New and Calorie Intake Question

ianwartist

Hello:

New to the message board! I am a 41 y.o. male who is overweight and started to track my food and diet using myfitnesspal. I have been doing it for several weeks now and have lost a couple of pounds and about 1% bodyfat. I am happy about my successes, but was concerned after reading several places online that 1600 calories is way to little for normal daily maintenance. I don't feel hungry, but am concerned that maybe I am doing some damage to my body in the long haul. I plug in all my numbers (age, height, weight, etc) into the database on here and it gives me a number (1640) so that is what I have been following. But, is this healthy??

Thanks!

Pebble321

Are you exercising?
If so, you should be eating 1640 plus the calories you burn from exercising - then you will have a more reasonable amount to eat.

ianwartist

Thanks for the reply. I do workout, but mostly weight training, which burns fewer calories. I do cardio as well, but only 20 minutes on the stationary bike 2-3 times/week (burning only 100-130 cals/time, according to the automated bike system).

Mommy2Avaj

How many lbs per week did you select to lose when u entered ur info? I found that the 1 pour a week selection is just about my BMR, so that's perfect for me to eat. Seems most people on here say you should eat at or a little above your BMR and below your TDEE. (BMR =Base Metabolic Rate, what ur body burns without any movement at all). (TDEE = Typical Daily Energy Expenditure, what ur body burn during a normal day without exercise.) Use the Tools section on this site to figure your BMR. Your TDEE is your BMR times 15%.