I need help figuring out what my daily calories should be

RachFace1000

When I started this website they had me at 1200 cals, and i knew that wasn't enough so i raised it to 1450.
How do you figure how many calories you should actually be eating at? I'm currently 153 lbs, standing at 5'9.
I'm going to be doing lost of weight training and conditioning starting... yesterday. I need help figuring where to put my calories at

Thanks in advance!

beattie1

If you enter the exercise you do into the exercise diary, MFP works out for you how many extra calories you've earned. It's up to you how many of those you eat. Some people say eat every last one. I know that if I eat all the exercise cals I earn I wouldn't lose, so I aim to eat about half of the extra "earned" ones - more if I'm still hungry.

Edited to add - If I have a lazy day or am travelling so spend hours trapped in the car I just eat the basic 1200. Doesn't happen too often fortunately.

AprilOneFourFour

Try this

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

RachFace1000

Try this

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Do you do what this website suggests to you? How well does that work out?

row_rivers

the numbers on MFP (considering you enter your calories consumed and expended properly) are a pretty good estimation. that green number at the top? you're SUPPOSED to get that as close to 0 as possible, that means eating the calories you burned through exercise. you'd still lose weight. others refuse to eat those calories back, and people say that'll initiate starvation mode. however, i've still seen people lose weight that way. it's more for people who are starting out obese though. it's better to gauge out how you lose weight. whether it be by eating your some, all or none of your calories back. see which "green number" works for you without you feeling like you're too full or too hungry, but still seeing fat loss. note, i said FAT loss not WEIGHT loss. since you just started weight training (congrats!), you might at first put on a considerable amount of [good] weight. i'm still kinda new, but what i found for myself is a green number anywhere from 0-500 calories depending on the day and how much exercise i did gets me the results i want.

row_rivers

Try this

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

this is also an amazing website. i would trust the guy who runs it with my baby's life. i don't have one yet, but if i did...i'd give it to him.

Pebble321

You don't have much to lose so go back to your MFP goals and reset them, choosing "lose 1/2 pound a week". Eat these cals plus anything you burn from exercise. 1200 is way too low for most people, unless they are very small - and at 5'9", you're not tiny!

frosty73

Here's a great website for messing around with the info:
http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/

(you need to have java installed, and then click on the "start simulator" button in the middle)