First time counting calories and i'm confused

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chandra2802
chandra2802 Posts: 29 Member
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So... I have just started counting calories for the first time in my life. It seems a lot easier than i expected. And i love it cause i am in control. I am weighing everything. And that all seems to be going on pretty good. My question is.... I am obese 5'11 weighing 245lbs. (man i hate typing that out) Anyways.. my calorie intake is saying 2160. Which when i first saw it i though wow i will blow through that quickly. But most of the day i am having to remind myself to eat and trying to figure out how to fill out a few more calories. I read most post and most people are under 2000 calories per day.. so i am wondering if filled something wrong out. I am wondering if this is high because of my weight and exercise. And that as i loose weight the calories will decrease a bit. I have read all the websites everyone post, and for this first timer.. its so confusing. I know weight loss takes time.. took me the last 12 years to put it all on.. so i know it will take time to get it back down. I do my workouts at home( due to me being home with the children during the day and working most nights till 1 or 2 am going to the gym is not an option.)

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  • helenmelon29
    helenmelon29 Posts: 787 Member
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    Hi and welcome - it does seem high to me but I don't know to be honest. I go with what this site tells me but I don't have that much to loose so cant really compare to mine.

    Hope someone can help soon
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    So... I have just started counting calories for the first time in my life. It seems a lot easier than i expected. And i love it cause i am in control. I am weighing everything. And that all seems to be going on pretty good. My question is.... I am obese 5'11 weighing 245lbs. (man i hate typing that out) Anyways.. my calorie intake is saying 2160. Which when i first saw it i though wow i will blow through that quickly. But most of the day i am having to remind myself to eat and trying to figure out how to fill out a few more calories. I read most post and most people are under 2000 calories per day.. so i am wondering if filled something wrong out. I am wondering if this is high because of my weight and exercise. And that as i loose weight the calories will decrease a bit. I have read all the websites everyone post, and for this first timer.. its so confusing. I know weight loss takes time.. took me the last 12 years to put it all on.. so i know it will take time to get it back down. I do my workouts at home( due to me being home with the children during the day and working most nights till 1 or 2 am going to the gym is not an option.)

    You are pretty tall, so that will jack up your calories a bit. And it depends on what you put in for your goal to lose per week. Yes, it will decrease as you lose weight. Don't forget that some fat is healthy in your diet and cut all of it out - a lot of people do that, and adding fat will fill you calorie deficit quickly. I use coconut oil as my saturated fat filler. Stick with your current number for a few weeks and see what your results are, and then adjust accordingly.
  • stackhead
    stackhead Posts: 121 Member
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    Hi and welcome - it does seem high to me but I don't know to be honest. I go with what this site tells me but I don't have that much to loose so cant really compare to mine.

    Hope someone can help soon

    It's not high.

    I'm 5"11 and weigh 247lbs (after Christmas :() and my goal is 1960 but with exercise calories/fitbit allocation I usually end up eating 2000-2200. I'm doing alright (see ticker).

    Try it out for a few weeks, if it's not working lower it (but not by much!) The number will go down as we lose weight but not by that much (because we're tall (and therefore heavier) so we gets all the foods).
  • chandra2802
    chandra2802 Posts: 29 Member
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    I will keep going. yesterday i was left with only 2 calories ( we were celebrating) but most days i am left with quite a bit over.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    The activity level you select, along with how many pounds you tell MFP you want to lose a week, factor into your daily caloric allowance, as does your starting weight. Do your best to stay on track with it for the first month, including logging your exercise and eating back at least half of those calories burned through exercise. Note your progress. If things aren't moving along as expected, adjust.

    Welcome to MFP.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    I will keep going. yesterday i was left with only 2 calories ( we were celebrating) but most days i am left with quite a bit over.
    Your calorie goal has the calorie deficit built into it, so aim to get close to the goal (a little over or under is fine), not have lots left over.
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    A lot of times when people start counting calories or dieting, they also change the WAY they eat - the type of food they're choosing. Often they start eating more low fat food and more veggies and fruit, which can be filling without adding a lot of calories. So it can feel like you're eating a lot of food, or more food, but all you've really done is swap out calorie-dense food for calorie-reduced food - less bang for the bulk, so to speak. Your goal doesn't sound too high to me...you're tall and larger, which means your intake goal will be higher. FWIW, I was losing on 2200-2300/day when I was under 130 lbs.
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I plugged in your numbers to this online calculator http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/.

    It says your base metabolic rate is about 1850 - 1950 depending on your age (younger =higher, I calculated for a range of 20-40 years old :smile:). This is the amount you would need to consume if you were literally sleeping 24 hours.

    Even a sedentary person will use energy moving around during the day, and this is usually extimate at 1.2 times your BMR This puts you at about 2200 to maintain your weight if you did no exercise, have a desk job, drive to work, avoid stairs etc. Any activity in addition to this adds calories. e.g. if you were to go running for half an hour, you could easily burn 500 calories, meaning you could eat up to 2700 calories that day and still not put on weight.

    MFP calculates a 500 cal deficit per day for a 1 lb per week loss, so I'd say the numbers you have are probably correct.
  • helenmelon29
    helenmelon29 Posts: 787 Member
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    Hi and welcome - it does seem high to me but I don't know to be honest. I go with what this site tells me but I don't have that much to loose so cant really compare to mine.

    Hope someone can help soon

    It's not high.

    I'm 5"11 and weigh 247lbs (after Christmas :() and my goal is 1960 but with exercise calories/fitbit allocation I usually end up eating 2000-2200. I'm doing alright (see ticker).

    Try it out for a few weeks, if it's not working lower it (but not by much!) The number will go down as we lose weight but not by that much (because we're tall (and therefore heavier) so we gets all the foods).

    Thanks for info
  • chandra2802
    chandra2802 Posts: 29 Member
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    i work in a resturant.. so i am pretty active on the nights i work.. between the kitchen and the floor my feet and legs feel tired just about every night.. and i bike to work.. its not much only 2 miles there 2 miles back. So i am definately not just sitting around every day lol. Thanks for all the information and insite.

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