How many calories a day does one need to eat???

mrslaw85

So I am at 1200 per a nutritionalist. I am NOT losing weight. I am walking my 10000+ steps a day and doing a bootcamp. I am losing inches but am I getting enough food? Some days I am so hungry I think I could eat cardboard. Thoughts?

yarwell

are you eating enough protein to fill you up - like 100g per day (400 calories) ?

erickirb

1200 sounds okay if you do no exercising at all. I would suggest increasing your intake by 200 or so. stay with that intake for 3-4 weeks and re-evaluate at that time.

sandown12

Hi joIn the group
Eat more to weigh less
It's explanatory I ate 1200-1300 a day for 12 weeks felt ill
Upped it gradually and feel much better

Always be sure your actually burning off any exercise calories you eat is spot on
I don't eat mine but some say you should just be 100% your not over eating them
x

jacksonpt

Ask your nutrtionist... it's what you're paying him/her for. Or fire him/her, and go with the all-knowing masses on MFP.

Don't mix advice from different people/groups/sites - it's a recipe for disaster.

rml_16

So I am at 1200 per a nutritionalist. I am NOT losing weight. I am walking my 10000+ steps a day and doing a bootcamp. I am losing inches but am I getting enough food? Some days I am so hungry I think I could eat cardboard. Thoughts?

Each meal or snack should combine protein, fat and fiber and you will not feel so hungry. Also, it takes the body a little while to get used to less food. A lot of it is psychological. Make sure you're eating quality, whole foods and not a lot of processed, empty calories, also.

As for not losing at 1,200, everyone is different and you may want to talk to your nutritionist about that. And be sure you're measuring and weighing your food and accounting for every calorie.

mrslaw85

I have requested a different nutrionalist as they may or may not make our appointment date/time which means a wasted hour long round trip for me. I am on the list to get a new one. I try to eat protein with every meal but maybe that is what is going on!

TinkrBelz

I think you should eat more if you are doing boot amp. Atleast the one here is a kick butt workout. And if you are hungry, you probably need more energy for your body. Yarwell suggested protein...YES! You need protein!

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

I used this to figure out my TDEE.

I will give you my numbers just as a guide...and then you figure out your own.

I am 42, 127lbs, 5'4.5" I workout every day.

My TDEE is 2250. This takes into account my workouts.

So to lose weight, I have take my TDEE-20% (this is a safe range)

2200-450 (20%)=1800 calories. I should eat 1800 calories. i do not need to eat back my workout calories because my TDEE already figured that out for me.

I set MFP to maintenance and that said 1780. So that is what I shoot for everyday.

I also eat 100 carbs and 150 protein. Remember, food is not bad...our body needs energy.

rml_16

I have requested a different nutrionalist as they may or may not make our appointment date/time which means a wasted hour long round trip for me. I am on the list to get a new one. I try to eat protein with every meal but maybe that is what is going on!

Like I said, fat, fiber, protein combination. Protein alone will not keep you satisfied.

chusheto1

I wonder if your nutritionist is not calculating the calories you are trying to cut already and the exercise is putting you even lower. It would be helpful if you told us how much you weight and how much you are trying to lose a week.

Or use the following to calculate:
1 pound of fat is 3500 calories
If you want to lose a pound a week ( I would say that is pretty conservative and healthy pace) you must have a deficit in your calories of 3500/7= 500 calories a day
So if based on your activity level you are suppose to take 2300 calories a day to maintain your current weight (I can't tell you exactly without knowing your weight and activity level) you need to cut down to 2300-500=1800 calories a day.

Let's say your lean weight is 100 lbs. You need to take a gram of protein for each pound of lean weight. That is 100 grams or (100x4) 400 calories. You need half a gram of fat per pound of lean weight - 50 grams of fat or (50x9) 450 calories. The rest you can eat whatever (one approach) to get up to your total calorie count or you can just eat the rest in carbs. For 1800 diet that would be 950 calories of carbs or 950/4= 237 grams of carbs.

That's the simple, mathematical approach. As an alternative, start with 1200 per your nutritionist. Figure out how much protein and fat you need based on the general guidelines i gave you above -- 1 gram per lean lb of protein, .5 gram of fat per lean pound. Fill the rest with carbs. If you continue to be hungry even with the increased protein and fat, increase the carbs with 25 grams a day - 100 calories a day. See if that helps and you are still losing weight. Basically it is a trial and error approach. You modify your carbs until you stop wanting to chew on cardboard.

Lastly, while i don't believe in bad carbs, you probably want to choose carefully what kind of carbs you eat. If they are fast carbs (sugar) you will get hungry again quicker than if it is something that takes a while to digest like brown rice or oatmeal.

Hope this helps.

mrslaw85

Wow according to my TDEE I am suppose to be eating 1935.2 calories a day to maintain my current weight with moderate exercise. My Bootcamp is intense and I am overweight so I am thinking 1200 is not where I should be!!!

workoutbarbie29

Try eating CLEAN every 3 hours. I train 6 days a week and sometimes twice a day. it's very hard to over eat when you are eating the right things. Sometimes I have to force it down with water because Im not hungry.

psuLemon

Wow according to my TDEE I am suppose to be eating 1935.2 calories a day to maintain my current weight with moderate exercise. My Bootcamp is intense and I am overweight so I am thinking 1200 is not where I should be!!!

Does that 1935 include exercise or not? Either way, you are under eating based on what you have said so far. I would just drop the nutritionist if you want to save money. There are many capable people on this board that can provide the same advice for free.

pantsdailyon

Ask your nutrtionist... it's what you're paying him/her for. Or fire him/her, and go with the all-knowing masses on MFP.

Don't mix advice from different people/groups/sites - it's a recipe for disaster.

I love this answer!