as your body cant adapt to the cal level as its always changing :-)

Thanks for the help em9371, I see you helping a lot of people on this thread and I can't explain how much I appreciate it!

no worries craig!
Someone helped me on dan's original thread, so now I get how it works i like to pass it on and help where i can :-)

em9371

Has anyone opted to set their calorie goals according to F2F and then just not log their exercise? I am thinking that if I do that, all I have to worry about is meeting my calorie goal every day, and not worry about doing the math involved with eating back exercise calories. ( I also don't have an hrm, so this seems the safest way around that).. The calories listed on F2F already has a deficit built in for regular exercise according to the level you choose, correct? Then, anything additional I do will be a bonus deficit on those days and will keep me balanced during the week if I indulge, or from plateauing hopefully.. I'm thinking I can track my exercise for myself in the exercise notes section without adding the calories burned to the diary...

Does this make sense, or has anyone done this already successfully?

I was never as hungry on exercise days so i just added up a weeks exercise cals and spread them over the week, turns out I was doing this all along without knowing it, then discovered dans 'in place of a roadmap' thread that explained the science behind it!
40lbs and 10% body fat down in 6 months so it definetly works :-)

jan5555

Bump

justkrissy

Okay, so my exercise varies, so would it work if I did this. My BMR is 1224, so what if I ate that much a day, and then ate back all the calories I burn during exercise in the day. Would that work? Or am I still eating too less? And how do you make your calorie goal without going over your "Fat" intake?

Just choose the one nearest to your overall activity level in the chart and eat that.
OR
Choose sedentary and eat back your exercise cals.
Not going over your fat intake is easy if you choose the right foods - lean meat, whole grains, fruit & veg, lower fat cheeses like mozzarella / feta / cottage cheese , skimmed milk etc.

Okay.. but I don't quite get it.. Because to Lose weight you need to take your TDEE and minus 500, right? so my TDEE is 1574, so i minus 500 and it is 1074. But my BMR is 1224 and I'm not suppose to eat under that, but I can't eat over 1074?

lol! I'm so confused!

Try running your numbers again sounds like something's gone wrong. Unless you are sedentary and do no activity / exercise at all, tdee should be a lot higher than that.
What are the numbers you put into fat2fit?

If the deficit puts you below bmr you need to go with a smaller deficit to stay above bmr.

Yah put it at sedentary becaus I have a desk job and was just playing on adding my exercise as i do it and then eating those calories back. I always plan my days ahead so that works for me, and my numbers were

Age: 22
Height: 5'0
Weight: 164
Goal: 110 (I have a small frame)
Fat per: 47

ah i see now.
your TDEE isnt 1574 thats your activity level, it would be 1574 PLUS exercise cals + 20%
(the figures in the table are the TDEE for your GOAL weight, not current weight. To get current TDEE you need to add 20% to the chart numbers.
with the amount you have to lose you should be aiming for around 1lb week. you could go 1-200 below the numbers below which would give you around 1.25, 1.5 would be too much and put you below BMR.

Say you exercise an average of 300 a day.
1574 + 300 exercise + 20% = 2248 TDEE
500 from TDEE = 1748 (1448 net / 300 exercise)

if you exercised more (500 a day)
1574 + 500 exercise + 20% = 2488
500 from TDEE = 1988 (1488 net / 500 exercise)

Its the same whether you log as total cals or 1448/1488 plus exercise, all depends if you prefer to eat more on exercise days (use eat back cals), or the same every day (use f2f).

hope this helps!

I think so, but just to be sure, If I plan on just eating back my workout calories, I should eat around 1448 a day, no less than my BMR which is 1224. And make sure to eat any calories I burn?

em9371

This is such great information but I remain a bit confused.

According to F2F my BMR is 1441 and sedentary adds only a few calories where lightly active adds a couple hundred. Can I just set my net calorie goal on MFP to 1441 and eat back exercise? Or do I have to add 200 to BMR and eat to that regardless of what I do?

I do not "exercise" per se but do walk 2-4 hours a day at a slow pace while working (trek desk setup) so typically burn about 110-120 calories per hour walking. Since that equates to 200-500 each day, it is more than light and less than moderate and I really would like to lose a pound a week (emotionally I would like 1.5 but am trying to be realistic).

Does it make sense to set MFP to BMR and then eat back what you exercise?

If BMR & sedentary are pretty much the same, then it wont hurt to set as BMR and eat back exercise, however if your exercise is actually general work activity you wont have an exact time / calorie burn etc so it would be much simpler to just set to lightly active cals then you dont have to worry about logging exercise.

Sabrina8338

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steadk

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