Is this the correct Net Calories Consumed* / Day ?

masonzilla
masonzilla Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new to this and was wondering if any could help ?

I'm 5'8 male and currently weigh 265 lbs. MFP calculated that my Net Calories Consumed* / Day is 1550.
Is this too low or is it normal ?

Replies

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    May I suggest you take a look through this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    It has some great advice for getting started out.


    ETA: Sorry that didn't really answer your question. I am 5'2" 41y/o woman eating more than that and losing. It seems to be a bit low to me.
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    Well, I put in all the correct information and that's the ( Net Calories Consumed* / Day ) they gave me ?
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    It seems pretty low to me. I eat about 1500 per day and I'm 5' 3.5" tall, a woman, and 191lbs.

    edit: Perhaps your goals are set to be too ambitious. I believe the recommended figures are to aim for 2lbs+ if you have 75lbs+ to lose, 1.5lbs/week if you have 40-74, 1 lb if you have like 20-40ish (not sure here), then 0.5lb/week if less than that.

    Note that net calories means when you burn calories exercising, you should eat them back. Your deficit is already figured into your net calorie goal. Using MFP estimates it's generally recommended to eat about 50% of the calories they say you burned back, because the estimates are usually too high.
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    I did aim for 2 pounds a week. When I finished putting in all my information and my goal weight was 190. Then it stated that I would lose 10 lbs by July 25th. Am I missing something ?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    MFP gave me 1200 cals initially. I was tired and ready to consume one of my dogs. Do some reading. It will help you enjoy the process more and keep you on track longer. There are several threads with stick pins in them at the top of several of the boards, many are well worth the read. This one too, as well as the previous one I posted for you:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    ETA: All those numbers are estimates. Like I said the threads are well worth reading. If you are going to stick with the 1550 calories as it is your choice, I highly recommend eating back your exercise calories, it is the way the MFP program is set up. Lower daily target with the expectation that you have a) entered in the correct data (including daily activity level, few people are truly sedentary and appropriate weight loss goal) and b) that you will eat back the exercise calories. You may find that after a while you want to change these things. You can override the numbers that MFP has given you to set a higher calorie goal, should you choose to.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    You can only try it out and see. Bear in mind you will lose a LOT of water, food in gut, glycogen weight in the first couple of weeks.

    Track your net calories and average weight (daily weighing, 7 days averaged) with a graph. If after the initial water loss you feel you are losing too quickly, or you can't bear the hunger, then go for 1.5lb per week.

    The closer you get to goal, the slower your fat loss should be. I lose at 1/3 pound a week when I cut. Sometimes less.

    If you're exercising and weight training, your weight will be all over the place, due to water retention for muscle repair, some say only weigh the day after rest day and normal sodium levels, not near TOM if you're female.
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    I read your post and I put all the correct information in there. I even doubled checked it.
    I put in my correct weight, age, height, weight, etc. Perhaps this website is not as good as I thought ?
    I heard only good things about it but not sure about that now.
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,253 Member
    I did aim for 2 pounds a week. When I finished putting in all my information and my goal weight was 190. Then it stated that I would lose 10 lbs by July 25th. Am I missing something ?

    The mfp statement about losing xxx by yyy is just a computer thing, not accurate or true forecast

    My calories were set at 1200, I mainly kept around that figure, but worked on weekly average, one day up, one day down, I suggest you do not have a 24 hour calorie goal

    PS, the best thing IMO about mfp is logging all your food, it keeps you thinking about just how many calories are in the food
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    The site is great. The trouble is that like all calculators (any site you go to), it is best guesstimates of what will work for you.
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    Then what should be my normal cal/day be ?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Read the links. Here are a few more:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    We don't really know enough about you to tell you, e.g. your age or activity level, but I put your stats into some BMR calculators and they mostly say your BMR is around 2200-2400. Based on this I'm guessing you should really be able to eat a lot more than 1550 net - 1800-2000 should be doable. But you should really read the links, and then try something. See how it goes. You can always reduce your calories if you started too high.
  • snowmaniac
    snowmaniac Posts: 600 Member
    1550 would be the lowest you would want to go. Allow yourself a buffer up as high as 1800 and see how things go over the first month or so. If you average in that range you ought to make progress assuming you have no metabolic disorders. It's very possible to lose weight without starving all the time.
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    Thanks for the information. I think I'm starting to understand how it works now.
    Just new to how it works.
    Thanks for all the info.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Thanks for the information. I think I'm starting to understand how it works now.
    Just new to how it works.
    Thanks for all the info.

    I'm sorry, I think I overwhelmed you there. I didn't mean to. :blushing:
  • masonzilla
    masonzilla Posts: 9
    You didn't overwhelmed me at all. In fact, I thought you were very helpful and I see how you're correct about mfp being a good site.
    You taught me that it just takes a little fine tuning to get adjusted. And the users are very helpful.

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