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So how many calories should I be eating? pls help

ambiences
ambiences Posts: 65 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know there's like 34 million threads just like this but hear me out. I'm confused (like many others at first haha) I used mfp back in November/December and ate at 1450 calories a day or so (went over most the time, but that was the goal.) After that, I kinda fell off the weight loss wagon and gained it all back. (Sad story) Around 3 weeks or so ago I decided to pick up again and set my goals to 1450. I didnt lose weight as consistently as before. (I've only lost about a pound.) Then like 2 or so days ago I looked at that silly losertown calculator and I decided to lower my goal to the poisonous 1200 calories hahaha. But then I'm thinking, maybe I'd be better off eating closer to my BMR. I've been reading a lot on it but sometimes it'd be helpful to have some verification from people who've been successful :)
According to fat2fitradio, my BMR is 1745. If I want to lose 2 or so pounds a week, would I be able to? How many calories should I eat? Could I still lose inches if I exercised? (So many silly questions, sorry.) Pleaaase help. And don't come at my throat heh thank you!!

Replies

  • ambiences
    ambiences Posts: 65 Member
    Bump :(
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    Set your MFP profile to reflect your lifestyle before any exercise. Set your weekly weight loss rate to 1.5 lbs. a week. Enter your exercise calories and eat back about half to start and make adjustments as needed.

    As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:

    More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
    40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
    10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
    Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Whether or not you can/should lose 2 pounds a week or not is going to depend on how much you have left to lose.

    As a general rule of thumb:
    More than 75 lbs to lose: 2 lbs/week
    40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
    10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
    Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

    MFP does a pretty good job of giving you a calorie goal if you set it up accurately (and with the guideline above in mind). What does it set you at?

    Another popular method takes your estimated TDEE and removes about 20% from it to get your calorie goal. I don't know your stats or how active you are, so you may have to do some legwork to get an estimate of your TDEE: iifym.com/tdee-calculator

    More info: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    In the end, it's important to remember that these numbers are estimates and just a starting place. Pick one method. Stick with it for several weeks (you need to give your body a few weeks to adjust). Pay attention to your hunger levels, your energy levels, and how you feel in general.

    If you're losing as expected, great! If you're not losing, then start lowering your calories a little at a time until you do. If you're losing more than expected, then start raising them a little at a time. It can take some trial and error to find what works best.
  • ambiences
    ambiences Posts: 65 Member
    Thanks for responding guys!! Mfp set me at 1200 because I put 2 pounds a week
    I'm 203 looking to be 130-140 or so! The only thing that sucks is that 1200 just seems so low and lots of people say it's better to go closer to BMR or TDEE etc. I'm just wondering if eating at my BMR would be better because then my body would be healthy and I'd still be at a deficit.
  • ambiences
    ambiences Posts: 65 Member
    I'll try setting it to 1.5 a week.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    If you want more calories to eat then 1.5 lbs. a week is fine. As stated before, those numbers are estimates. With regular exercise, you could very well lose more than 1.5 lbs.

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