Generic 'how many calories' question

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BellaGowrie
BellaGowrie Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just a quick question because I'm still not entirely sure what I should be eating. I have about a stone left to go so I'll probably be switching to half a pound a week soon, but for now, what should I be eating?
I'm 5'6, 19 years old and 139 lbs. My BMR is 1420 and my TDEE is between 1710 and 1950 depending on how active I am. My activity varies from day to day, with some days being constantly on my feet and others just having lazy days, and I work out roughly three times a week for half an hour - an hour. Does that put me at lightly active with a TDEE of 1950?
I figure I should be eating somewhere between 1200 and 1500 calories for a 500 calorie deficit, but there's quite a bit difference between the two. I've been sticking to roughly 1300, but it's hard to do sometimes. I wonder whether I should be eating more, eating more just on days I've exercised or whether 1300 sounds about right?
Thanks in advance :]

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Since TDEE is always just an estimate, it can take some experimentation to find what's right for you. My generic advice is to pick a number, any number, though I'd suggest something between 1368 and 1560 (this is 20% less than your two TDEE estimates). Try it out for a few weeks and see what happens. If you feel good and you're losing the amount you want then great! If you don't feel good or don't lose as expected then adjust as necessary.

    If you're calculating your TDEE without exercise (you're actually calculating your NEAT in this case, but the terms don't matter) then yes, just like with MFP you could add extra calories as you work out to make up the difference between your estimated TDEE and your actual TDEE after exercise. With the same caveats that if you're relying on MFP estimates of your calories burned or a gym machine readout then you may want to eat only 50-75% of those extra calories in case of inaccuracies.
  • BellaGowrie
    BellaGowrie Posts: 45 Member
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    Such a helpful response, thank you so much! I'll try it out for a few weeks and then adjust, thank you! :D

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