How Do I Determine Calories
lelataylor
Posts: 8
How do I determine how many calories I should be eating every day? I understand I have to eat less calories than I use every day, but how do I determine how many calories I use in a "normal" day? I don't want to eat too little because I don't want my body to think its starving but I'm just not sure how to calculate.
I chose 900 calories to get me started, but this site sends me a message telling me I am eating too few calories.
What do you suggest?
Thank you!
I chose 900 calories to get me started, but this site sends me a message telling me I am eating too few calories.
What do you suggest?
Thank you!
0
Replies
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well the site is right, 900 calories isn't enough, you should be eating AT LEAST 1200.0
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There are a plethora of calorie calculators on the web. If you google it (not sure if we're allowed to post links), you'll find one. Be HONEST- it will ask for your age, your height, your activity level, etc. I think MFP also does something along those lines. It just really depends on so many factors. Definitely google it because 900 is pretty low. If you go from a normal diet (consuming 1500-2000 calories) to something like 900, your body will go into starvation mode. You want to get thin, but you want to be healthy when you do it. If you lose too fast, you'll gain it all back but you also face a LOT of potential health risks. Just be safe, my friend.0
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Look up Helloitsdan's post, In Place of a Roadmap. TONS of great advice to help you get started.
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Caloric intake depends on age, gender, weight, lifestyle (active or sedentary). It's hard to say what you would need to be at without specifics. If you enter in your information into MFP under My Home tab under Goals...it will give you an estimate of the caloric intake you should be at. I can say from information I have learned that 900 is too low for anyone. Below is a link to Health Canada's website and information on caloric intake for you to take a look at. Good luck with your journey.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/1_1_1-eng.php0 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.0 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?0 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?0 -
How do I determine how many calories I should be eating every day? I understand I have to eat less calories than I use every day, but how do I determine how many calories I use in a "normal" day? I don't want to eat too little because I don't want my body to think its starving but I'm just not sure how to calculate.
I chose 900 calories to get me started, but this site sends me a message telling me I am eating too few calories.
What do you suggest?
Thank you!
I think you're likely wayy underestimating your calorie needs. You're absolutely right in that you need to consume less than you use, but I don't think you're taking enough calories in to account for your basic life-functions, known as your BMR. Please take a look at this thread and follow the advice here to determine your calorie targets- it will point you in the right direction!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-120 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.0 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.0 -
Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.
http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
Use that.0 -
OP is the Original Poster. 1200 calories is the mimimum amount of calories that is considered acceptable for a woman losing weight, as determined by the ASCM and generally medically accepted. The normal amount of calories for a woman not trying to lose weight is closer to 2,000 calories, approximately.Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.0 -
I find this website helpful when using the right side calculation (if you have an estimation of your bodyfat %):
http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm0 -
Eat at least 1200, more depending on how active u are 0
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www.fitnessfrog.com
Also, like someone suggested look at the "In Place of a Road Map" post that was written up very nicely by a fellow MFPer. It can be a little overwhelming, but go through it carefully, take in what he says, and follow the steps. It's a wonderful resource and full of awesome information.
Feel free to add me if you want some more help!0 -
OP is the Original Poster. 1200 calories is the mimimum amount of calories that is considered acceptable for a woman losing weight, as determined by the ASCM and generally medically accepted. The normal amount of calories for a woman not trying to lose weight is closer to 2,000 calories, approximately.Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.
Thank you for your help! I did not realize I could eat so much! I know I'm supposed to eat many small portions throughout the day, but I thought it all had to be salad and chicken! One more question, please? I often hear, "don't eat before bed" (for effective weight loss - does it matter when I eat those 1,200 calories?0 -
OP is the Original Poster. 1200 calories is the mimimum amount of calories that is considered acceptable for a woman losing weight, as determined by the ASCM and generally medically accepted. The normal amount of calories for a woman not trying to lose weight is closer to 2,000 calories, approximately.Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.
Thank you for your help! I did not realize I could eat so much! I know I'm supposed to eat many small portions throughout the day, but I thought it all had to be salad and chicken! One more question, please? I often hear, "don't eat before bed" (for effective weight loss - does it matter when I eat those 1,200 calories?
No, it doesn't matter at all. You can eat bigger meals if you like, too, and divide your calories however you wish. If you want to eat before bed and you have calories left to do it- go ahead! It won't hurt your weight loss at all. That's a myth.0 -
Nope, you can eat whenever you want. I often eat before bed (oh, and I skip breakfast too, *gasp*). The insulin fairy is not going to drop by and make me fat because I just ate 200g of frozen grapes. Lolz.0
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Surely this is what MFP does for you when you sign up?
Input your Age - Height - Weight - Goal Weight and the desired weekly weight loss and MFP tells you exactly how many calories you should eat per day....
Am I missing something here?0 -
thank you!0
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So you haven't tried just inputting your numbers into MFP and going with that? It does all the math for you. Honestly, I would simply start there. Then you can learn more about the numbers as you go.0
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MFP's recommendations are okay for people who don't plan on working out at all and just want to lose weight by eating at a deficit. Often though their recommendations are low. The protein macro they suggest is definitely low, especially for those who are working out.
I stalled out at 1200 cals/day like MFP recommended (I was eating that way for 6 months). It was when I started to slowly increase my cals up to at a minimum my basal metabolic rate (~1600 cals) that I started to lose again. Follow the Road Map post, it's an eye opener folks. And its been proved, repeatedly, by some of longest sustained success stories on MFP.0 -
Yeah, well... silly me, I thought 1,200 was the "normal intake" for a woman so I decreased that number.
I did the manual entry for goal setting.
Thanx for all the help - I have reset my goals, using the MFP recommendation!0 -
MFP's recommendations are okay for people who don't plan on working out at all and just want to lose weight by eating at a deficit. Often though their recommendations are low. The protein macro they suggest is definitely low, especially for those who are working out.
I stalled out at 1200 cals/day like MFP recommended (I was eating that way for 6 months). It was when I started to slowly increase my cals up to at a minimum my basal metabolic rate (~1600 cals) that I started to lose again. Follow the Road Map post, it's an eye opener folks. And its been proved, repeatedly, by some of longest sustained success stories on MFP.
No one's refuted using (TDEE - whatever) to set your calories. But rather than pointing a newbie there immediately sometimes it's helpful to have them start with the tool at hand and give them the tools to graduate to manipulating their own numbers once they have a handle on things, especially if they seem overwhelmed at first.
OP - if I were you I would set my MFP goal to a 1lb loss/wk and when you have the time look at the "road map" link posted above.0 -
i believe that is a myth as well. i eat all kinds of strange hours and im still losing.
OP is the Original Poster. 1200 calories is the mimimum amount of calories that is considered acceptable for a woman losing weight, as determined by the ASCM and generally medically accepted. The normal amount of calories for a woman not trying to lose weight is closer to 2,000 calories, approximately.Eat based on your target. There are many myths about how much you should eat.
Theoretically you can fast (not eat) until you are at your target body fat levels. However, that is not practical nor is it a good idea for a newbie. It's not an easy thing to accomplish and generally not safe long term.
What I suggest is you eat about calories below maintenance and adopt an intermittent fasting protocol. This allows you to maintain lean body mass and shed fat quickly with no harmful side effects.
As an example, I eat close to maintenance on weekdays and I fast on weekends. It's easily sustainable and I have great results.
Do you at all consider the OP and their question before you post?
Do you think the OP is so daft that she can't google a calculator?
I'll take that as a no.
What is an OP?
I did Google it and everything is coming up at 1,200 calories - but I thought that was the "normal" intake for a woman who was not trying to loose weight.
Thank you for your help! I did not realize I could eat so much! I know I'm supposed to eat many small portions throughout the day, but I thought it all had to be salad and chicken! One more question, please? I often hear, "don't eat before bed" (for effective weight loss - does it matter when I eat those 1,200 calories?
No, it doesn't matter at all. You can eat bigger meals if you like, too, and divide your calories however you wish. If you want to eat before bed and you have calories left to do it- go ahead! It won't hurt your weight loss at all. That's a myth.0 -
Thank you for your help! I did not realize I could eat so much! I know I'm supposed to eat many small portions throughout the day, but I thought it all had to be salad and chicken! One more question, please? I often hear, "don't eat before bed" (for effective weight loss - does it matter when I eat those 1,200 calories?
you really can eat almost anything you want, as long as you watch portion sizes. I'm not giving up my chocolate lol. Also, I love a late night snack, I don't care if it's 2 in the morning, or if I am going to sleep soon. Salad and chicken are great staples, but *yawn* that would get boring fast if I didn't add other yummy things like goat cheese or maybe some nuts. It might take you some time to figure out how much of what is the right amount, and to be able to plan a full day where everything works out right at the end, but once you do, you will see that 1200 calories can be enough not only to fuel your body, but also to satisfy your taste-buds.0 -
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