Calories calories calories

KameHameHaaa
KameHameHaaa Posts: 244 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So MFP says I should be eating 1,990 calories. That seems like a lot of calories for someone who needs to lose 200 LBs. I don't know how many calories "normal/average" sized people eat, but I always see labels on boxes stating "based on a 2,000 calorie diet" which kind of leads me to believe 2,000 is around the amount of cals an avg person would be eating. So if i need to be eating less than that why would MFP suggest a number as high as 1,990 ? Also, if i work out and eat back those calories then i could be eating up to like 2600 cals a day?? Sorry i'm new to this whole thing, just want to make sure I do this right because I'm ready for a change. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out here :)

Replies

  • Murphy0126
    Murphy0126 Posts: 84 Member
    The larger you are, the higher your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is.

    BMR is the amount of calories your body burns just by doing natural things (breathing, heart beating, urinating, defecating, digestions, etc). So BMR, is what your caloric need is just to lay in bed and do nothing all day.

    If you are quite large, your BMR is quite high, thus you can lose weight by eating at a slight deficit from that number.

    Example: When I started on here at 415 lbs, I was told to eat 3000 calories per day to lose weight.... I did..... and I did.

    Listen to MFP. Be honest with your logging, and eat healthy foods often. You'll lose!

    Good luck!

    Rob

    EDIT for clarity: If your BMR is 2900 (just say), and you wanted to lose 1 lb per week, then you would consume 2400 calories per day, this would give a 3500 calorie deficit per week (which equates to a pound). If you wanted to lose 2 lbs per week then you would consume 1900 calories per day (which would equate to a 7000 calorie deficit, or 1000 calorie deficit per day).
  • alfiedn
    alfiedn Posts: 425 Member
    When you weigh more, you need to eat more. As you lose weight, you will be able to eat less. A larger body needs more fuel simply to exist. That means sleeping, sitting on the couch, etc. as you lose weight, you'll need less fuel.
  • viglet
    viglet Posts: 299 Member
    MFP has it right.

    There is more of you to sustain, so your body can still lose while eating 1990 calories. And yes, you can eat some of your exercise calories back (some people eat them all, some people eat half ect).

    As you lose more weight, the amount of calories you can eat becomes lower.
  • cardinalsfootball
    cardinalsfootball Posts: 167 Member
    If you set a goal to lose some weight, whether .5 per week to 1 or even 2 per week, and it told you to eat 1990, then eat 1990. You WILL lose weight over time. Don't try to rush the process... that way just leads to failure or health problems.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    What are your stats(height/weight)?

    Seems like you picked an attainable goal (not 2 pounds per week!)

    With exercise calories, if you are using MFP's estimates, you may want to eat half to 3/4 back, because the estimates tend to be high.

    Make sure you weigh and measure everything, choose diary items without the stars * (I couldn't spell the other word.. LOL jeez..), those are user-entered and may not be accurate. If you are logging fruit/veggies, stay away from the "generic" entries, and when you find the entries without the star, change the serving size to 100g and go from there (weigh it out)

    It may seem impossible to get up to 1900 calories, but you will get there! I eat 1600 on lazy days, and 2000-2100 on my workout days. I'm 5'4 and 156lbs.
  • usmcj80
    usmcj80 Posts: 58
    From everything I have read and all the weird weight loss tv shows there are out there the thinking is that it takes mroe calories to maintian the weight you are at. For example a 170 person may need 2000 calroies to stay at 170 lbs where a 190 lb person needs more to stay at 190 lbs. Yes if you work out you will need more calories to be healthy while losing your weight but I wouldn't worry. Just track your stuff on this website for about 5 weeks and see where it goes. I bet you will feel and look a lot better in even just a short peroid of time. Good Luck!!! and you can do it!!
  • MapleFlavouredMaiden
    MapleFlavouredMaiden Posts: 595 Member
    Use the Scooby calc to find out what you should be eating at a basic level. If you want to do the "eat your exercise cals back" thing then just enter it as if you were sedentary.

    2000 cals isn't all that much actually if you know what you're doing with losing fat, you shouldn't have to drop much below that depending on your weight.
  • KameHameHaaa
    KameHameHaaa Posts: 244 Member
    Thanks everyone for the advice and insight! :) I know being patient plays a big part of this new lifestyle, it's just a virtue I haven't quite attained yet LOL.

    To the person who asked my stats, I'm 5'8" and 350 LBs. I've been morbidly obese literally my entire life, I don't remember an age where I was a normal weight. I was still pretty active though, martial arts and other physical hobbies up until age 19 when I ruptured a disc in my back. Because of the nerve damage from that disc, plantar fasciitis I have in BOTH feet, and arthritis in my right knee, I'm only able to do low impact cardio. I'm REALLY hoping once the pounds start coming off I'll be able to do something more intense, but right now I've been sticking with the elliptical at my gym. I do that 30-45 minutes a day, 7 days a week. I can't do it really fast like I see some of the people at the gym doing , so I just set a high resistance and go slower. Usually says I'm burning anywhere from 350 to 500 cals depending on how fast I'm able to go. Sometimes I try the treadmill, arc trainer or bike but those days I've gone home with a thrown out back :(

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