Help: Baseline calories???

BIGPinLONDON
BIGPinLONDON Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

Wondering if i could get some help on what my target calories should be as im worried that MFP is calculating it to be too low and if i am not eating enough it will impact my weight loss results and my body will just eat away at my muscle.

My job means that by definition i am 'sedentary' as its office based an i do very little walking around but this is not taking into account my levels of gym exercise. I exercise around 4 times a week and burn c 600 - 1000 calories per session.

I have input 'sedentary' at the moment and my daily goal is 1850 - which feels low? (i appreciate MFP knocks off c500 to ensure a calorie deficit, even though still feels low)

I am 6'2, 190lbs and 28 yrs old (male).

so, my question is:

Should I set my activity level as 'sedentary' regardless of my gym exercise?

thanks in advance guys :)

Replies

  • amnsetie
    amnsetie Posts: 666 Member
    Leave it as sedentary and log the exercise
    Logging the exercise will give you the extra 600-1000 cals you need on the exercise days and will keep you motivated to exercise as well.

    If you want to average the cals over a week search the forums for "in place of a roadmap" someone will probs link that in this thread.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    ...search the forums for "in place of a roadmap" someone will probs link that in this thread.
    RIght here...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12


    OP, read the first post in this thread and do the calculations Dan sets forth. 1850 is probably lower than your BMR - much too low for you, especially since you want to retain lean body mass.
  • BIGPinLONDON
    BIGPinLONDON Posts: 7 Member
    ...search the forums for "in place of a roadmap" someone will probs link that in this thread.
    RIght here...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12


    OP, read the first post in this thread and do the calculations Dan sets forth. 1850 is probably lower than your BMR - much too low for you, especially since you want to retain lean body mass.

    Thank you so much, that was an interesting read and makes allot of sense. I think it might explain why i haven't lost any weight and have increased BF% even though i started exercising 2 months ago! i wasn't getting enough calories and im hoping this might fix it, feels like the example of his wife Dan referred to.

    Using the tools in that post, i just calculated my BMR and used the custom field in MFP to add my calories. My Total Daily Energy Expenditure is 2700 (slightly active), so like Dan i am using this as my baseline in MFP. i will aim to have around 2200 calories on a normal day to provide a slight deficit and aim higher on gym days. does that sound more like it?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Sounds much better. Good luck!

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