Changing Calorie Intake

JenFrogLover
JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 29, 5'5" 183.6 lbs and I have a very physical job/6 days a week (I work at a grocery store stocking shelves) Plus I workout 3-4 days a week.

So after struggling on my 1260 calories a day and thinking about giving up, I started looking around on here and found out about TDEE calculator!!

After all my research I've come to the conclusion that I should be eating around 1700 calories instead of 1260. That's over 400 calories difference!! So I'm starting this 1700 calories tomorrow and hopefully I'll see results and not feel like I'm starving myself.

Thoughts on if this is a good idea or not??

Replies

  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,332 Member
    How is the world did MFP come up with 1260 for someone very active? Are you sure you entered your information properly in particular your activity level. The numbers I get for your information are:
    Activity Level-- Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1944
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2228
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2511
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2795
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3078
  • 1ZenGirl
    1ZenGirl Posts: 432 Member
    Great idea. Then you might want to think about TDEE -20% to get to a deficit and lose weight if you want.
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
    Sounds like a good plan. Just be sure to give it enough time for your body to adjust and don't freak out about fluctuations on the scale for a few weeks.

    As a matter of fact, put the scale away for a month or two!
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Sounds perfect to me. 12xx sounds stupidly low for your size and activity level. I'm guessing you were trying to lose too much weight too quickly, resulting in too low of a daily caloric intake. Moderate deficit is the way to go.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    I'm 29, 5'5" 183.6 lbs and I have a very physical job/6 days a week (I work at a grocery store stocking shelves) Plus I workout 3-4 days a week.

    So after struggling on my 1260 calories a day and thinking about giving up, I started looking around on here and found out about TDEE calculator!!

    After all my research I've come to the conclusion that I should be eating around 1700 calories instead of 1260. That's over 400 calories difference!! So I'm starting this 1700 calories tomorrow and hopefully I'll see results and not feel like I'm starving myself.

    Thoughts on if this is a good idea or not??

    This is the way to do it .. I am probably going to go to this route in December.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    Hey there,

    Yes 1,700 sounds about right just remember to recalculate as you get smaller as you'll need less calories. If 1,260 is not sustainable for you (I tried it and couldn't do it!) then you are definitely doing the right thing. :smile:
  • JenFrogLover
    JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
    rileysowner - Not really sure how on my side it's telling me something way different. :( I just tried again and this is what I get:

    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job) 1,200
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman) 1,200
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman) 1,260
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter) 1,420

    :( Weird But I guess choosing to eat 1700 isn't a bad idea lol
  • JenFrogLover
    JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
    Great idea. Then you might want to think about TDEE -20% to get to a deficit and lose weight if you want.

    I already did that!! :):)
  • JenFrogLover
    JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
    c8linmarie - I'm thinking about putting the scale away. But I'm a little scared to because the last time I did that I ended up gaining because I lost that accountability.
    Sounds like a good plan. Just be sure to give it enough time for your body to adjust and don't freak out about fluctuations on the scale for a few weeks.

    As a matter of fact, put the scale away for a month or two!
  • JenFrogLover
    JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
    Hildy_J ~ Totally need to remember to recalculate. Thanks!!
    Hey there,

    Yes 1,700 sounds about right just remember to recalculate as you get smaller as you'll need less calories. If 1,260 is not sustainable for you (I tried it and couldn't do it!) then you are definitely doing the right thing. :smile:
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,332 Member
    rileysowner - Not really sure how on my side it's telling me something way different. :( I just tried again and this is what I get:

    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job) 1,200
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman) 1,200
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman) 1,260
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter) 1,420

    :( Weird But I guess choosing to eat 1700 isn't a bad idea lol

    Those numbers I gave were TDEE not with a deficit. But taking 500 off of them other than for sedentary, still is more that 1260. I guess this is just a reminder that MFP's calorie goals seem rather low.
  • JenFrogLover
    JenFrogLover Posts: 54 Member
    rileysowner - Not really sure how on my side it's telling me something way different. :( I just tried again and this is what I get:

    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job) 1,200
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman) 1,200
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman) 1,260
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter) 1,420

    :( Weird But I guess choosing to eat 1700 isn't a bad idea lol

    Those numbers I gave were TDEE not with a deficit. But taking 500 off of them other than for sedentary, still is more that 1260. I guess this is just a reminder that MFP's calorie goals seem rather low.

    OH!! Got it :)

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