really confused about calorie limit

claymic
claymic Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi
i have been reading quite a bit to try and find out how much calories i should be eating every day. But the more i look online etc, the more confusing information i get.... it ranges from i should be eating about 2500 a day to lose (!!!!!!!) or oh i should be eating 1300 kcal to lose...

i see the BMR and the TDEE mentioned alot.....how should the calories to eat relate to them?

Can anyone please suggest a reputable calculation to use to finally find out how many calories i should be eating?

thanks

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    why not use the Goals facility on here, tell it you want to lose 0.5 or 1 lb/week and they you're lightly active. It'll give you a number to shoot at. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals
  • Cillygirl
    Cillygirl Posts: 13
    This link was helpful for me:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • oneIT
    oneIT Posts: 388 Member
    Use whatever MFP says. Don't go under 1200 and only eat back half of what you burn in workouts.
  • gshoemaker06
    gshoemaker06 Posts: 264 Member
    In a very rough description, BMR is your rate at complete rest. If you laid in bed all day and didn't move anything, that would be the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain weight. TDEE is your total rate including your activity. If you have a highly active job, aka bike messenger, then your TDEE will be a lot higher than if you have a desk job. Eat inbetween BMR and TDEE, and be realistic about your activity level.
  • Keffinger22
    Keffinger22 Posts: 100 Member
    Go to free dieting.com calculator. It will give you calories to eat for fat loss or extreme fat loss or if you want to maintain. Right underneath the calculator click zig zag 7 day calculator and it gives you calorie breakdown on a daily basis. Some days will be higher because if you eat the exact same amount of cals each day your body adapts and that is how it plateaus so this way you confuse it so it doesn't stay coasting, it gives your metabolism a boost to keep working hard. MFP goals are too low in my opinion...
  • Shayztar
    Shayztar Posts: 415 Member
    This link was helpful for me:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    This
  • Sepheara
    Sepheara Posts: 208 Member
    This link was helpful for me:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    I would like to +1 this link :D
    very informative, very helpful, and have friends losing from following it. I am trying to follow it too :)
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    I use this calculator to eat my TDEE-15%. I love it. I don't eat back exercise calories because they're included, and on days I'm not working out, I don't have to eat like a bird... I always eat right around the same amount... regardless if it's a hardcore workout day, a light workout day, or a rest day. And if I'm extra hungry, I do eat some exercise calories back. No harm, no foul.

    Works for me. :)
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    BMR (also sometimes referred to as RMR) is Basal Metabolic Rate, or the amount of calories your body burns just being at rest. If you were in a coma, that's the minimum amount of calories your body needs just to keep your heart beating, your organs doing their thing, breathing, etc.

    TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure or the amount of calories you burn doing activities like walking and exercise plus your BMR.

    In my opinion since I've seen it from several reputable sources, you should never eat below your BMR and ideally you'll eat the amount of calories equaling your TDEE minus 20%.

    An example. If your BMR is 1200. Never eat less than that. If your TDEE is 2500, you'll eat 2000 calories a day for a 1 lb/wk loss.

    There are calculators that I'm sure people will chime in with that I don't feel like looking up right now that can give you a pretty good idea of what your TDEE is.

    Or if you go by MFP's suggestion, based on the answers you gave when you set up your profile it already calculated a TDEE for you and created a deficit. Eat back your exercise calories (or at least half of them) and you should be alright.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    Use whatever MFP says. Don't go under 1200 and only eat back half of what you burn in workouts.
    This would put me in a range of 1200 to 1500 a day, depending on whether I workout or not. I eat 2,000-2,200 a day and lose. Why would I want to eat so little when I can fuel my body and still lose?
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    This link was helpful for me:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    Like the others said, this.

    If you want to be really accurate you can get your rmr tested by a doctor
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Use whatever MFP says. Don't go under 1200 and only eat back half of what you burn in workouts.

    Strangely enough, I am pretty sure MFP says to eat back all of what you burn in workouts.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I think MFP is a tad over-generous with it's calculations of calories burnt, so I try not to eat them all back.

    However you are going to get as wide a variety of responses on here as you are on google, and you will leave here just as confused.

    If you want a very accurate amount, go to your doctor. If not, fill out the goal section on MFP (be honest) and go with what it says. If you don't lose, at least you have something to build with.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I think MFP is a tad over-generous with it's calculations of calories burnt, so I try not to eat them all back.

    However you are going to get as wide a variety of responses on here as you are on google, and you will leave here just as confused.

    If you want a very accurate amount, go to your doctor. If not, fill out the goal section on MFP (be honest) and go with what it says. If you don't lose, at least you have something to build with.

    Agreed. I should have also been a little more informative with my post, but I wanted to point out that what that guy was saying wasn't entirely true. When I joined MFP I decided to just follow whatever it told me to do. I selected 1 pound a week b/c it was recommended which gave me 1360 calories per day and I also ate all of my exercise calories, which wasn't a ton b/c most of the time I was only running/walking for 30 minutes. I am sure I would have felt differently had I been logging exercise of more than 200-300 calories at a time. That said, let it be simple. By following the MFP recommendations I lost 47 pounds. The last 3 pounds I have lost have been sort of on my own terms as my life has changed a lot (health issues keeping me from exercise) this year.
  • tebogoleano
    tebogoleano Posts: 1
    Hi, Im eating really clean, and eating betwwwn 1000 - 1200 calories a day and excecising 5 days a week. I think im eating well yet i dont seem to poop much.

    Ive encorporated lentils, and hv oatmeal and lots of veges.

    But still no help, PLEASE HELP
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I think MFP is a tad over-generous with it's calculations of calories burnt, so I try not to eat them all back.

    However you are going to get as wide a variety of responses on here as you are on google, and you will leave here just as confused.

    If you want a very accurate amount, go to your doctor. If not, fill out the goal section on MFP (be honest) and go with what it says. If you don't lose, at least you have something to build with.

    A tad? I think they're waaaay over-generous.
  • claymic
    claymic Posts: 34 Member
    Thanks alot for all your responses.

    Based on what i found on various calculators:

    BMR is 1895kcal
    TDEE is 2277kcal
    if i reduce 20% that should give me 1822kcal and lose 45lbs in a year....

    i then worked backwards to see what kcal i need to eat if i wanted to lose 1lbs or 2lbs a week:
    1lbs - 1529kcal
    2lbs - 1277 kcal

    but both of those would be under my BMR....

    i have not been having a great success with losing weight..and before i have put it on 1400 or 1500....should i take a risk and up it to 1800?

    thanks again
    clay xx
  • neilegni
    neilegni Posts: 36
    In a very rough description, BMR is your rate at complete rest. If you laid in bed all day and didn't move anything, that would be the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain weight.

    This is not correct. Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to complete it's basic functions--NOT maintain weight. Many experts do not recommend eating below your BMR.
  • shaglund01
    shaglund01 Posts: 6
    alot of gyms will do the Resting Metabolic Rate and Active Metabolic Rate testing there.

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