Daily calorie intake INSANE!!!

serapel
serapel Posts: 502 Member
I am 42, 5'8", 127 lbs, 18% BF. I workout 4 X week and work HARD. 35 min cardio, Pilate's, weights...squats, etc.

Fitness Pal says I need to eat 2060 cals a day. If I ate that, I'd lose a pound a week. To maintain, it seems I need like 2300 cals a day.

Isn't that insane??? I'm a middle aged woman!!! Can working out really increase metabolism that much or is my body whacked???

Replies

  • annie61702
    annie61702 Posts: 120 Member
    I would just enjoy it. It doesn't sound that high to me for maintenance if you work out a lot. I would up intake gradually until you find the number that keeps your weight steady.
  • runway12
    runway12 Posts: 63 Member
    Maybe start out at a number you feel comfortable with trying like maybe 1900 or 2000 and just wait a few weeks, see what happens. Listening to your body is always best : )
  • yeah that sounds perfectly fine I would'nt worry about it, i mean mine is 2500 to 3000 and I'm quite a bit shorter than you too, and your working out I think that sounds about right
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    This doesn't sound off to me. I'm four inches shorter than you, weigh a bit more than you, (but have less muscle mass than you), and don't work out nearly as much. I maintain at about 1900-2100 a day, so for you to be at a deficit there doesn't seem like a stretch.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    no, it doesn't sound insane.
    try it for a solid 6 weeks. measure/weigh/log everything you eat... as accurately as you can. If you don't gain in those 6 weeks, congrats, you found your maintenance. if you gain a little, eat less for 6 weeks and reassess the situation.
  • smithed812
    smithed812 Posts: 289
    Sounds legit to me.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    Seems about right.
    I am 38, almost 39, 12% bodyfat, 5'10, 133Ibs. I also workout hard, 5-6 days a week.
    Lose eating 2200-2800.
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    Yup, also 5'8" a little younger, but in decent shape and run and weight lift. I try to keep my intake between 2300 and 2500 per day and I'm losing at a 1/2 pound per week pace and have been for the last three months. Those numbers sound perfectly fine to me, but the only way you're going to know for sure is to log everything carefully and track your weight.

    I agree with the poster who said to give it six weeks, my body fluctuates by at least 5 pounds over the course of a month so I have to average everything out over a 60 to 90 day period to see the actual trend in my weight loss, especially since I'm close to goal and don't have much to lose.