Net Cals: Will Someone Please Just Give Me the Right Number?

MandaKayMakesIt
MandaKayMakesIt Posts: 81
in Health and Weight Loss
There is so much frustrating debate around this topic (eating back workout calories, what your net cals should be, etc.) that I'm hoping someone can give me some firm guidance, and not add to my confusion with more inaccurate websites, formulas, and opinions about my calorie intake, etc.

Goal daily cals: 1,900
Weight loss goal: 2 lbs/week
Lifestyle is set to sedentary
I workout for about 45-60 mins 5-6 times/week
I am a 300 lb+ female in my 20's

Again, if I want to lose around 2lbs/week (feasible at my weight), what should my net calories be at approximately? Thanks everyone!!

Replies

  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    Set your MFP settings to maintenance, then subtract 500 cals to get your recommended intake for one pound a week. Subtract 1000 for two pounds a week.

    MFP already does this for you. Also, if you're setting it to sedentary that's fine, but when you do your workouts 5-6 days a week remember MFP did not include that in your goal, so eat most or all of the exercise calories back.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    The site has already made a recommendation.

    You should be eating 1,900 calories a day, plus whatever you "earn" in exercise calories. That should allow you to lose weight at your set pace of 2 pounds a week. Which, as you say, should be a very reasonable goal for you.

    Log your exercise, log your food, and at the end of the day try to make "remaining calories" as close to zero as you can.

    Give it a month, and if you still aren't losing weight c'mon back and we'll start throwing inaccurate websites and opinions about your calorie intake at you. :wink:
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
    I'm a really big proponent of the fat2fitradio.com calculators and use those as my guidelines. Basically the philosophy is slow weight loss is better weight loss in the long term because it ensures that you will lose more fat versus muscle and they generally advise eating at the weight you want to be so that you don't have to fluctuate your calories or your lifestyle you just continue to eat at that calorie level.

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