How many calories do you really need?

melanelson

I am so confused when it comes to knowing how many calories I should actually eat. 10 different websites give me 10 vastly different answers on how many calories I should be consuming and how much exercise I should be getting. My head is spinning by the end of the day. Is it a trial and error process?

fancycupcake

It is not trial and error at all!! There are two very important numbers you need to know - your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which is how much your body burns per day by just doing nothing, and your TDEE (Total Daily Eneergy Expenditure), which is how much your body burns realistically, taking into considerating your activity level.

Read this:

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

and figure out your BMR and TDEE. Eating anywhere in between those two numbers creates a deficit that will help you lose weight. You don't want to go below BMR (which is why people who eat 1200 calories a day on here tend to fail) because not only will you be hungry, which will make you give up much quicker and go back to your old eating habits, but also because your body NEEDS a certain amount of nutrition to stay running properly, and to keep your metabolism at a rate that will ACTUALLY burn calories.

Eating 1200 calories a day for an extended period of time slows down your metabolism, making it harder and harder to lose weight, and making you hungrier and hungrier! Noooo!!

cmriverside

They shouldn't be "vastly" different if you use them honestly.

Almost all of them use one of two calculations, and this site uses a third. They are accepted methods of calorie estimation.

Pick one (I would go with MYfitnespal) and be honest.

Use the site as it is set up. Don't over-think this. Re-evaluate in a month. In the meantime, educate yourself. There are lots of ways to figure your calories. This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't try to be too aggressive when setting your weight-loss Goal here. Keep this in mind when using the tools to set up your goals:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

You are responsible for choosing an accurate activity level. Don't try to speed up the process by choosing "Sedentary" just because it is an option.

Almost no one is Sedentary. If you care for children at home, or go to school or have any type of job, you are not Sedentary. Choose accordingly.

It's easy enough to watch for a month and adjust. That's what we all have to do.

khall86790

Someone sent me this site earlier and it was incredibly useful for me.
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Remove 15-20% from whatever they give you as your overall calories burned per day and that's the amount you want to eat!

fancycupcake

They shouldn't be "vastly" different if you use them honestly.

Almost all of them use one of two calculations, and this site uses a third. They are accepted methods of calorie estimation.

Pick one (I would go with MYfitnespal) and be honest.

Use the site as it is set up. Don't over-think this. Re-evaluate in a month. In the meantime, educate yourself. There are lots of ways to figure your calories. This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't try to be too aggressive when setting your weight-loss Goal here. Keep this in mind when using the tools to set up your goals:

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

You are responsible for choosing an accurate activity level. Don't try to speed up the process by choosing "Sedentary" just because it is an option.

Almost no one is Sedentary. If you care for children at home, or go to school or have any type of job, you are not Sedentary. Choose accordingly.

It's easy enough to watch for a month and adjust. That's what we all have to do.

Interesting take on the weight loss/week depending on how much one has to lose...I think no matter what .5-1 pound per week is best. I need to lose about 50 pounds, but for me to cut out the calories to lose 1.5 calories per week would be going below my BMR, and really only hindering my weight loss. We aren't all built the same - some people might do well losing 1.5 - 2 pounds per week, other need to go at a slower pace.

Just thought I'd give my two cents

alexisu96

IMO it's a educated guess. These calculators are estimates using averages. Start with one and re-evaluate after a month. One thing i did was log a few test days of food i ate before It was around 3000 on some days. If you just started, do a few test log days on your former diet. Take that amount and reduce.