Is 1500 Calories too much?

Hi ya. I'm 224 and 40 years of age. I was wondering the same re 1500 cals being too much......but it's really hard to stick to, especially if u enjoy a glass of red on an evening!

How did you decided on 1500 calories?

Like the previous poster said, you can use MFPs tools to calculate that. I think 1500 is very reasonable, I'm starting at about 1800 and have lost a few pounds, albeit slowly. But I've stuck with it because I'm not so hungry I'm getting in a foul mood or anything. In another week or so, I'll probably drop to 1700, and/or up the exercise to get my net calories lower.

My theory on it is that you can't start out at 100%, you have to move from first gear to second, etc.

First you should calculate your BMR and make sure you are not eating under that. It is really harmful to your body to eat below your BMR. Then to lose I calculated my TDEE and subtracted 20%. You can find calculators all over the interwebz by using google.

I don't have the road map in my clipboard at the moment but I do have

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Both these should be helpful. 1500 is most definitely not too much. I'm 5'3.5" 121 lbs and I have to eat more than this or I lose too much weight, even without exercise and just taking care of my kids. I would always aim on the higher end of calories, give it a few weeks of consistent logging and whatever exercise. Then go from there.

I recommend using this calculator.


http://caloriecount.about.com/tools/calories-goal


You put in your current weight, goal weight, height, age and all that jazz and it tells you how much you should be eating to get to your goal weight. I've found MFP to be an unreliable source when it comes to the amount of calories I should be eating.

do you work out? That will also determine your intake!

At this point I've told MFP I want to lose a pound per week and I have a 1490 calorie budget. I would prefer to eat a little bit more than that so I exercise 6 days a week for extra calories and therefore extra food. Plus I actually enjoy the exercise I get, except for burpees, nobody likes burpees, but I would like to be able to do 30 at a time. Today I shall do 20 and add one a day to my total until February.

My starting weight was 206 and I am 5'4, my limit is 1600 but I never actually get that, normally it is around 1500. I have lost 11 pounds in 35 days. I don't eat exercise cals back either, I am doing the TDEE - 20% method.

1500 should be fine.

First you should calculate your BMR and make sure you are not eating under that. It is really harmful to your body to eat below your BMR. Then to lose I calculated my TDEE and subtracted 20%. You can find calculators all over the interwebz by using google.

This! I'm 5'6", 214lbs, 41 and work out 6 days a week and am eating 1900 cals a day and losing around 1.5lbs a week.

How do you determine the number of calories you should be eating to lose weight? I've been using 1500, but I've been wondering if that's too much. I am currently 258, 5'2", age 33.

Your BMR is roughly 1900 calories. Your TDEE, if you are lightly active, is roughly 2500 calories. Eating at 2000 honest calories should get you to an average of one per week loss. Eating 1500 honest calories, should get you to about two pounds per week.

The word "honest" is referring to the true amount of calories you are eating. If you are not weighing your food and accurately logging each bite, then your calorie count isn't honest, so it can not be used it as data to determine your goals.

1500 is fine, so long as you can stick with it. You shouldn't need to go any lower. Just make sure you're confident in your 1500 calories - get a good scale and weight/measure everything.

As for the people talking about eating below BMR and suggesting disastrous consequences will occur, please stop spreading that myth. Your BMR is not the magical line at which your body begins burning lean body mass for energy. Yes, everyone has a point at which their caloric deficit is more than their body can pull from their fat stores, but that has NOTHING to do with your BMR beyond calculating a caloric deficit. It has to do with how much fat you've got on your body. And if you actually think about it rather than just repeating "never go below your BMR!", it makes sense. When you eat a caloric deficit from your TDEE, your body still burns your TDEE in calories every day - it just pulls the remaining calories from your fat stores. When you dip below your BMR, your body again just pulls the remaining calories it needs from your fat stores. No difference. Where it becomes a problem is when your body can't pull enough energy from your fat stores to make up the caloric deficit you're running, and so it turns to your lean mass for energy. But that has nothing to do with your BMR, and at 258 pounds, you can dip a fair bit below your BMR and your body can easily make-up the difference from your fat stores.

TL;DR, your BMR is nothing special when it comes to sparing lean body mass.

Another vote for probably not enough!

You can do all the hard sums, but to be honest being truthful about your activity level, not overestimating your exercise burn and using MFP settings to lose 1 or 1.5lb a week works out as close as damn it to other methods.

I'm 5' 8", 183lbs and losing a steady 1lb a week on 1900 calories (which includes eating back my exercise calories).

You could probably get away with eating more. Your activity level will play a role in how much you should be eating.

To me 1500 is way low for your size. I'm 5'3, size 0 (sorry I don't weight myself because scales are BS), and I eat about 1900 a day and that's on a cut. So eat more.

The best way to determine how much you need to eat to lose depends on where you start. Most Americans that struggle with weight loss eat more than the recommended 2,000 calories a day. So try logging your food intake for 3 days to a week and you will see how many calories you actually take in, then you will get an actual picture of what you need to work on. I am a nurse surrounded by docs, nutritionist, dieticians all day. They all say you that instead of restricting calories you have to look at quality and quantity. Eat less calorie dense low nutrition foods and exercise. I am not into protein shakes or snacking on carrot sticks but looking at what I eat has put me in better position to make this life change...its a struggle. I am no expert but I see daily the consequences of poor health. Just starting on this site so I have not lost any weight yet but I am mentally ready. Good Luck, if you like we can be "fitness pals". Dawn