How many calories do you eat?

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  • TrekkerCynthia
    TrekkerCynthia Posts: 155 Member
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    I've decided to go with the amount of calories I am supposed to eat at my goal weight - given no activity. I would rather take the time to learn what it is like to eat that amount of food, and not have to keep adjusting every time I lose a substantial amount of weight. I do eat back most of my exercise calories each day. It has to be what I consider exercise - no house cleaning, raking, etc. calories are recorded. There's no research or anything to base this on, just my own experiment.
  • janicebinva
    janicebinva Posts: 99 Member
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    Several people have posted that MFP defaults to 1200 calories a day when you tell it you want to lose 2 pounds a week. Well, if you're 47 years old, female and weigh over 150 pounds, MFP defaults to 1200 when you tell it you want to lose ONE pound a week (sedentary job). It's a tough world out there.

    I can't deal with eating only 1200 calories a day. I normally go between 1400 - 1700, and exercise about 300 away probably five days a week.
  • emmaemz1985
    emmaemz1985 Posts: 140 Member
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    Oops today I ate about 800 cals however did my insanity workout which I burned 564.... I just didn't feel hungry today is that really bad????
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I never did 1200. My original goal when I signed up was 1590 to lose 1 lb a week. I ate calories back for a while (and ate up to 1700 I guess) then switched to TDEE-20%. Now I just eat 1600 calories, regardless of exercise.
  • Katus130
    Katus130 Posts: 50 Member
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    I usually eat between 1300 and 1700 depending on the day. I base it on my hunger levels and how much activity I do. MFP, like most sites, will never suggest eating under 1200 calories per day even if thats what you would need to loose x amount of weight per week. There is a host of reasons for this (which I'm sure you can find discussions on in other MFP threads). Ultimately, you're going to have to do some trial and error before you find the sweet spot where you're loosing while still getting proper nutrition.

    For me 1300 is what I eat on days where I don't do much. Days I am really active (skating, running, ect) I up that significantly and base it more on hunger than anything else.
  • STC1188
    STC1188 Posts: 101 Member
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    Losing at 3000 (~lb/week).

    Lift three times a week.

    Walk ~mile/day. Try not to sit for an hour or extended periods of time without getting up and stretching.
  • aarar
    aarar Posts: 684 Member
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    Maintaining at about 2100-2200 per day + calories burned from running. Back when I started on MFP I started at 1450 then a month or two later bumped it to 1500. Last January when I started running I increased up to 1750 + exerise calories. I've consistently been losing throughout the whole process until the last couple of months where I've been hovering between a very slow loss and maintenance.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    For those of you that are trying to lose weight not just maintain how have you determined how many calories to eat? Do you just use the default 1200 cals? Or have you used some other way to come up with a number? I personally have calculated my BMR and TDEE. From there I subtracted about 750 cals which should yield a 2 lb loss per week. It just seems that eating over 1800 cals is too much. Any thoughts?

    If your TDEE truly is 2,550 than no...1800 would be just right. It is quite possible that your TDEE is 2,550 and it is also quite possible that you have overestimated your activity level...only you know for sure.

    I've done both MFP and TDEE - 20%...it came out pretty much 6 of 1 either way. My calorie goal with MFP (light active even though I do have a desk job...most people really aren't sedentary as MFP calculates it) was 1850...with exercise that gave me about 2100 - 2200 gross depending on the day.

    My TDEE is roughly 2700 - 2800...so my TDEE - 20% to lose about 1 lb per week was 2,150 - 2,250...pretty much identical.

    All of these calculators are estimates and offer up good starting point but you're going to have to practice some trial and error....
  • SaintGiff
    SaintGiff Posts: 3,679 Member
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    MFP seems to believe I need between 2500 and 3000 per day. My first reaction to this was that it seemed like an awful lot if I was in what amounts to a cutting phase. My second reaction was that I was certain I was exceeding that every day and wondered just how much less I would have to eat. I had never logged clarories before, only grams of protein. I started logging everything I eat and was stunned that I was typically eating between 1400 and 1800 calories. I've since made an effort to get more decent food in me and the last two days I've been over 2000 but still well under the goal for that day. I'll be lucky to hit 2000 today, but I feel like I've had enough, if not too much, food already.
  • Beckilovespizza
    Beckilovespizza Posts: 334 Member
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    I'm a total shortie and my bmr comes in at 1100 cals so I eat that and any cals burned from working out. I know it seems low but as I am the height of a pixie it seems to work for me. At the weekends I tend to eat what I want though :)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,007 Member
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    For those of you that are trying to lose weight not just maintain how have you determined how many calories to eat? Do you just use the default 1200 cals? Or have you used some other way to come up with a number? I personally have calculated my BMR and TDEE. From there I subtracted about 750 cals which should yield a 2 lb loss per week. It just seems that eating over 1800 cals is too much. Any thoughts?
    I just recorded what I ate when I was maintaining my weight for 2 or 3 weeks then created a deficit....I know, I know not very scientific.:wink: I'm now trying to shed 30 lbs after a bulk and consuming around 2700 calories.
  • Codilee87
    Codilee87 Posts: 509 Member
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    My base recommendation is 1600, then I burn approx. 500 cal thru exercise each day, which bumps up my total significantly - but I try not to eat more than 1800 regardless.
  • Saramelie
    Saramelie Posts: 308 Member
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    Well.... I am supposed to eat in the range of 2000-1800 calories net to lose from 0.5 to 1 pound a week (I prefer to take it slow) but right now I eat way more than this so I can`t say what my ``perfect`` range is. When I started on December 1st, I was eating 1800 cal/day and not eating my exercice calories back and was losing great.
  • keayanaminus
    keayanaminus Posts: 1
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    what do you eat when you have so many calories to eat
  • FatAssBecky
    FatAssBecky Posts: 58 Member
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    I am happiest when I eat 2000 calories a day. I try to make these cals be more "whole foods" - cheese, eggs, veggies, fruits, etc. In order to lose or maintain, I have to burn 500-1000 a day with this consumption.

    I'd much rather eat more and be more active than to restrict my diet and have little/no activity.
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
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    what do you eat when you have so many calories to eat

    I eat around 2345 calories a day, although I can easily eat more. You are welcome to take a look at my diary to see where those calories are coming from. My diary is completely open so have fun.
  • dixoncrew
    dixoncrew Posts: 186 Member
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    My goal is no more than 2000 and no less than 1700.
  • fastforlife1
    fastforlife1 Posts: 459 Member
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    I've decided to go with the amount of calories I am supposed to eat at my goal weight - given no activity. I would rather take the time to learn what it is like to eat that amount of food, and not have to keep adjusting every time I lose a substantial amount of weight. I do eat back most of my exercise calories each day. It has to be what I consider exercise - no house cleaning, raking, etc. calories are recorded. There's no research or anything to base this on, just my own experiment.
    This is the philosophy of http://www.fat2fitradio.com/ which I think you would enjoy.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    For a weight loss of 1 lb/week, MFP set my calorie goal at 1580. I'm losing weight slowly at this point (sometimes eating at a slower loss or maintenance) because I've reached a healthy weight, although it isn't my original goal weight. Also, this number is close to my BMR, and when I below this I feel unhealthy and tired.
  • janetpam
    janetpam Posts: 13 Member
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    Question here: Does myfitnesspal adjust calories and give an accurate number for weight loss? The more I exercise, the more calories I can eat, but it seems like I am not losing. Do you eat the calories or not? Are you trying to create your own 500 calorie per day deficit to lose weight or is the number given by myfitnesspal set for weight loss. I have been on this site for a year and never seem to lose. When I used a different site, I was losing. Any thoughts or advice?

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