Confused about calorie intake?

aeros88

Can somebody answer some questions about calorie intake?

My BMR is 2,618 and my TDEE is 4,607 so my calorie intake should be what? I've read that it's TDEE - 20% = Calorie intake but that comes out to 3685.6 which seems awfully high and MFP recommends 2,290.

Also, why would I eat my "exercise calories"? Wouldn't this be the same as not exercising in the first place?

I'm a 24yo male, 340lbs, 6' 3" and attempting to lose 2-2.5lbs /wk (exercise 3-5 times per week at -500 cals each).

Mads1997

Honestly I would go with what MFP says. If you can eat healthy and feel good on lesser Cals do it.

The way MFP is set up is that it already creates a deficit in your calorie allowance based on the stats you entered. So if you exercise and don't eat them back you are creating a further deficit which may not be healthy for you.

Madholm

You can always loose more by lowering calories with exercise. The recommendation is based on losing 2 lb per week excluding exercise; through calorie counting alone.

Eating exercise calories for me is usually = night at the pub. You don't 'have' to eat exercise calories; you will lose weight faster if you don't.

aeros88

Thanks for the replies. I went back to MFP's recommendation (2,260/day). I managed to eat about 1,700 calories and felt fine (a little hungry here and there so I picked up a low fat yogurt or fruit) and burned 635 calories. That's pretty low, but it felt nice to be a little hungry sometimes than bloated and filled to the brim.

The new hurdle I'm finding is how "feelings" affect how much I eat. I was stressed and frustrated with work yesterday and I noticed that hungry feeling went away quick. Is this because of how I felt or because my body just needed something to distract it?

wahmx3

You don't want to lose weight too fast and it is important to eat enough, above your bmr. The importance of exercising is to build muscle and help you lose fat, muscle burns calories at a faster rate than fat alone and you will have a healthier, more toned body. Exercise will help you look slimmer rather than dieting alone.

Honestly I would go with what MFP says. If you can eat healthy and feel good on lesser Cals do it.

The way MFP is set up is that it already creates a deficit in your calorie allowance based on the stats you entered. So if you exercise and don't eat them back you are creating a further deficit which may not be healthy for you.