calories

Sweettart
Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I was wondering how many calories you eat per day when you are trying to lose weight. I think I should bump up my calories but am scared to.

Also, do you eat your exercise calories back?

Replies

  • virgocoley
    virgocoley Posts: 80 Member
    MFP has set my calorie allowance to 1200 and that's what I aim for. Sometimes I eat my exercise calories back, it just depends if I am extra hungry that day or not or I will save them if I am having a wine night.

    that is what I have stuck to for two weeks and I have lost 5 pounds so it seems to work.

    Add me for support if you like
  • rozeh_street
    rozeh_street Posts: 9
    I wonder about that too.

    I usually eat those cals that I earn from exercising. But I wonder if that will keep me from losing weight?
  • virgocoley
    virgocoley Posts: 80 Member
    There are loads of posts about eating your calories back and people have posted some really helpful info. As I said for me it depends if I am hungry or not but I won't force myself to eat the calories back if I don't want them.

    Try using the search button and have a look for some forums on eating back exercise calories, there will be loads of info.

    Hope this helps
  • Sweettart
    Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
    My calories are set to 1240. I usually eat around 1300 calories per day and lose about 3 pounds a week but this week it was only 1.5.
  • virgocoley
    virgocoley Posts: 80 Member
    1.5 is better than 0 so congrats on that - just keep at it, you are doing great
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
    Between 1050 and 1190 (because I assume I must make a calculation error somewhere so need a buffer)

    And no, I don't see the need to eat exercise calories.
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    I'm not trying to lose weight, but I will say that my TDEE is around 1800 or so, but I can actually eat over 2000 and still lose or maintain.

    Don't be afraid to eat more, you will at some point have to eat at your maintenance at some point which will be higher than 1200, so if you aren't used to eating more near your goal, you will most likely keep losing.


    I eat back exercise calories and it works for me. I would suggest eating them back if you are eating at 1200.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    1800 net calories per day. I'm never hungry, and I am losing every week. =)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I'm eating 1900 calories a day and not adding my exercise calories (using the TDEE -20% method where the exercise is already factored in).

    I don't know your specific situation, but I can say that every plateau I've hit in the last year was caused by undereating. Your mileage may vary, of course.
  • Sweettart
    Sweettart Posts: 1,331 Member
    What is TDEE? I have been seeing that on some posts.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    What is TDEE? I have been seeing that on some posts.

    TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's the amount of calories your body burns in a day and also the number of calories you would need to consume to maintain your weight. There are a lot of online calculators for it, like this one: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

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