Experts - please advise. I'm lost

I'm 60 inches tall, age 36 female.
Current weight is 138lb.
Goal weight is 110lbs.
I exercise 2-3 times a week and I have a desk job.

According to fat2fit:
My bmr using the HB formula is 1380.
My calories to eat is:
Sedentry 1495
Lightly active 1700.

Ok. So my questions are:
1. How many calories (minimum and maximum) do I eat on a non-exercise day to lose 2lb a week.
2. How many calories (minimum and maximum) do I eat on an exercise day to lose 2lb a week.
3. Does it matter WHAT I eat on these days? Eg junk, white bread, pasta, crisps, chocs as long as it equals the calories?

Theres so many posts on this and but its so confusing.

Thanks in advance for any advice I recieve.
:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Eat 1350 every single day (1700 minus 20%) Cut out as much sugar as you can.
  • nishsuz
    nishsuz Posts: 55
    Thank u lambertj.

    What is the 20% from/for?

    Im changing my cals on my profile no and will give this a go. X

    Thank u again x :happy:
  • Meatsies
    Meatsies Posts: 351 Member
    If your BMR is 1380, eating 1350 per day would be less than BMR, which is an absolute NO-NO. 1445 might be a better bet for you; that's your TDEE for lightly active with a 15% cut. Do not eat back exercise calories unless you exercise to the point that your net caloric intake brings you under your BMR. It IS really confusing...I'm still trying to nail down my numbers, too. Good luck!!
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    Oops sorry I thought your TDEE was 1700. Do not eat under your BMR, take 20% off your TDEE
    I just calculated this from fat2fit. I think you fit under Lightly Active so your TDEE is 1713, to lose minus between 15-20% from that TDEE but do not go below your BMR or you will damage your metabolism.


    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1495
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1713
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 1931
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2149
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2367
  • nishsuz
    nishsuz Posts: 55
    hi meatsies.

    Oh its all too confusing. :sad:

    What is the 15% cut for?

    And what is the difference between bmr and tdee?

    Im thinking of just rounding to 1400cals regardless of whether I exercise. Does that sound about ok?
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    The cut is from your TDEE - you want to eat between your BMR and your TDEE
  • waffleflavoredtea
    waffleflavoredtea Posts: 235 Member
    in reference to the TDEE others said you need to take 20% off from, here's one site you can go to to find it:

    http://www.matthewscaloriecounter.com/calorie_calculators/daily_calorie_limit_calculator.aspx

    Or google 'find tdee'. Enter the info it asks for and you should get your basic TDEE. :) Then take 20% off that number and consume that every single day without eating any exercise calories back (I believe this is correct)
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
    in reference to the TDEE others said you need to take 20% off from, here's one site you can go to to find it:

    http://www.matthewscaloriecounter.com/calorie_calculators/daily_calorie_limit_calculator.aspx

    Or google 'find tdee'. Enter the info it asks for and you should get your basic TDEE. :) Then take 20% off that number and consume that every single day without eating any exercise calories back (I believe this is correct)

    Yes, this, exactly :) I use the fat2fit site but this one will work
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    If your BMR is 1380, eating 1350 per day would be less than BMR, which is an absolute NO-NO. 1445 might be a better bet for you; that's your TDEE for lightly active with a 15% cut. Do not eat back exercise calories unless you exercise to the point that your net caloric intake brings you under your BMR. It IS really confusing...I'm still trying to nail down my numbers, too. Good luck!!

    Comparing "net calories" to your BMR is pointless. I'm sick of typing out the mathematical explanation for this, but you can search for my posts on it if you'd like. The short version is, you can change "net calories" by just switching how they're logged on MFP, even though your TDEE and intake for the day didn't move. That makes the "net calories" number meaningless when compared to anything else other than your target calories for the day as displayed by MFP.

    Ideally, you'd want to set your target based on your non-exercise days, then log all exercise on MFP and eat those calories back (so your "net calories" number equals your original target, or very close to it). That's MFP's intended use, and will keep you at a fairly consistent, healthy calorie deficit every day.
  • nishsuz
    nishsuz Posts: 55
    Hi.

    I tried this website but it gives me cals of 1505 per day to lose 0.8 cals per week. I want to lose 2lb per week.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    If your BMR is 1380, eating 1350 per day would be less than BMR, which is an absolute NO-NO. 1445 might be a better bet for you; that's your TDEE for lightly active with a 15% cut. Do not eat back exercise calories unless you exercise to the point that your net caloric intake brings you under your BMR. It IS really confusing...I'm still trying to nail down my numbers, too. Good luck!!

    Comparing "net calories" to your BMR is pointless. I'm sick of typing out the mathematical explanation for this, but you can search for my posts on it if you'd like. The short version is, you can change "net calories" by just switching how they're logged on MFP, even though your TDEE and intake for the day didn't move. That makes the "net calories" number meaningless when compared to anything else other than your target calories for the day as displayed by MFP.

    Ideally, you'd want to set your target based on your non-exercise days, then log all exercise on MFP and eat those calories back (so your "net calories" number equals your original target, or very close to it). That's MFP's intended use, and will keep you at a fairly consistent, healthy calorie deficit every day.
    ARGG! Where were you when I was trying to argue against bodyweight times 10! (You're math smart, me? not so much, I'm a humanities wonk). :smile: :smile: :smile: :drinker:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/588103-am-i-eating-enough

    and

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/588126-body-weight-x-10-as-a-minimum
  • keaani34
    keaani34 Posts: 33 Member
    Here is a nice and easy way to do this, your current weight is 138 and you want to go down to 110 just add a 0 to the end of your goal weight and eat that amount every day and you should get to that weight. To be on the safe said eat 1200 cals and do not eat back your exercise cals.. this should get you to where you wanna go. The most important thing is to listen to your body, if it needs more food then eat more food but if you'r good at 1100 or 1200 then go with that.
  • ka97
    ka97 Posts: 1,984 Member
    Hi.

    I tried this website but it gives me cals of 1505 per day to lose 0.8 cals per week. I want to lose 2lb per week.

    At 138lbs, a two pound loss per week is probably not realistic or healthy. I would say 0.5lbs per week, though if you are only 5ft tall you could perhaps do 1lb per week. As you get smaller, you just can not cut enough calories (in a healthy week) for faster weight loss. Be patient and consistent; it will happen. And if you take it off the right way, it should stay off.
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    ARGG! Where were you when I was trying to argue against bodyweight times 10! (You're math smart, me? not so much, I'm a humanities wonk). :smile: :smile: :smile: :drinker:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/588103-am-i-eating-enough

    and

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/588126-body-weight-x-10-as-a-minimum

    Hehe, I posted early on in that guy's original thread (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/557201-how-to-lose-weight-correctly). That method is ridiculous; I'd be eating a minimum of 3150 calories per day, which is enough to actually make me gain weight if I don't exercise. About the only thing good in his ideas is to pick a number, stick with it for a while and then make adjustments until you find what works for you. I agree with that, but pick a starting number that makes sense; MFP already does that for you.
  • nishsuz
    nishsuz Posts: 55
    aw thank u. i guess thats where i was going wrong, expecting 2lb weight loss i just dont wana wait forever to lose this weight. its making me feel incredibly down.