Still confused about calories

Makoce
Makoce Posts: 938 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was eating 1200 when I wasnt exercising at all. Now, I started 30 day shred. ( day 1 )
I also walk my dog for about 20 minutes after that ( she has a leg injury ).
Every 2 - 3 or so days I will be going to the gym on top of these for about an hour. ( I doubt I will in the beginning of 30ds because of soreness )

So, how many calories should I be eating with this?
Should I eat a different amount depending on what I do?

Also, as long as I exercise and eat under or at budget, will I be fine?
I eat a lot of fruit, a few vegetables here and there ... but some of the other stuff isn't good ( not that its candy or chips or anything, just not necessarily healthy meals ).

I need to figure this out once and for all, haha. Ive had a bunch of people explain it to me, but Im still not completely there on understanding.

Will I still see progress?

You guys are just so helpful I cant help but ask a bunch of questions.

Replies

  • ihavehope2013
    ihavehope2013 Posts: 16
    Im trying to understand all of this myself...Hopefully someone will come along and give us the million dollar answer!
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    First, I would change your 2 pounds a week to .5 or 1 pound loss a week.

    Second, if you're using MFP default settings, you should eat back exercise calories. I don't know your stats but this will give you closer to 1500-1600 or so calories per day. Much more satisfying.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
    If you are not on a medically supervised/recommended diet of 1200 then you probably shouldn't be eating so little.

    You need to figure out what your body's base rate is, what it needs to function at the bare minimum (BMR - basal metabolic rate.) Then you need to crunch some math numbers to discover what your TDEE is (your total daily energy expenditure) or what your body has to have to keep you "maintaining" your weight.

    To do so, checkout this forum post:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Find a good TDEE/BMR calculator online, I used:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    Then start eating at your TDEE minus whatever % deficit you want to lose weight. Some start off at a 20% reduction. It works.

    Good luck
  • Noflexing
    Noflexing Posts: 60 Member
    yes, you will have to find a TDEE calculator use that as a gauge and then test it for yourself. start out one week eating the recommended calories and if you lose weight then those are your numbers. if not i recommend reducing the tdee calculator calories by 150 for a week until you start losing weight.

    so if the calculator says 1700 try that for week one if no weight has been lost then week 2 eat 1550 if theres still no weight loss then go down to 1400 and so on. good luck :)
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    First, I would change your 2 pounds a week to .5 or 1 pound loss a week.

    Second, if you're using MFP default settings, you should eat back exercise calories. I don't know your stats but this will give you closer to 1500-1600 or so calories per day. Much more satisfying.

    I dont really use the stats on the app. I use Calorie Count because I like the pie charts. I have it set to 1lb there.

    I find it hard to eat that much food on lower calorie diets. I find myself not hungry during the day but starving at night before bed.
  • orapronobis
    orapronobis Posts: 460 Member
    Where is your activity level set? Sedentary? Light Activity? Active? You will get lots of different opinions, but this is what works for me: I set my activity level at sedentary. I wear a heart-rate monitor when I exercise and enter the calories burned under the exercise tab. I eat most or all of my exercise calories in addition to the daily 1200 allotment. I don't necessarily worry about the totals from day-to-day. I look at my totals on a weekly basis. So, if I know that I won't have a lot of time for exercise later in the week, or if I have an event that I'm going to where I'll be eating extra calories, I will "save" some of my exercise calories for later in the week. At the end of the week, I am at or very near 8400 net calories for the week. I weigh on Monday morning and start fresh with calculating my calories in and exercise calories out.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1503
    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2330
    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1864
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1503
    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2330
    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1864

    If your BMR is 1500, why are you only eating 1200 calories?

    You have the 1864 right there, that's what you need to eat.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1503
    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2330
    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1864

    If your BMR is 1500, why are you only eating 1200 calories?

    You have the 1864 right there, that's what you need to eat.

    Because Im a noob and that's what my calorie counter said, haha!
    So I need 1864? Why not 1500? I cant eat that much! Haha.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1503
    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2330
    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1864

    If your BMR is 1500, why are you only eating 1200 calories?

    You have the 1864 right there, that's what you need to eat.

    Because Im a noob and that's what my calorie counter said, haha!
    So I need 1864? Why not 1500? I cant eat that much! Haha.

    It's the point where you're not starving but you're still losing weight. Eat some avocado, sour cream, butter, olive oil, a hand ful of peanuts, peanut butter, even a bowl of cereal. Your body needs 1500 just to lay in bed all day, if you're doing any kind of exercise, you need even more then that.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Some say eat 1200 calories and do the exercise. Some say thats not enough for your body because your body will be running on 500 calories.

    Some are telling me 2,000 calories, others are telling me thats too much and I need 1,500.
    Others are telling me 1,500 is the top of low calories.

    Some say eat back your calories from exercise, others say dont.

    So confused what to eat and do!

    If you figure out your TDEE and subtract 20% you do not eat back your calories.

    If you use MFP default settings you do eat back your exercise calories.


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1503
    Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 2330
    Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1864

    If your BMR is 1500, why are you only eating 1200 calories?

    You have the 1864 right there, that's what you need to eat.

    Because Im a noob and that's what my calorie counter said, haha!
    So I need 1864? Why not 1500? I cant eat that much! Haha.

    It's the point where you're not starving but you're still losing weight. Eat some avocado, sour cream, butter, olive oil, a hand ful of peanuts, peanut butter, even a bowl of cereal. Your body needs 1500 just to lay in bed all day, if you're doing any kind of exercise, you need even more then that.

    Ill try~ haha. Ive eaten 1,200 - 1,400 the past 5 days. I hope that doesnt make me gain!


    So with the 1864, do I eat back the calories from exercise or no
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    Ill try~ haha. Ive eaten 1,200 - 1,400 the past 5 days. I hope that doesnt make me gain!


    So with the 1864, do I eat back the calories from exercise or no

    You'll see an initial gain on the scale, which is a lying b!tch anyway. No, you don't eat back your exercise with the 1864.

    Edit: You might want to check into starting a lifting program.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Ill try~ haha. Ive eaten 1,200 - 1,400 the past 5 days. I hope that doesnt make me gain!


    So with the 1864, do I eat back the calories from exercise or no

    You'll see an initial gain on the scale, which is a lying b!tch anyway. No, you don't eat back your exercise with the 1864.

    Edit: You might want to check into starting a lifting program.

    Im not a really active person. The 30DS, walking my dog, the occasional hike, and the gym every other day maxes me out. I dont think I could be a lifer.
  • happyblueskies
    happyblueskies Posts: 8
    hi rachel first off congrats on your amazing accomplishment of losing all that weight. i am in awe and admiration. lol the reason i am sending this msg is just to say that i join you in your oppinion of the scale lying i hav two and none of them give me the right answer lol but i decided to give scales the cold shoulder and only go on my measurements and how my clothes fit me well good luck on your yourney kind regards happy blueskies

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