Should I increase calorie goal or not?

nicolemontagna22
nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've have posted a few times about calories. I got some people telling me I need to raise them some people telling me I need to lower them. How do I know who to believe. How can I "test" to see what number works for me. What are the cues? I was at 1370 before. Then I was told to lower it so if you look I'm currently at 1290. I was told to go as high as 1800.

When using MFP to calculate I have two issues
1. Do I aim to lose .5 a week or 1 lb
2. Am I slightly active or sedentary

I am 5'2 136 lbs. 31 yrs old. I work 9-3 five days in a school an switch classrooms every 45 mins. Each day I do about an hour to two hours of housework doing laundry or dishes and straitening up the house. Five days a week I do jillian michaels ripped in 30 (20 mins of circuit training) the two days I don't workout I give plasma.

Replies

  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    What are your fitness goals?

    From this website (http://www.rush.edu/rumc/page-1108048103230.html)

    For 5'2 the normal weight range is 104 to 131 lbs and the overweight range is 136 to 158 lbs.

    So according to this you could lose a little bit of weight. Shoot for a small weight loss goal of .5 lbs per week and there are lots of calculators you can use to estimate what you would need to reach that goal.

    Consider strength training and lifting heavy weights too. The women on this site that do look amazing and it will help you feel stronger and tighter. You can strength train even while trying to lose weight, but keep in mind it's inefficient to gain muscle mass while eating at a calorie deficit. Once you reach your goal weight I would work on putting on some muscle (eating at a small calorie surplus) and you'll love how your body looks and feels.
  • nicolemontagna22
    nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
    I want to look fit! I am doing the ripped in 39 right now which has strength in it. Should I do more in addition to what's in the video? Or wait till I complete the video?
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
    That's a good question, I'd have to defer you to some of the other experts here on the site as I'm not familiar with that program. My goals are a little different, I'm doing a combination of lifting heavy weights and cardio at the gym, with the goal to lose weight.
  • nicolemontagna22
    nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
    Where can I get a true bmr and tdee from. I checked a few resources and they were so far
    Off from each other I don't know which one to trust
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Eat at a number - any number - for a few weeks. Log everything. Weight regularly. Be consistent.

    At the end of those few weeks, your scale will tell you whether you need to eat more or less.
  • nicolemontagna22
    nicolemontagna22 Posts: 229 Member
    That sounds like a good plan. I think I'm gonna try 1350 and see what happens. What should I expect if its not enough? A loss but being hungry? Obviously too much is no loss or a gain.

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