How many calories should I be eating?

Content2BVee
Content2BVee Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
How do you know how many calories you should be eating? I'm very confused on this, I want to lose 2 lbs a week and mfp gives me a really low calorie count while other websites say I should be eating at least 600 more calories than mfp suggested! And what is this eating back your exercise calories? I work out for 7 days a week at least 1 hr a day, does this mean I might have to eat a little more? I am asking this now because in the beginning I was doing really good with a low calorie count, but I have now hit a plateau for more than a month now...I have started exercising more since then so I don't know if this has anything to do with it...or if I was eating too little in the beginning and now its backfiring.
Please help and thanks in advance for any advice!

Replies

  • GCgirl24
    GCgirl24 Posts: 4
    Try eating more. Your body may be going into starvation mode because of all the working out you are doing. You need to fuel that body, or else it will hold onto everything that you are putting into it.
  • katiejarr
    katiejarr Posts: 251 Member
    Really hard to say since I have no information...how many calories were you eating? Whats your TDEE? What did MFP say you should eat? Do you exercise? How much have you lost before you hit your plateau? Can you open your diary so I can see what you eat?

    That said we ALL hit plateaus...I hit one about every 10 -12 pounds. I eat 1200 calories a day and I don't eat back my exercise calories BUT Im 52 and Im in menopause so I have a VERY LOW metabolism, if you're young and have a higher metabolism then things will be different for you.

    I would say if you WERE losing and you hit a plateau, give it some time and maybe change up some things, change up your exercise routine, change the cardio, change up the weight training, do something different, and lets see what youre eating.

    But above all dont eat less than 1200 calories a day, everything Ive read says its not healthy, and dont give up we all hit plateaus.
  • auty1991
    auty1991 Posts: 21 Member
    You need to eat at least 1200 calories a day to avoid starvation mode. (:
  • CtasMoore
    CtasMoore Posts: 6
    :sad: I'm confused about this, too! It's like... it's wanting you to eat more calories and every time you exercise and burn off some of it- it wants you to eat more! Maybe it's to avoid "starvation mode". It is possible that eating a little bit more will help you LOSE weight. You just have to eat healthy, eat when you're hungry (not just because you have nothing to do.. I do that sometimes and it's bad!) and try to get all the food groups that you need daily into your diet plan.

    I used to be 110 lbs and wore a size 8. Now I'm 150 lbs and wear a size 13 because I got depressed and stopped eating and exercising right. I ate less... and exercised sparaticly... gained 40 pounds.

    My advice OBVIOUSLY doesn't have to be followed hahaha I'm just putting a few ideas out there.
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    the other site may be factoring in the calories burned through exercise. for example if MFP says you can eat 1200 then eat 1200. if you burn 500 in the workout then that allows you to eat 500 more, so 1700 for the day.

    the other site may have already guessed the calories burned which allowed you more calories.

    try eating the 1200+exercise calories

    tip- get a Heart rate monitor if you dont already have one...the calories that the machines say can be wayyyy off
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
    This link has helped me so much: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Once I realized it was based on my stats, and ultimately my BMR and TDEE, this whole thing made much more sense.
  • Content2BVee
    Content2BVee Posts: 9
    I was eating about 1250 calories a day, and I hit the plateau after 11 lbs of weight loss. I still have 15 lbs to get to my goal right now, I am 5'9" and 19 years old. I am getting really frustrated with this because I am almost there...also, I heard about TDEE but I am not sure if I should calculate my calories that way or I've also heard that if your more active to multiply the weight you want to be by 12 and that is how many calories you should be eating...how did you calculate how many calories to eat?
  • Content2BVee
    Content2BVee Posts: 9
    I see I will look at it!
  • originalcookiemonster
    originalcookiemonster Posts: 278
    This link has helped me so much: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Once I realized it was based on my stats, and ultimately my BMR and TDEE, this whole thing made much more sense.

    ^^^^^^ THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS!!! Read this article, the man's a genius. You need to make sure you eat enough. Read this, follow the instructions, and you will do just fine. :) don't sweat just yet.
  • LCgymnast
    LCgymnast Posts: 258
    I was also concerned about my calorie count when I computed mine on this site. At first it was low and then it came up due to me losing weight. I asked a dietition how much is good and they recommended that 1300-1450 or lower is the best. I thought it was a little high, but she assured me due to the workouts I do (6 days a week with 4 of those days as cardio based) I need to make sure I keep my food intake pretty high so I don't become sick throughout the day. Also it depends on what you eat. I eat lots more lean meat and a ton of vegetables to keep my metabolism and digestive system clean. Hope this helps you out.
  • T34418l3angel
    T34418l3angel Posts: 474 Member
    In simple terms: Don't eat below your bmr, don't go over you tdee.
  • Content2BVee
    Content2BVee Posts: 9
    Thank you all for your suggestions I'll start calculating my BMR and TDEE!...I've read the link posted and it did help clarify things a lot...hopefully I'll begin to see better results in a few weeks...I just need to keep patient which can get really hard when you think you're doing everything right and don't see results...but I am sure we've all been there so we just got to keep going! :)
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
    I was also concerned about my calorie count when I computed mine on this site. At first it was low and then it came up due to me losing weight. I asked a dietition how much is good and they recommended that 1300-1450 or lower is the best. I thought it was a little high, but she assured me due to the workouts I do (6 days a week with 4 of those days as cardio based) I need to make sure I keep my food intake pretty high so I don't become sick throughout the day. Also it depends on what you eat. I eat lots more lean meat and a ton of vegetables to keep my metabolism and digestive system clean. Hope this helps you out.

    1450 is high?

    It depends on each person, height, weight, body fat, etc. My BMR is over 1600, and I aim for 1800 before exercise and am losing a pound a week.
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    I found it was best to set my own numbers. MFP allows for that in "custom" settings. Most people come in here, like I did, not knowing my body fat % which after having that I could come up with my BMR, basil metabolic rate (the amount they would feed you through an IV if you were in a coma). Here is a good link to use but there are many opinions, this one just gave me what I needed: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    If you need help feel welcome to write to me and I will help you get set up step by step and explain all I can. There is a great bunch of gals on here that are far more advanced than me too, many belong to the group Eat More to Weigh Less. MFP is a wonderful site but I have found that setting my own, custom numbers is best for me.

    denise:flowerforyou:
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    Someone new isn't going to understand this, I sure didn't at least. You are dead-on right but maybe explain it to her what TDEE is etc.
    In simple terms: Don't eat below your bmr, don't go over you tdee.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    MFP will do the maths for you - but you need to be aware that the daily calorie allowance that MFP recommends is:
    Daily calorie allowance + extra calories when you exercise.

    Most other calorie calculators already include some extra cals to account for your exercise, whereas MFP doesn't add these in until after you've done the exercise. Pick one system and stick with it for a month and so and see what results you get.

    Don't over think it!
  • Content2BVee
    Content2BVee Posts: 9
    :)

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