how many calories ?

Options
HarmonysJourney
HarmonysJourney Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I am new here, I was looking up how many calories do I need to lose 2 pounds a week online.
Some websites say 1,200 calories a day another told me 1,400 a day and two others said 800 calories a day. another site said to stay at my BMR ( ?) of 1,480 calories a day.Im confused on how many calories I need to lose weight.
I would appreciate any advice. thank you in advance. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    Options
    Harmony, a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories [1]. That means, to lose 2 pounds in a week, you need to eat (2x3500=) 7,000 calories fewer than you burn. That's (7000/7=) 1,000 fewer calories per day.

    If you tell MyFitnessPal your height, weight, age, gender, activity level and goal of losing 2lbs per week, it will estimate how many calories you need to eat each day. It's that simple!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    If you tell MyFitnessPal your height, weight, age, gender, activity level and goal of losing 2lbs per week, it will estimate how many calories you need to eat each day. It's that simple!

    this
  • Short_n_Plump
    Short_n_Plump Posts: 29
    Options
    If you tell MyFitnessPal your height, weight, age, gender, activity level and goal of losing 2lbs per week, it will estimate how many calories you need to eat each day. It's that simple!

    this
    However, MyFitnessPal often underestimates these things so I would say, try it for a while and depending on whether you lose weight at your desired rate, change it if needed
    ETA: you only have 40lbs to lose so maybe 1lb or 1.5lb per week would be a better goal
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
    Options
    Yes, MFP works out the deficit for you, but if (like many women) your TDEE (before exercise) is less than 2200, you will be given a 1200 goal regardless. This is because it isn't a good idea to go under 1200 for the majority of people. But it does mean that many people who set a goal of 2lb a week and count their calories carefully, will not lose at that rate. For instance, if your TDEE (before exercise) is 1700, MFP will try to give you a 1000 calorie deficit, but because that takes you too low (700) calories, it will set your goal at 1200. That means your deficit is 500 a week, and you would lose at 1lb a week - which is a great goal, but will be demoralising if people are EXPECTING to lose 2lb a week. I wish MFP would be more upfront about this.

    Personally, I don't think the rate of loss is a good starting point. You'd expect to lose quite quickly if you were very obese, but slowly if you were just a little overweight. What was more important for me was finding something that was easy to stick to. I started setting MFP to 1lb a week loss, and dropped to 1/2 lb a week loss when I was finding it difficult. It worked for me (although I've changed method since, but the calories are much the same).
  • HarmonysJourney
    HarmonysJourney Posts: 5
    Options
    .Thank you for your reply :flowerforyou:
    For your reply I appreciate it, especially since I am just starting out here
    and now cant figure out to post correctly lol
    Thank you :smile:
  • HarmonysJourney
    HarmonysJourney Posts: 5
    Options
    Thank you for your reply flowerforyou
    If you wouldn't mind, telling me where I can put my height, weight ect
    to find out my daily calorie requirement's.
    Thank you smile
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
    Options
    At the top, click on 'Settings', then on the next page select 'Update diet/fitness profile'. Answe the questions as accurately as you can and you should be all set. :)
  • HarmonysJourney
    HarmonysJourney Posts: 5
    Options
    Harmony, a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories [1]. That means, to lose 2 pounds in a week, you need to eat (2x3500=) 7,000 calories fewer than you burn. That's (7000/7=) 1,000 fewer calories per day.

    If you tell MyFitnessPal your height, weight, age, gender, activity level and goal of losing 2lbs per week, it will estimate how many calories you need to eat each day. It's that simple!

    Thank you for your reply flowerforyou
    If you wouldn't mind, telling me where I can put my height, weight ect
    to find out my daily calorie requirement's. I looked and couldn't find it.
    Thank you smile

Categories