How many calories am I supposed to eat??

EmmaJean7
EmmaJean7 Posts: 163 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey there!

So I have become very confused on this whole "how many calories" do I eat deal. I would like to lose around 1-2lbs a weak. I am a 5'3 female 21 years old with moderate activity level. My tdee calculator says I burn about 2387 cals a day. My BMR says I need to consume atleast 1544 to be able to survive... and says I need to eat 2316 based on my activity level to maintain. I have gotten all confused with these calculaters and I dont know what to do with all these "results". Are you supposed to eal like 500 less cals than what your BMR says you need to maintain?? I need help sorting out my confusion. How do most of you guys figure out how many cals your body needs to eat to lose weight. I read forums that debated the whole pro 1200 cal thing vs against just eating 1200 cal and I got even more confused haha. Help! :)

Edit: My exercise includes alternating days of doing the couch to 5k running/walk for 30 mins and the 30 day shred about 5-6 days a week

Replies

  • amandapye78
    amandapye78 Posts: 820 Member
    From what I understand you are supposed to eat 20% less than your TDEE. I am at about 200 less than that but I'm happy that way
  • neiljbrady
    neiljbrady Posts: 41 Member
    I am 68 male, active and I eat about 1100 -1200 calories a day. Even when I exercise I still eat the same amount. I have been losing about 2 lbs. a week. I am always full. If I need a snack I usually have an apple or a pear.
  • SergeiKay
    SergeiKay Posts: 90 Member
    EmmaJean7, you can try this if you want:

    Figure out YOUR amount of calories experimentally. Here's how you can do it: start either with the amount of calories you already eat or use a TDEE calculator again - this is the starting point. Figure out macro ratios - 1g of protein per pound of your body weight, 0.25-0.5g of healthy fats per pound of body weight, fill up the rest with carbs to match total calories.

    Example: for simplicity let's take a person whose weight is 100lbs and their TDEE is 1500, and we know that 1g of protein is 4 calories, same for carbs, and 1g of fat is 9 calories.
    They will need 100g of protein a day (400 cals), around 25-50g (let's go with 40g = 360cals) of healthy fats, so we have 1500-(400+360)=740cals of carbs to fill up (740/4 = 185g).

    Then just eat and track your weight consistently. If you gain weight or stay the same, drop the total calories by 200 and recalculate the ratios again. Still not losing weight after 2 weeks? drop another 200, rinse and repeat till you start loosing 1-2 pounds a week!

    Let me know if you need help calculating!
  • sraffel
    sraffel Posts: 66 Member
    I'm 5'2" and 29 years old, and I currently eat 1566 per day. This is about 15% lower than my TDEE. I'm only trying to lose half a pound per week, though. I have read and heard that 15%-20% is the "sweet spot" for maintainable weight loss.

    I know some people do the 1200 calories thing and are successful. I tried this for several months without really knowing any better, and found it was just not enough nutrition for me, and I don't even eat a lot of junk. I still had the energy to do my workouts, but I felt "off." My hair looked thinner, my skin wasn't as nice, I just felt older, and cranky. After a while, I just stayed at the same weight every single week. After bumping up my calories and especially my protein, I felt better instantly. If I have a particularly intense workout day, I will eat up to 1700-1800 calories.

    Anyway, hope you find what works for you! Feel free to add me if you're looking for short girl friends and want to compare diaries.
  • hannahsh96
    hannahsh96 Posts: 1
    I am confused as well. my question is when I log in my activity level and what my work is like, and how much i want to lose/week (1.5lbs) before i start the diet, does it give my calories based on my activity level and how hard i work or can i add in the exercise that i do at work? i.e clean, walk, etc.

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