Trying to figure out the correct amount of calories to eat?!

Ohsilentheart
Ohsilentheart Posts: 24 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know this has been asked a thousand times, but I feel like I always get a different answer!

MFP has my calories needed to 1,500, without exercise. I burn 400-500 calories a day 6-7 days a week & usually try to eat back my exercise calories. My issue is that I'm not seeing any weight loss? I definitely slip up sometimes, but I'm generally pretty good about stuff. I've tried figuring out TDEE & all that, but I'm terrible with numbers. Can someone help me figure out if I need to up my calories? Thank you!

Replies

  • frood
    frood Posts: 295 Member
    Try this calculator: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Then, once you have your TDEE, subtract about 20% from that to create a deficit, and you're all set.
  • Ohsilentheart
    Ohsilentheart Posts: 24 Member
    It says it should be 2599. Is that with my exercise calories counted in, too??
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    How are you calculating calorie burns? MFP & machines are using "Guesstimates" .... sometimes these numbers are grossly exaggerated. A heart rate monitor should be more accurate (height, weight, age, gender, AND exertion level are all factors).

    Try stepping down the calories you eat back ..... to say 2/3 .... see if this gets things rolling.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    My tdee is 1293 - 20% = 1044 calories a day.
  • Stormborn25
    Stormborn25 Posts: 18
    How long have you been logging for? It takes time :)

    What's your age, height and weight? We need to know this to do some math.


    Basically you can work out your BMR (base metabolic weight) with something like http://www.calculator.org/calculate-online/health-fitness/basal-metabolic-rate.aspx

    I'm 5"4, 132 pounds and 25 so my BMR is 1400 cals - this is what my body burns each day to just keep me alive. Yey body!

    Then you times that by an activity level to get your TDEE. For me I times by 1.5 (moderate exercise 3 - 5 times a week), this is a bit conservative/realistic = 2100.

    Then I want to lose weight, so I create a deficit of between 10 - 25 %. At 20%= about 1600 cals per day and I DON'T eat my exercise cals, because I've already factored them in. UNLESS (the big unless) my NET is going to be less than 1400 cals, because then I'm eating below my BMR. E.G. If I burn 500 cals in a workout, and eat 1600, 1600 - 500 = 1100 net, less than my body needs to keep me alive. So I'll eat 300 exercise cals to hit my BMR.

    Remember as you lose weight your BMR will decrease (if I was 5kg lighter it would be about 1300 cals) so you need to keep recalculating.


    MFP throws a bit of a spanner in the above, because it doesn't factor in your exercise cals to your activity level. So most people are at a sedentary level (BMR x 1.2) + their exercise cals. So lets do the above like that too:

    BMR = 1400 x 1.2 (Desk job!) = TDEE = 1600.
    Creating a deficit there of 20% = 1280 cals. If I didn't do any exercise and ate this I would still lose weight at the same rate as above. But I know from doing that I'd be STARVING. So then I'd add and eat my exercise cals on any given day too :)


    Things to think about if you feel like your doing the above correctly and not getting results:
    - Are you accurately logging all your food and exercise (I'm talking weighing everything and HRMing correctly) estimates screw us all over
    - Have you given it enough time. You might not lose weight every week, but over a couple of months the change is noticeable
    - Scales are B.S. are you taking your measurements and your photos too? often these are much better trackers of changes in your body than stupid numbers!
  • Stormborn25
    Stormborn25 Posts: 18
    It says it should be 2599. Is that with my exercise calories counted in, too??

    Yes that's counting exercise cals, so if your TDEE is 2600 - then you create a deficit (say a 20% one) = about 2000 cals en totale i.e. WITHOUT eating your exercise calories back as they have already been accounted for. If you do this accurately and the TDEE is correct you will lose weight :) If you are not losing weight your TDEE may be too high, or you may not be logging accurately - in which case just adjust :)
  • frood
    frood Posts: 295 Member
    It says it should be 2599. Is that with my exercise calories counted in, too??

    Yep, that's where the options for activity level come in. That means you need 2599 calories to maintain your weight given your level of exercise.

    Also, +1 Stormborn25's post.
  • Stormborn25
    Stormborn25 Posts: 18
    My tdee is 1293 - 20% = 1044 calories a day.

    That is an exceptionally low TDEE - are you really short? Or potentially is it your BMR rather?
  • Ohsilentheart
    Ohsilentheart Posts: 24 Member
    I've been logging steadily for about a month, but I've been using MFP on & off over the last two years.

    I'm 155, 5'5" & 25.

    I'm considering getting a heart rate monitor so I can be accurate in my numbers, but I'm not understanding how you can figure out how many calories you've burned from a HRM?
  • Stormborn25
    Stormborn25 Posts: 18
    I've been logging steadily for about a month, but I've been using MFP on & off over the last two years.

    I'm 155, 5'5" & 25.

    I'm considering getting a heart rate monitor so I can be accurate in my numbers, but I'm not understanding how you can figure out how many calories you've burned from a HRM?

    Most HRM's will just tell you the calories burned - but they are only good for cardio :)

    Ok I'm going to math you too

    So your BMR is 1500.

    Times for your TDEE:
    1500 x 1.2 = 1800 (sedentary)
    1500 x 1.5 = 2250 (moderate)
    1500 x 1.7 = 2500 (hard core) :)

    Create a deficit
    1800 x 0.8 (20% deficit) = 1440 (if you're going to do this eat your exercise cals too)
    2250 X 0.8 = 1800
    2500 x 0.8 = 2000

    I would be inclined to start in the middle slot. 1800 cals without eating your exercise calories. So that's a couple hundred calories less than you're eating now. And then yeah just accurate as possible :)
  • Ohsilentheart
    Ohsilentheart Posts: 24 Member
    So I should put my calories as 1,800 & eat that, no matter how much exercise I do or don't do?
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
    So I should put my calories as 1,800 & eat that, no matter how much exercise I do or don't do?
    TDEE accounts for exercise. So no, you would not eat back exercise calories.

    Here are some helpful links to figure out what you should be eating to maximize fat loss while preserving lean muscle:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    https://docs.google.com/a/slickdeals.net/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    So I should put my calories as 1,800 & eat that, no matter how much exercise I do or don't do?

    If your TDEE is 2600, eating at 1800 is a pretty honkin' big deficit. You don't have much you want to lose. Aim for 10-20% below TDEE, not 30% below. You don't have enough excess body fat to support a large deficit.
  • rebelate
    rebelate Posts: 218 Member
    I'm so confused by this. MFP keeps telling me to kick it at 1,200 calories and that doesn't seem like nearly enough.

    WAAH.
  • Stormborn25
    Stormborn25 Posts: 18
    So I should put my calories as 1,800 & eat that, no matter how much exercise I do or don't do?

    If your TDEE is 2600, eating at 1800 is a pretty honkin' big deficit. You don't have much you want to lose. Aim for 10-20% below TDEE, not 30% below. You don't have enough excess body fat to support a large deficit.

    1880 was suggested if her TDEE is 2250 = a 20% deficit. I don't think her TDEE is 2600, otherwise she's been eating at a 30% deficit with no loss for a month.

    It's obviously a case of adjustment if she starts losing too fast and ensuring accurate logging as well :flowerforyou:
  • Ohsilentheart
    Ohsilentheart Posts: 24 Member
    I just weighed myself & I... have lost NO WEIGHT.

    What am I doing wrong here?!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I just weighed myself & I... have lost NO WEIGHT.

    What am I doing wrong here?!

    Well, if you're on the east coast and just weighed yourself at 6:30 pm, you're also weighing every bit of food and drink you've consumed today and not yet expelled from your body.

    For better consistency, weigh yourself first thing in the morning, without clothes, after going to the bathroom.

    With the amount of weight you have to lose, progress WILL be slow. Probably about a half pound a week, and that's ideal. Scales, even ones that have decimal points, aren't always sensitive enough to show that slight of a change... I know my digital one has a two pound "memory" and will show the same weight unless it's two pounds more or less than it was the last time I weighed. It's supposed to do that so it doesn't show ever minor fluctuation, but it's frustrating if you want to see the number go down. I have to get on the scale holding a couple of full shampoo bottles or a cat or something to "erase" the last weight.

    And most of all, track your progress through other ways. Fitness goals, measurements, how clothes fit, and photos are much better than the scale. There's been loads of people who've dropped a pants size without losing a pound.
  • sprinkels29
    sprinkels29 Posts: 46
    Heybales is amazing:
    Weight Loss Calculator spreadsheet for BMR/TDEE deficit methods, HRM info, macro setup, MFP tweaking, all to maximize deficit and benefit of exercise done:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE

    Description of spreadsheet:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/813720-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-deficit-macro-calcs-hrm-zones


    That is all what he has done, plug everything in by the MINUTES and it helps. Also looking through your dairy I see processed food and sugar. That might be something to look into. Like many people say 70%of this is in the kitchen. I've thrown my scale out, (well I haven't had one but I'm not buying one!) and when I go to the gym I avoid one. I want to feel better and I want my clothes to fit better weight lifting and eating better is doing that for me!
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
    My tdee is 1293 - 20% = 1044 calories a day.

    Are you sure 1293 isn't your BMR? It sounds low for TDEE..
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    My tdee is 1293 - 20% = 1044 calories a day.

    Are you sure 1293 isn't your BMR? It sounds low for TDEE..

    She's 65 years old and 104 pounds. And as close to her goal as she is, a 20% cut would a pretty heavy deficit.
  • ashleighlive
    ashleighlive Posts: 43 Member
    Dear, I know it can be frustrating, and usually trying for the first time, you get a lot of weight which is a great motivator... until you plateau. But not losing on the first attempt is annoying!
    I use my RESTING BMR. Which for me is 1569, I am taller & weigh more.
    I eat 1200 calories through the week and 1700 calories on a weekend, I see a Dietician and she advised me to cycle up and down one week at 1200 the other at 1700, but personally I cannot eat more than 1200 though the week.
    I do 3 x spin classes a week (50 mins) and burn around 600- 650 calories;
    I do strength training burning 450 calories three days a week.
    Doing this I can lose 1 kg (2.20462 lbs) a week.

    Everyone is different though, BUT I think if you work out your BMR if you have not already, and use that at your base it will be best... always put your level, unless you do something overtly strenuous as the lowest level sedentary so you can create the highest deficit!

    Hope this works :)

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