SIMPLIFIED: How many calories & what kind should you eat?
AliceNov2011
Posts: 471 Member
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/785939-stop-the-low-cal-insanity
This is a good (simplified) post on how many calories we should be eating and how they should be divvied up between protein/fat/carbs. The OP gives a good example:
"Let’s assume our happy dieter is a 200-pound woman. She wants to lose weight down to 140 pounds. She’s reasonably active, and participates in a weight lifting and cardio program. She hopes to lose body fat and “tone” her muscles. (Don’t get me started on that, but whatever.) For this example, we’re going to assume she’s 30% bodyfat. That means she has 60 pounds of fat, and 140 pounds of lean body mass (everything that’s not fat – organs, bones, muscles, connective tissue, etc.) "How many calories does she need just to maintain her muscle mass and get the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat to fuel her body? Let’s find out.
"We’ll assume she needs 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. Some experts recommend more, some less, but it’s a good middle number to work with. She has 140 pounds of LBM, so she needs 140 grams of protein. Eat too much less than this, and you risk losing muscle. Not good. Since 1 gram of protein is 4 calories, she needs 560 calories of protein every day.
"We’ll assume she needs 0.4 grams of fat per pound of target body weight. Again, that number is in some dispute, and many experts say you can get by just fine on less, but I’m going to use it for our example. With a target body weight of 140 pounds, she needs 80 grams of fat per day. Since each gram of fat is 9 calories, that’s 720 calories of fat. Adding this to her required 560 cals of protein yields 1280 calories. That’s right – she’s already over 1200 calories and she hasn’t eaten a single carb yet.
"Now I don’t care how low-carb your diet is. Everybody needs some carbs just to function. Even if we assume a pretty low carb level – let’s say 50 grams a day – at 4 calories a gram, that’s a minimum of 200 extra calories needed for carbs – your fruits, veggies, all that good stuff. So now we’re up to 1480 calories minimum for this lady. Take about 20% off of that, and that gives you a daily goal around 1200. And that’s a minimum number, folks, not a maximum.
"I’ve simplified this quite a bit, and done an end run around computing TDEE and going from there, but you get the point. Anyone eating 700 or 900 calories can’t possibly be getting enough fuel unless you’re 3 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds or something. If you want a more detailed explanation of how all this works, I highly recommend the following article from our own Steve Troutman: http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/ "
P.S. Feel free to ignore the nasty comments on the thread. I was just pointing out the easy example for calculating calorie & nutrition intake.
This is a good (simplified) post on how many calories we should be eating and how they should be divvied up between protein/fat/carbs. The OP gives a good example:
"Let’s assume our happy dieter is a 200-pound woman. She wants to lose weight down to 140 pounds. She’s reasonably active, and participates in a weight lifting and cardio program. She hopes to lose body fat and “tone” her muscles. (Don’t get me started on that, but whatever.) For this example, we’re going to assume she’s 30% bodyfat. That means she has 60 pounds of fat, and 140 pounds of lean body mass (everything that’s not fat – organs, bones, muscles, connective tissue, etc.) "How many calories does she need just to maintain her muscle mass and get the right amount of carbs, protein, and fat to fuel her body? Let’s find out.
"We’ll assume she needs 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass. Some experts recommend more, some less, but it’s a good middle number to work with. She has 140 pounds of LBM, so she needs 140 grams of protein. Eat too much less than this, and you risk losing muscle. Not good. Since 1 gram of protein is 4 calories, she needs 560 calories of protein every day.
"We’ll assume she needs 0.4 grams of fat per pound of target body weight. Again, that number is in some dispute, and many experts say you can get by just fine on less, but I’m going to use it for our example. With a target body weight of 140 pounds, she needs 80 grams of fat per day. Since each gram of fat is 9 calories, that’s 720 calories of fat. Adding this to her required 560 cals of protein yields 1280 calories. That’s right – she’s already over 1200 calories and she hasn’t eaten a single carb yet.
"Now I don’t care how low-carb your diet is. Everybody needs some carbs just to function. Even if we assume a pretty low carb level – let’s say 50 grams a day – at 4 calories a gram, that’s a minimum of 200 extra calories needed for carbs – your fruits, veggies, all that good stuff. So now we’re up to 1480 calories minimum for this lady. Take about 20% off of that, and that gives you a daily goal around 1200. And that’s a minimum number, folks, not a maximum.
"I’ve simplified this quite a bit, and done an end run around computing TDEE and going from there, but you get the point. Anyone eating 700 or 900 calories can’t possibly be getting enough fuel unless you’re 3 feet tall and weigh 75 pounds or something. If you want a more detailed explanation of how all this works, I highly recommend the following article from our own Steve Troutman: http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/ "
P.S. Feel free to ignore the nasty comments on the thread. I was just pointing out the easy example for calculating calorie & nutrition intake.
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I have read so many posts that CALCULATE how many calories each of us needs. The calculations are averages -- and in real life each of us deviates from the average by large amounts. In real life, there are many variables that affect how many calories our bodies need each day. The effects of these variables has actually been measured and is available in the literature!!!
First, there is only ONE way to accurately measure BMR - the base number of calories one's body actually needs each day. That way is called respirometry -- and it is measured by putting the person into a closed chamber and measuring how much oxygen they consume and how much carbon dioxide they respire. Furthermore, by looking at the ratio of VO2 (volume of oxygen consumed) to VCO2 (volume of carbon dioxide created), the researchers can even measure how efficient one's body is at burning fat vs. burning carbohydrates.
So here are the results -- which I quote after reading the literature!!!
Individuals vary in their BMR by large amounts. BMR depends on (a) your fat body mass, (b) your lean body mass (ratio fat body mass/lean body mass is calculated using the volume of your body, measured via water displacement in a pool), (c) your age, (d) your sex, (e) whether you have a pear or an apple shape (ratio of waist circumference to thigh circumference is the way researchers measure this). Furthermore, even after factoring all these things into the BMRs measured by having the subject spend 24 hours in a respiratory chamber, even after that, individual BMRs vary by approximately 10%.
As people get older, they become less able to metabolize fat (i.e. their respiratory quotient, RQ = VCO2/VO2, increases). Also, as people get older, their BMR decreases. Which explains why people gain fat as they get older, and why it really IS harder to lose weight as you age. Yes, ladies, it IS true that older women have lower caloric needs than younger women of the same height and weight and exercise level!!!
RTL folks!!! It's all there for your understanding. Please quit believing all the minimum calorie stuff that has become folklore on mfp.
OK - and if you really want to know what YOUR daily caloric needs are, TDEE, it's really SIMPLE. Write down everything --- absolutely everything -- that you eat for one month. Weigh yourself at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month. Your daily caloric needs are then computed by
Daily calories needed by your body = [Total calories consumed during the month + 3500*(# pounds lost)]/Number_of_days_in_the_month.
Note that there are no adjustments for exercise here! You are just going to assume that whatever exercise you do is part of your daily routine, and that your daily routine is not going to change. So you are calculating what you need to eat, if you continue doing whatever you are now doing each day, in order to maintain your current weight.
I sincerely hope that you will figure this out for your own body, instead of listening to the prophets of MFP. It's what I am doing for myself during November. Note that I do not need to adjust my diet in any way, and I can pig out during Thanksgiving if I want to. If I write it all down, and weigh myself at beginning and end, I will figure out my TDEE pretty accurately.
And I really want to know my TDEE, because I will need it when I begin maintenance. I know that I will probably be screwed if I rely on MFP to calculate this for me. I am 99% positive that mfp is going to overestimate the maintenance calories needed by this 71-yr-old 6' tall woman. But we'll see! And I will tell you what the results are.
[11:36AM -- I edited out my frustration and allusions to swear words to satisfy the totally reasonable request of our moderator.]0 -
@amflautist -- I appreciate passion, but I hope you're not as angry as you sound.
Did I miss something? Was BMR mentioned at all in that post?
We've had conversations here before (in the week we've been up) about general guidelines for setting goals for calories and macros. Short of people running spreadsheets -- which I do, but many cannot or will not -- I found this post to be a good, easy way to start.
I'll be really grateful if we keep our posts civil. This group began, in part, to get away from all the vitriol.
Cheers,
Alice0 -
Your TDEE is the sum of your BMR plus the exercise calories you need for moving around each day. That is why I addressed BMR.
Furthermore, the research on BMR is relevant, because it tells us that each of us has BMR rates, and therefore TDEE needs, that depend on a much larger number of factors than the ones used by MFP in its computations. The research on BMR tells us that our bodies are different, that each of us has a different and individual metabolism -- and that therefore the calculations done by MFP are not god-given.
In particular, the notion that 1200 calories/day is the minimum for everyone is the single piece of folklore that I myself violate, the piece of folklore that I am frequently admonished for, and therefore the folklore that I personally find offensive.0 -
Sorry ladies - if I could, I would delete both of the above posts. I simply wish that people would stop telling me what to eat and how much to eat. Makes me see red.0
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Sorry ladies - if I could, I would delete both of the above posts. I simply wish that people would stop telling me what to eat and how much to eat. Makes me see red.
I don't recall anyone telling you how to eat? It was ANOTHER way to calculate the calories you need in order to get proper nutrition for weight loss. It's a suggestion - if you found something that works for you, I think that's great! As I quickly discovered, not everything works for everybody.
I've been around a little longer than you and have pretty much tried everything. I had my BMR tested via some sort of breathing apparatus that took about 45 min (because really? Who's going to take the time to do it for 24 hours?). Is it the perfect number? Probably not but I'm using it as a guide. I tried the Eat More group only to gain 9 lbs back! I recently went back to MFP basics - 1/2 lb week (slightly above my BMR) eating all exercise cals back. It's been two months and I'm anywhere from 3-5 lbs down again depending on the day. I also bought a fitbit to see what my daily expenditure is. My sneaking suspicion is that because of my age (47 next week) my hormones are working against me.
If it really were calories in vs calories out, nobody would have any trouble losing weight! The numbers would all work the way they say it will - if every day were like today .... I'd have been 125lbs last year! That's why I'm always open to different suggestions on ways to calculate calories. Something is bound to work - I just haven't found it yet
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I've been around a little longer than you [...]. 0
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Sooooo...... does this mean no lunch?? :huh:0
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I think for most of us, moderation plus regular exercise and strength training is the key. It's much harder to lose the weight after 40, 50, etc. Our focus needs to be on living a healthy lifestyle within our busy lives, not micromanaging numbers or shelling out precious household funds for medical tests not covered by insurance. Find what works for you and fits into your iifestyle. You'll have some hit/miss, but the key is to stay positive and happy, never feeling like a failure if you didn't hit an exercise or weight loss goal one week or month.0
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I've been around a little longer than you [...].
I guess I should have clarified the MFP part, eh? :laugh:0 -
Makes my head spin. I am just too lazy to try to figure out BMI or TDEE or BMR... too dang complicated. I didn't join MFP to do math. I joined for an easy way to track sodium levels. I don't believe half the stuff I read on MFP either. Lots of misinformation on the message boards. "Moderation plus regular exercise" is a good quote. I just eat simple/clean/healthy, keep my sodium intake low, and try to get some exercise now and then. I've lost over 40 lbs now and still losing.0
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