Calories right for weight loss?

hendrijm · February 2014

I'm just getting back into myfitnesspal.com after completing my schooling. I have been reading some posts about how many calories I should eat. According to http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/, if I am sedentary I should eat 1600 calories a day to lose weight. I am currently 194 lbs and 5'0 tall. Does this sound reasonable to other people. I feel like that is a lot of calories, but something I could do without much struggle.

BluesGuitar · February 2014

Why don't you just track your current diet (don't change anything) for a week or two. If you don't lose weight during that time, you are effectively at your Maintenance Calories for your given activity level.

If you plan to stay at that activity level and just tackle the weight loss with diet, reduce your calories by 15% from your maintenance. That, as you will see, should not be much of a struggle, which is a great thing.

I prefer that method over taking some generic number from an internet calculator. Everybody is different.

niecylaroo · February 2014

You know, I always been told that I should eat around 1400-1600 calories a day. I am 56 years of age, 5'.3", and 172 pounds. MyFitnessPal has actually set mine at 1200. The funny thing is I have been eating a lot of power foods (Weight Watchers program - fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, low fat, no added sugar) and have not been reaching even 1200. I lost 7.8 pounds in two weeks and then gained one pound. I overdid it over Super Bowl weekend, hence the one pound! I do not want to be on any crash diets and, although I'm eating healthy foods, I feel like I am not eating enough. It's frustrating.:noway:

superkadri · February 2014

Beware of eating too little, though. Consuming less calories than your basal metabolic rate, your body burns muscle for energy and only a little fat.
You can calculate your basal metabolic rate here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Calories right for weight loss?

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