CONFUSED!!!! Calories, Carbs,ect.. (HELP!!!!)

MrsChay

Hi all fittness pal has set my calories to 2090 and I wanted to ask does that seems like a lot because I have a hard time eating all them in a day and I dont know much about calories and carbs counting and I dont know how to lower them or if I should lower them.HELP!

DerDude

Hey MrsChay,

don´t give you to much pressure. I think you´re not that long on MFP? So, first log your food into the diary. Day by day you will see what you eat and what it happens with this cals, carbs, protein
If MFP told you to go on a 2090 calorie limit than just do it. You look like a "strong" person so you can´t give your body a 1200 cal diet at first! That wont work!
Try it for two month and take a look what happens. You will learn all about that and in a few month you will not even think about become panik because of cals and carbs

Pebble321

Exactly this ^^

Don't make it hard on yourself when you have just got started.
One of the things that surprised me when i started with MFP was how much I could eat and still lose weight - there is really no point in depriving yourself when it isn't necessary.

Start out by logging everything you are eating and then slowly start making changes to your meals and snacks to include healthier choices and reasonable portion sizes. Don't feel you have to survive on "diet" food - you have enough calories to be eating really good healthy food without having to go to low-cal or low-fat or low-sugar everything.
Don't worry about carbs at this stage - unles your doctor has specifically told you to do so. Otherwise, start out by getting the calories under control, there is plenty of time to worry about the details of carbs etc later on if it is necessary.

Fit in whatever exercise you can do and you enjoy - and make sure you have a rest day in there too.

Go for it!

bathsheba_c

It's definitely on the higher end of what the site generally recommends. That could be a function of any number of things, including being unusually tall, or having a job requiring a lot of physical activity, or just having a lot of weight to lose. So here's a basic explanation of calorie counting, followed by some things to consider:

Calorie counting is essentially a function of two numbers: BMR and TDEE. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is how many calories you burn each day. BMR (basal metabolic rate) is how many calories your body needs each day just to stay alive. To lose weight consistently, you need to eat fewer calories than your TDEE, but not lower than your BMR.

What the website does is calculate your TDEE minus calories from exercise. As you exercise, it adds those calories back in. That number is your goal each day. This is smart, since a lot of people here are changing their exercise habits as well, and this eliminates the temptation to say "Well, just because I've never successfully done it doesn't mean I won't go to the gym every day THIS week" and then overeat.

Now, obviously, TDEE is higher than BMR. How quickly someone can lose weight safely is a function of how big that difference is. For example, to lose 1 lb a week, a person needs to eat 500 calories less than their TDEE each week. To lose 2 lbs, they need to eat 1,000 calories under. In general, the more overweight a person is, the larger that gap is, and the more quickly they can safely lose weight.

So now here is your list of things to consider, since you find your calorie limit high:
1. Would you be okay upping your weekly weight loss goals?
2. Did you overestimate your activity level when giving MFP that information?
3. Is it possible that your weight issues are related to a thyroid condition, which means that MFP is overestimating your metabolic rate?

In general, as long as you are getting sufficient nutrition, you don't have to eat all your calories if you're not hungry. As you get closer to goal weight, however, being close to your target will become more important.

firemedicjoe26

Ultimately it depends on what your weight and activety level is if you live a lazy lifestyle then yes 2090 is probably a little high if you are active then that will probably be enough. If you workout at least once a day 4 days a week then you activity level should be moderately active not very active. As far as the carbs go if you do alot of cardiovascular exercise your body needs carbs to have energy Carbs are the primary source of energy in the body however unused carbs are stored by the body as fat, Protein is used to build lean muscle and everyone need that because it speeds metabolism. Although there is a lot of science behind nutrition basic nutrition can be easy and simplified there is a lot of information available in health magazines such as women's/men's health, runner's world and other health magazines check them out also your local library will have books on nutrition that are worth checking out. Good luck in your Journey

amy1612

Keep them as they are set and log everything properly. Get used to counting calories in things and what a portion size should be.

I am in no way trying to be offensive here, but if you are quite overweight, theres a large chance that you have been eating a lot more calories than you need/think, probably without realising. It surprises a lot of people when they discover how many calories are in certain things, like a tortilla wrap has around 170. If you have a couple of those as fajitas, with meat, cheese, etc, it starts mounting up quite quickly.

If you feel like you're struggling at getting in 2090 try eating less and see if you still lose weight/it helps . 2090 is QUITE a lot, and as you lose weight the amoutn of calories you need will go down anyway. Good luck

Krazy_Kat

MPF put my calorie count at just over 2000 and I am going to follow it along to see how it goes. I haven't been doing it long so I can't say too much. I am just counting calories at the moment