1200-1400 or 1800?!?!

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luvz2bfitMOM
luvz2bfitMOM Posts: 48
in Food and Nutrition
ok kind of in a dilema and want to hear feed back from those who have experienced it themselves or have knowledge on this.....ok so here i am, 25lbs less then i used to be, definitly more toned and have more muscle then i used to be, still got fat, about 28lbs more to loose but is 1200-1400 cals really going to have me loose? i've learned that the more muscle you have the more calories you need to intake. well i'm slowly loosing and keep going up and down not really going any lower 166 just for it to go back up again :( also read that when you hit a plataeu (not sure why i would now because i still got much to loose) you should eat more calories to feed your muscles.....WHAT TO DO?!?! i roughly burn about 500 cals a workout and the programs i use say i should be eating like 2000 cals!!! but then when i talk abouit it to others they are like NO WAY 2000 CALS ARE WAY TOO MUCH FOR YOU!!! so lost, need some help, some tips, some knowledge......

i am on week 7 of INSANITY but have been doing in sanity on and OFF since JUNE....i know SHAME ON ME!!! i just want to finish it and get on with it!! LOL

LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR INSIGHTS!

Replies

  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Are you eating your exercise cals? the 1200-1400 should be NET cals that's why MFP has that equation on your home page is Base+Exercise. Those two combined are the calorie range you should be aiming for.
  • doncheco
    doncheco Posts: 47
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    I can speak from experience as I just recently found that I was intaking way too few calories for the workout that I was doing. I am starting Phase 3 (month 3) of the P90X program and I was only eating an average of 1200 calories for a 5'10 200+ and what I found out is that you need to make sure you eat enough calories that will cover your calories burned from the exercise. I have since changed my settings to show active which give me 1600 calories and with the average daily excercise that I do puts me over 2000+ calories a day. I am just on day 2 of changing, but I feel the difference already. Keep in mind that if you do not eat enough calories your metabolism can go into starvation mode therefore you will not loose the weight.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/127694-discouraged-and-confused
  • doncheco
    doncheco Posts: 47
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    I can speak from experience as I just recently found that I was intaking way too few calories for the workout that I was doing. I am starting Phase 3 (month 3) of the P90X program and I was only eating an average of 1200 calories for a 5'10 200+ and what I found out is that you need to make sure you eat enough calories that will cover your calories burned from the exercise. I have since changed my settings to show active which give me 1600 calories and with the average daily excercise that I do puts me over 2000+ calories a day. I am just on day 2 of changing, but I feel the difference already. Keep in mind that if you do not eat enough calories your metabolism can go into starvation mode therefore you will not loose the weight.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/127694-discouraged-and-confused
  • calthine
    calthine Posts: 18 Member
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    In a way both numbers are right! Stick with me here... The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. MFP estimates how active you are and to lose one pound a week lops 500 calories off your daily intake, that's all. Remember that you can eat every extra calorie you burn because your target is net calories. So if your net calorie goal is 1200 and you burn 500 every day working out, you can actually consume 1700 calories.
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    I would try around 1400-1600 calories, for a few weeks, and see how that affects your weight loss, but it is not unlikely for you to hit a plateau even though you have more weight to lose, espeically since you are so close to your goal.

    Just play around with your numbers weekly, and see which calorie intake works best for you.

    Also, measure yourself, because since you are building muscle, you maybe losing inches, plus keep in mind you are gaining muscles, which is heavier than fat.

    Goodluck
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    Based upon your age, weight and approx height I would say between 1300 and 1500 per day. I used the Mifflin equation to get maintenance calories and then subtracted 20%.

    You really don't need to take into account lean body mass unless you are extremely active and/or an athlete, in which case you would use the Cunningham equation.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    I can only speak for myself, so this is just my experience. I ate the calories MFP assigned me and almost all my exercise calories. On day I bike commute that means about 1800 - 1900 calories. When I did this I lost a steady 1lbs every 10 days. I hope you find a way that works for you. Good luck on your journey.

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