How many calories a day do you eat?

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Replies

  • petitegreek
    petitegreek Posts: 144 Member
    Use MFP as directed. Go to your goals, and set your weight loss to 1 lbs per week (You've only got about 30 lbs to go, so 1 lb per week is a good rate for you. It will slow down the closer you get to your goal weight). Eat what it gives you to eat. It's worked very well for me and many others. Just be patient and work on being consistent (weigh and measure all your food and try to hit your numbers every day). I, and many others here, started out trying to undereat to lose faster, and it was a disaster for me. I failed miserably. Eating enough but not too much and being consistent with my intake were the keys for success for me.

    Thanks! I had the mindset that eating less would make me lose weight faster. Should I be eating back my exercise calories? I've heard mixed things about this. I normally don't eat back all of them, but some days I do.

    I eat mine back. The way MFP is setup, you're supposed to eat them back. However, MFP tends to overestimate calorie burns, so sometimes people eat 50-75% back instead of all of them to avoid accidentally overeating. It will take a while to figure out what is going to work for you. Anything you try, give it a solid 2-4 weeks of consistent effort before trying something different. Once you find what works, it'll be a lot easier.

    When I log my exercise, I go with what the elliptical says for amount of calories burnt. I don't own a HRM. I usually have no more than two cheat days during the week. My average weight loss is 0.6-1 pound a week (so far).
  • RoseDarrett
    RoseDarrett Posts: 355 Member
    Use MFP as directed. Go to your goals, and set your weight loss to 1 lbs per week (You've only got about 30 lbs to go, so 1 lb per week is a good rate for you. It will slow down the closer you get to your goal weight). Eat what it gives you to eat. It's worked very well for me and many others. Just be patient and work on being consistent (weigh and measure all your food and try to hit your numbers every day). I, and many others here, started out trying to undereat to lose faster, and it was a disaster for me. I failed miserably. Eating enough but not too much and being consistent with my intake were the keys for success for me.

    Thanks! I had the mindset that eating less would make me lose weight faster. Should I be eating back my exercise calories? I've heard mixed things about this. I normally don't eat back all of them, but some days I do.

    This is a very individual choice.I eat some back sometimes,if I'm especially hungry,sometimes I don't.I think you should see how you,figure out what works best for you :)
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    Use MFP as directed. Go to your goals, and set your weight loss to 1 lbs per week (You've only got about 30 lbs to go, so 1 lb per week is a good rate for you. It will slow down the closer you get to your goal weight). Eat what it gives you to eat. It's worked very well for me and many others. Just be patient and work on being consistent (weigh and measure all your food and try to hit your numbers every day). I, and many others here, started out trying to undereat to lose faster, and it was a disaster for me. I failed miserably. Eating enough but not too much and being consistent with my intake were the keys for success for me.

    Thanks! I had the mindset that eating less would make me lose weight faster. Should I be eating back my exercise calories? I've heard mixed things about this. I normally don't eat back all of them, but some days I do.

    I eat mine back. The way MFP is setup, you're supposed to eat them back. However, MFP tends to overestimate calorie burns, so sometimes people eat 50-75% back instead of all of them to avoid accidentally overeating. It will take a while to figure out what is going to work for you. Anything you try, give it a solid 2-4 weeks of consistent effort before trying something different. Once you find what works, it'll be a lot easier.

    When I log my exercise, I go with what the elliptical says for amount of calories burnt. I don't own a HRM. I usually have no more than two cheat days during the week. My average weight loss is 0.6-1 pound a week (so far).

    Machines are pretty bad at estimating calorie burns also, so I'd be wary that those are accurate also. Try eating back about half your exercise calories for now and try to net (total calories eaten minus workout calories >= 1200) at least 1200 calories per day for a few weeks. Just a forewarning, you probably will gain a little weight at first doing this, but be patient and give it a solid month anyway. I gained about 10 lbs when I went back to eating more initially, but that came off really quickly once my body adapted to more food again, and i consistently lost about 1 lb per week afterward and felt amazing.

    Good luck to you! :)
  • kazzsjourney
    kazzsjourney Posts: 674 Member
    1800 cals for me :)
  • kar328
    kar328 Posts: 4,159 Member
    MFP has me at 1730, the In Place of a Road Map thread with the TDEE info puts me at 1904, so I'm trying to get some extra calories in and see what happens.
  • jmcreynolds91
    jmcreynolds91 Posts: 777 Member
    1800 because I am nursing almost exclusively. Just upped it and going to see how this works.
  • hannyz08
    hannyz08 Posts: 31
    I have mine set to about 1600, I was on 1450 but I always felt really deprived, and most days I work out and dont eat the calories back which puts me at about 1450 anyways....that is my theory, at least. I want to get back to 1450 though without feeling like im losing my friggin mind.
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
    IPARM- I eat 16-1700 on workout days and 1400 on rest
  • yvnursechick
    yvnursechick Posts: 94 Member
    1800 cal. set by my doc
  • stines72
    stines72 Posts: 853 Member
    1500-1550 to maintain, via TDEE calculation (IIFYM)
  • treenuh_x
    treenuh_x Posts: 94 Member
    MFP set my calories per day to 1480, so I usually eat between 1200 and 1500. If I eat my nighttime snack of some almonds & dark chocolate, it's closer to 1500. If not, closer to 1200.
  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
    1980 cal a day im following the road map as well
  • heidihorton
    heidihorton Posts: 110 Member
    I see so many people talking about tdee, I'm confused. I started mfp about a year ago and have lost a lot of weight but went to the tdee calculator and it told me a very high number . I currently eat 1200 cals a day ( mfp) calculated. Tdee has me set with a 20 percent def 1820 . If I got over my 1200 a day for any amount of time ( week or so) I gain about 3-5 pounds. So how can I eat 1820 and lose weight? Sorry if this is confusing but I'm lost on this
  • nathan6878
    nathan6878 Posts: 115 Member
    Calories are set to eat are around 1800, but really only eat around 900 to 1000. But I have dropped 25 pounds and have gotten down to my goal weight, but I also credit this to doing this site and also using Weight Watchers Online to!!!
  • heidihorton
    heidihorton Posts: 110 Member
    Calories are set to eat are around 1800, but really only eat around 900 to 1000. But I have dropped 25 pounds and have gotten down to my goal weight, but I also credit this to doing this site and also using Weight Watchers Online to!!!

    Thank Nathan, was wondering if I was missing something here. This works for me changing to something else is scary.. If its not broke I won't fix it :)
  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    1400 and at least half of any exercise cals :)
  • saragregg
    saragregg Posts: 38 Member
    It all depends on the day. If i've done a whole lot of nothing all day; then an intake of 1400 is fine for me(still giving me 500 deficit). When I do insanity work outs then i'm usually about 1800-2000(also still getting 500 for weight loss). I do not believe in starving myself; it's so important to get your food in if you're doing any kind of high level exercises.
    I got my calculations from beachbody. Just find your maintenance and subtract 400-500. But make sure you arn't too low if you're adding exercise. Add me if you like and take a look at my diary. I've just started back, but lost 50 pounds with this method after I had my daughter a few years ago.
  • LavenderBouquet
    LavenderBouquet Posts: 736 Member
    I eat between 1400-1500 most days, MFP had set it to 1200, but I was hungry and lacked energy until I upped it. It didn't seem to affect my progress any.
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    I started MFP in Sept. 2012 at 1200 calories, and moved up to 1350 in early December because I started exercizing more.
    I eat back half of my exercise calories, which average about 300-500 per day.
    A couple days ago, I reverted back to 1200 because I hit a plateau and am frustrated.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    Right now I'm averaging ~1400 which is my BMR.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    I have been eating around 1200 for the past 6 months and am steadily losing 1 pound a week now. I am also 49, 5'6". and just dipped under 190, so I still have a ways to go. I don't eat my exercise cals, because even with moderate exercise 3-4 days a week, I am still considered sedentary. But if I do go over a few cals, I don't sweat it.
  • marykpfist
    marykpfist Posts: 141 Member
    I eat between 1200and 1400. I do not eat. My exercise calories back.
    My TDEE is around 1630. So for me this equals less than a pound a week loss. I'm 5'0", 47, and fairly sedentary.
    YMMV....

    :)
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
    I eat 1740 everyday minimum. Must times its closer to 2000+ cause I eat my exercise calories back. I drop a average of a pound a week. It's not a quick weightloss but I am completely satisfied and its easy to work with as its not really a "diet" at all
  • hannahpark3r
    hannahpark3r Posts: 50 Member
    I have to set as 1500 per day, but I find it hard to eat that much (I'm in recovery from an eating disorder)

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