Ready to rip my hair out.

emilybackway
emilybackway Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Im beyond fustrated with how many calories I actually should be eating to get a healthy weight loss of a pound a week, I exercise 6 days a week, cardio and strength and yoga and I burn at most 300 calories. Ive been doing research and I got my bmr and did all the calculations and it says I can still lose on 1800 calories a day, I find that so hard to believe plus I can barely get to 1500 a day. Im 5'2, 120 pounds and Im 19 years old, can someone PLEASE give me some guidance.

Replies

  • lovelyMYlovely
    lovelyMYlovely Posts: 1,066 Member
    so are u trying to lose or gain weight? its good that u cant get up to 1500 calories right?.... why do you want to get to 1800? im confused more detail and i can help
  • Cese27
    Cese27 Posts: 626 Member
    so are u trying to lose or gain weight? its good that u cant get up to 1500 calories right?.... why do you want to get to 1800? im confused more detail and i can help
    This^^ depends on what you're trying to do
  • helloburger
    helloburger Posts: 243 Member
    she did say weight loss...

    also why not use mfp settings? im 5"1 121 lbs and im on 1200 cals
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Let me assume you're trying to lose weight and trying to eat enough calories to keep yourself healthy while you exercise a lot and burn lots of calories.

    Add in things that cultures build diets around because they are calorie dense:

    rice, bread, potatoes, beans, lentils
    figs, dates
    butter, cheese, yoghurt
    grains

    A glass of orange juice or whole milk and two slices of toast with butter will add 500 calories to your day. If you can't get up to the number of calories you should be eating, then you aren't trying hard enough.
  • DonnaLeeCattes
    DonnaLeeCattes Posts: 492 Member
    so are u trying to lose or gain weight? its good that u cant get up to 1500 calories right?.... why do you want to get to 1800? im confused more detail and i can help


    She says a health weight lose.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    so are u trying to lose or gain weight? its good that u cant get up to 1500 calories right?.... why do you want to get to 1800? im confused more detail and i can help
    Well she said weight loss so I think she is trying to lose weight. But that might be misunderstanding from my part
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
    At your starting weight, I think it would be difficult if not impossible for you to lose a pound a week in any sort of healthy way. Where did you get the 1800 figure, that seems high for someone your age and size unless you are putting your activity level at very active. Using the fat2fitradio calculator I get a TDEE of 2380 for very active, which is defined as hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week. Does that describe you? If not, then you probably need to go with a lower number for the TDEE and then subtract from there.

    You also might want to think about setting a body fat percentage goal rather than a scale goal. You are already at a healthy weight. A scale goal may just leave your frustrated and push you toward unhealthy habits, while a body fat percentage goal would allow you to work on overall fitness rather than an arbitrary number on a scale.
  • lovelyMYlovely
    lovelyMYlovely Posts: 1,066 Member
    ok ok because I am on a 1200 claorie diet and feel like that is kind or hard for me to do but do-able... I am positive about this experience hope all goes well
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    very easily...

    2 tbsp peanut butter on your toast or in your oatmeal or in a shake = 190 extra calories

    veggies --add 1 oz of cheese to your salad or cooked veggies = 100 extra calories

    snack--have nuts with your veg or fruit. 1 oz = 160 extra calories

    Grand total without making you STUFFED..is an EXTRA 450 calories.

    You're welcome. :flowerforyou:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Based on your activity levels, 1,800 sounds about right to lose on (assuming it includes exercise).

    To get your calories up try for example

    - not having low fat anything
    - glass of milk
    - nuts and nut butters
    - cheese
    - eggs
    - avocados
    - protein drink
    - adding butter/oil/dressing
    - ice-cream
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
    Use MFP's guide to establish your goals? I'm 5'1, 126 pounds, losing at 1/2 pound per week, and I'm on 1300 calories per day. Give it a try.
  • rawhidenadz
    rawhidenadz Posts: 254 Member
    You'll probably lose eating higher than 1200, but 1800 might be a little high for you considering you're not overweight to begin with. Try it and see, is my suggestion.
  • NocturnalGirl
    NocturnalGirl Posts: 1,762
    There's this guide someone made on here that might help you:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Good luck!
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
    Oh! And try not to overestimate your activity level. "Active" is active like a mail deliverer who can walk 3 miles per hour up to 10 or 12 miles a day. "Very Active" is like being a construction worker, a bike courier - someone who is rarely sitting, and probably carries a load or uses several muscle groups for most of the day.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    Oh! And try not to overestimate your activity level. "Active" is active like a mail deliverer who can walk 3 miles per hour up to 10 or 12 miles a day. "Very Active" is like being a construction worker, a bike courier - someone who is rarely sitting, and probably carries a load or uses several muscle groups for most of the day.

    However, I've found these to be a load of nonsense. I'm a teacher (5'5", 127lb or so) and so I thought I should be the same as a nurse (lightly active), however, I still lose weight at the Maintenance calories of what mfp considers 'very active' (1990kcal), so just because a calculator says it, doesn't make it true for you.

    I wish I'd tried out 1800 rather than 1200. I'd still have lost around 1lb a week, but I suspect I wouldn't have found I was anaemic!
  • emilybackway
    emilybackway Posts: 8 Member
    1200 to 1300 would obviously be too low cause my daily existance requires 1379.1 and I have a moderate activity level, so you would multiply that by 1.55 which gives me 2137.605 which is what I would need to maintain so you would subtract that by 500 which gives me 1637.605 so is that the final number I would need to LOSE weight, Im getting confused cause 100 different websites tell me 900 different things, which ones do I listen to !?

    Thanks for all the help!
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    1200 to 1300 would obviously be too low cause my daily existance requires 1379.1 and I have a moderate activity level, so you would multiply that by 1.55 which gives me 2137.605 which is what I would need to maintain so you would subtract that by 500 which gives me 1637.605 so is that the final number I would need to LOSE weight, Im getting confused cause 100 different websites tell me 900 different things, which ones do I listen to !?

    Thanks for all the help!

    scooby's workshop. google it. go to fitness tools and then to the calorie calculator. select your activity level and a 15% calorie deficit. Eat the amount listed. change your MFP settings to reflect that number. Don't eat back exercise calories.

    Alternatively you could use mfp--set up your profile to 1/2 pound a week (500 calorie deficit is too much for your current weight) and log exercise--eat all calories calculated by MFP ...which includes exercise calories.
  • avir8
    avir8 Posts: 671 Member
    very easily...

    2 tbsp peanut butter on your toast or in your oatmeal or in a shake = 190 extra calories

    veggies --add 1 oz of cheese to your salad or cooked veggies = 100 extra calories

    snack--have nuts with your veg or fruit. 1 oz = 160 extra calories

    Grand total without making you STUFFED..is an EXTRA 450 calories.

    You're welcome. :flowerforyou:

    Yay thx for the great ideas :drinker:
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
    1200 to 1300 would obviously be too low cause my daily existance requires 1379.1 and I have a moderate activity level, so you would multiply that by 1.55 which gives me 2137.605 which is what I would need to maintain so you would subtract that by 500 which gives me 1637.605 so is that the final number I would need to LOSE weight, Im getting confused cause 100 different websites tell me 900 different things, which ones do I listen to !?

    Thanks for all the help!

    There are a bunch of different methods that should lead to the same result.

    You can include exercise when you select your activity level. This works best if you do a similar amount of exercise every day. Subtract 500 calories from that number.

    You can NOT include exercise in your activity level and base it only on non-exercise activities. This works better if you don't exercise every day or are sedentary except for exercise. Eat 500 calories less than this number on non-exercise days. Log exercise you do and eat those calories back on exercise days.

    That's the mathematics of it. However, you still may not be able to lose a pound a week. You are already at a healthy weight. If you are eating healthy and exercising and not losing, you may be at the weight you are meant to be at. This doesn't mean you can't change what your body looks like. You can certainly become more fit and/or look more toned, but you don't necessarily have to lose weight to do that. Check out the pictures at mybodygallery.com -- bodies can look very different even at the same height/weight. I know I"m repeating myself, but have you considered setting a body fat percentage goal instead of a weight goal? It might suit your purposes better.

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
  • Tyrone_S
    Tyrone_S Posts: 94 Member
    You also might want to think about setting a body fat percentage goal rather than a scale goal. You are already at a healthy weight. A scale goal may just leave your frustrated and push you toward unhealthy habits, while a body fat percentage goal would allow you to work on overall fitness rather than an arbitrary number on a scale.

    Agree with this, at your weight body composition becomes more relevant. Tracking your scale weight won't give you the full picture, what is actually important is how much fat you are losing.

    Also agree with the guy who suggested the scoobysworkshop.com calculator, that one is good. There is also a good one at iifym.com.

    Personally I enter my activity as pretty much zero to work out my ideal net calorie intake. I enter that into MFP and then I log and eat back my exercise calories so that I hit my net. The other approach is to calculate your intake by including your activity levels, but then don't bother logging and eating back exercise calories.
  • JosephVitte
    JosephVitte Posts: 2,039
    By the looks of things, your doing very well, don't beat yourself up over this. enjoy life, enjoy your workouts, relax........
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    My TDEE - 20% is a whopping 2000 calories. I was eating this many and losing 2lbs per month. So, something's not right. I dropped to 1700 and still was not losing even a pound a week. Yes, I was measuring my food and tracking every single bite for you doubters. I finally dropped to 1400 cals and am finally losing about 2lbs a week. I have a lot to lose, so my doctor has approved this amount for me even though my BMR is 1960.

    Those calculations didn't work for me, so I doubt they apply to everyone. You just have to figure out how much you can eat and still lose and stick to that amount.
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    My TDEE - 20% is a whopping 2000 calories. I was eating this many and losing 2lbs per month. So, something's not right. I dropped to 1700 and still was not losing even a pound a week. Yes, I was measuring my food and tracking every single bite for you doubters. I finally dropped to 1400 cals and am finally losing about 2lbs a week. I have a lot to lose, so my doctor has approved this amount for me even though my BMR is 1960.

    Those calculations didn't work for me, so I doubt they apply to everyone. You just have to figure out how much you can eat and still lose and stick to that amount.

    2500 - 20% is 2000. That's a 500 calorie deficit. If you're currently eating 1400 calories and losing 2 pounds a week then your TDEE is roughly 2400. Not so far from the estimated 2500 you used in the first place.
  • emilybackway
    emilybackway Posts: 8 Member
    Lmao, yeah Im still so confused.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    1200 to 1300 would obviously be too low cause my daily existance requires 1379.1 and I have a moderate activity level, so you would multiply that by 1.55 which gives me 2137.605 which is what I would need to maintain so you would subtract that by 500 which gives me 1637.605 so is that the final number I would need to LOSE weight, Im getting confused cause 100 different websites tell me 900 different things, which ones do I listen to !?

    Thanks for all the help!

    A lot of these calculators use slightly different inputs. It sounds like 1,600 to 1,700 would be right for you. If after say 4 weeks (to take into account water weight fluctuations) you are finding you are losing slower or faster than expected, tweak up or down by say 100 calories as appropriate.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    At your height and weight, you may want to focus on body composition rather than scale weight as others have mentioned.

    How long are your exercise sessions? The duration can place you between moderate to very active depending on how long and intense they are.

    If you do the TDEE method, and select moderately actively (to be conservative), I get a maintenance amount of 1922 calories if I consider you at 26% body fat with a goal of 0.5 lbs weight loss per week. With that info, it suggests a food intake of 1672, which is a deficit of 250 calories.
  • emilybackway
    emilybackway Posts: 8 Member
    Well on days I go to hot yoga the sessions are an hour, and on off days I do 40 minutes of walking/jogging followed by 20 minutes of strength training and then 1 day where I don't do anything! I'm just confused on whether or not thats light exercise or moderate...
  • helloburger
    helloburger Posts: 243 Member
    have you set your thing to active and also adding the exercise?
  • emilybackway
    emilybackway Posts: 8 Member
    Yessss.
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
    Well on days I go to hot yoga the sessions are an hour, and on off days I do 40 minutes of walking/jogging followed by 20 minutes of strength training and then 1 day where I don't do anything! I'm just confused on whether or not thats light exercise or moderate...

    This sounds more like light exercise to me. If I were you I'd put my activity level at lightly active, then maybe log the extra calories from the yoga.

    Check out this calculator too: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced
    It lets you put in your exact activities in a day and gives a TDEE based on those.

    And again, consider setting a body fat percentage goal rather than a weight loss goal; it will likely get you the results you want more easily and with less frustration about the scale.

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