How many calories to eat??

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BAH84
BAH84 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I posted earlier but I think I should make a new post because now I'm even more confused and have more questions. I started my weight loss at 298. Ridiculous, I know. I am very ashamed that I let myself get that far overweight. I am 28 year old male, and am 6 foot tall. My BMR according to online calculators is 2319. I currently weigh 289 after 3 weeks of using MFP and some light exercise. So I'm down 9 pounds. The first 8 came off quick, in less than 2 weeks. Now in a week I've only lost one and half pounds. MFP is telling me to now comsume 2130 calories a day. Average weekdays I do about 1800-1900 and I'm full. I know that some say don't eat under your goal, but when I'm full I don't see the sense in eating just to meat the 2130 goal. Then I have extras on the weekend if I choose to use them, and as of now I haven't ever used them. I tend to max out my goal on the weekends, due to eating out, drinking some beers, etc. I like to keep the extra calories for the weekend in case I want to go out with friends and have several beers. I don't understand now why I only lost 1.5 pounds in a week when I was losing so much before. Do I continue to eat the 2130 a day? Also, I enter my exercise when I do exercise. I have been using runkeeper app on my iPhone to track walking/light jogging that I do at the local track 3-4 times a week. I just orderd a polar watch to get a better count on calories burned when working out. Can anyone shed some light on my questions? I really appreciate it!

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  • nikongirl29
    nikongirl29 Posts: 59 Member
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    I'm also confused about how many calories to eat - MFP has me at 1200 calories a day to lose 1.5 pounds a week, but from what I "hear" 1200 is too low? Anyway - did you drop sodas when you first started or make a DRASTIC change in calories (or like before you started MFP you didn't write down what you eat at all, etc. - because normally when I start a new "diet" (and I have started a few) I lose fast to begin with because it's such a drastic change in eating.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Ok, so I posted earlier but I think I should make a new post because now I'm even more confused and have more questions. I started my weight loss at 298. Ridiculous, I know. I am very ashamed that I let myself get that far overweight. I am 28 year old male, and am 6 foot tall. My BMR according to online calculators is 2319. I currently weigh 289 after 3 weeks of using MFP and some light exercise. So I'm down 9 pounds. The first 8 came off quick, in less than 2 weeks. Now in a week I've only lost one and half pounds. MFP is telling me to now comsume 2130 calories a day. Average weekdays I do about 1800-1900 and I'm full. I know that some say don't eat under your goal, but when I'm full I don't see the sense in eating just to meat the 2130 goal. Then I have extras on the weekend if I choose to use them, and as of now I haven't ever used them. I tend to max out my goal on the weekends, due to eating out, drinking some beers, etc. I like to keep the extra calories for the weekend in case I want to go out with friends and have several beers. I don't understand now why I only lost 1.5 pounds in a week when I was losing so much before. Do I continue to eat the 2130 a day? Also, I enter my exercise when I do exercise. I have been using runkeeper app on my iPhone to track walking/light jogging that I do at the local track 3-4 times a week. I just orderd a polar watch to get a better count on calories burned when working out. Can anyone shed some light on my questions? I really appreciate it!

    It's normal to lose a lot of water weight the first week you start cutting calories. This isn't Biggest Loser and you won't lose huge numbers every week. 1 1/2 lbs is a perfectly respectable number to lose in a week and you're much more likely to keep the weight of losing it that way.

    Calculators can be skewed when you're on the higher end of the scale so you may not actually need the full 2130 that it gave you. Fat doesn't require as much fuel as lean body mass and if you feel good at 1800 or 1900 I doubt there's any damage in that. As you get closer to goal and your weight goes down you have to be a bit more careful that you're getting enough nutrition in with lower numbers. Keep doing what you're doing.
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    yes I gave up soda, and before I never recored what I ate...scares me to think of the amount of calories I consumed before. I have committed to this 100% and now find it easy to log every single thing I eat. I also find that I have adjusted to my lower calorie intake very well, it's not a problem for me to eat the lower cals. Now I will admit that I probably don't eat the best foods, but I NEVER go over my calories, and from what I've read and been told, a calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss.
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    Thank you Mokey41. I just want to make sure I am not making mistakes. I have pushed through the battle of eating lower calories, I can handle that just fine. But I want to make sure I'm not messing up and wasting time by making mistakes.
  • daxazo
    daxazo Posts: 37 Member
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    I think you're ok :) I lost 16 the first two weeks, and then 2 the third week. Once all that extra water is gone, it slows down. Great job, though!
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
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    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    I entered your numbers in the above calculator and got a BMR of 2590 (assuming you'd like to be around 200 pounds at maintenance weight, I'm just guessing). Are you confusing BMR and TDEE? You can message a guy on MyFitnessPal named Helloitsdan, he can explain this WAY better than I can, but my understanding is that you're supposed to be eating above your BMR and below TDEE for weight loss (or preferably, fat loss, so you retain lean muscle mass). BMR is like the absolute minimum number of calories your body needs just for you to stay alive. TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure.

    Everyone's BMR and TDEE are different based on individual age, weight, height, activity level, so you need to find the right number for you. Slow, steady, and permanent weight loss should be your goal-losing 1-2 pounds per week is absolutely healthy and puts you in the right direction, even though it may seem painfully slow. I am down to the last 15 pounds and only losing about 1/2 pound per week, so I understand the frustration.


    If someone can explain this better, please do!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    OP is starting out, so 1800 - 1900 is going to be ok. The problem is going to be when you start to get hungry and hargry!

    When you hit that platue and get really mad, check out TDEE and BMR, and all the great resources and posts. Start to think about lifting heavy too. That is going to just help you out no matter what.
  • jthibaud
    jthibaud Posts: 1
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    I am in the exact same position. Started 300 about 2 weeks ago down to 288. I have high cholesterol so I've been eating super healthy whole grains, vegetables, beans, low fat dairy, very little meat. I can't possibly eat as many calories as I'm supposed to eating this diet. I'm always filling my face and always feel stuffed. Then I burn 700 calories on the stepper and I'm at 800 to 1100 net most days. Should I start eating more crappy food to get the calories up? Drink a glass of olive oil? Doesn't seem to make sense. I feel great at current calorie and exercise levels.
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    OP is starting out, so 1800 - 1900 is going to be ok. The problem is going to be when you start to get hungry and hargry!

    When you hit that platue and get really mad, check out TDEE and BMR, and all the great resources and posts. Start to think about lifting heavy too. That is going to just help you out no matter what.


    I've now been reading about BMR and TDEE.... this is all new to me, so please forgive my ignorance about all of it. Now I'm even more confused.... do I need to exceed my BMR of 2500 a day? So far this seems to be working for me, but I will admit I lost majority in first two weeks and now it's slowed down to pound and a half in a week or so. I know that's normal, I just feel like at 290 I have plenty to lose. I just want to be sure I'm not doing anything counter-productive here. I am a big guy with a lot of weight to get down, and I'm not someone that's just trying to drop 10 pounds, so I feel like I can be a bit more extreme with cutting back becuase I had a lot of room to cut back. And again, I feel satisfied most days with eating anywhere from 1800 to the myfitnesspal limit of 2130 that it set for me. I just need some help/reassurance from you more skilled fitness experts. Thank you all so much for the help so far.
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    I keep getting mixed responses, some say eat between BMR and TEEE and others say that using the goal created by myfitnesspal is ok? ANy experts?
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    Anyone else have any advice?
  • BAH84
    BAH84 Posts: 18
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    ??

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