Calorie Goal-HELP

Hey folks,

I might have gotten some back advice from a personal trainer and I wanted to get some help.

My stats: 5'10 female, age 22, weight 188
My Goal: weight 170, Oct 22 (about 1.6/1.7 lbs a week)
Method: 50% exercise, 50% caloric deficit

At work: I work at home via computer. I am free to move about but spend most of my time sitting and typing.
At home: I actively cook (1-2 hours a day), walk my dogs but again, sitting.
At exercise: I have one off day a week. The rest of the week, I am doing 1-2 hours of fun stuff: zumba, MA, skating, long nature walks, etc. I burn about 525 cal on those days on average.

How much should I be eating? I'm getting conflicting answers online. Mathematically, to hit that lbs dropped I need to be under by 5950 each week. So something like -425 per day on average for food.

My BMR is 1699. Does that mean I need to eat 1274 a day then?

BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories your body would need to survive if you were in a coma or otherwise completely inactive. Barring specific medical advice and supervision to the contrary, you should NEVER eat under your BMR for any length of time.

If your BMR is 1699 (I didn't run that math; there are several calculators online) and you're exercising/moving to burn an additional 525 calories, then your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure - is 2224. If the 425 calorie deficit is accurate, you should be eating around 1799 per day to meet your goals.

Alternately, read the guide to sexypants that someone will probably either have posted whilst I was typing this, or that will be along any minute now.

Arrrg...still confused. (Its embarrassing. College was easy....yet I can't figure this out.)

OK going to the sexy pants guide I relooked at TDEE again.

TDEE= BMR+ exercise+ non-exercise moving+ digestion

TDEE= 1699 + 450 + 200+ ?
TDEE= 2399+ digestion

To lose 1.7lbs a week= 5950/7= -850 a day

So is THIS right? 1499????

I am 99% confident on the exercise #. As for "non exercise"...I figure 2 hours of light activity (cooking/cleaning) + dog walking should equal about 200 calories

You weekly weight loss goal is rather aggressive....that's why you are getting a number less than your BMR. Aggressive weekly goals don't support lean muscle mass very well. Your body has less than it needs for heart, lungs, kidneys, etc (basic function). It will take what it needs from more than just fat stores. If you want mostly fat loss....step down your weekly goal a bit.

Non-exercise is sedentary, lightly active, etc. This is included in TDEE.....exercise should be included in TDEE also. Remember non-exercise activity is everything from sitting up, walking to the bathroom and brushing your teeth. As a 22 year old....it's highly likely it's above sedentary level. At 5'10" you are using more calories than most women too.

How do you walk your dog whilst sitting?

Thanks for responding folks...I'm kind of getting this.

Question 1: How is 1.7 a week aggressive? The sexypants guide said .5-1% body weight loss was OK. 1.7 for me is .9%.

Question 2: Could eating only 1300 (where I am getting estimated for eating 1600 or more) be the reason I am barely losing any weight?

Question 3: Is there a professional who could help with this? Love you all but I seem to be a tad dense in this area, so professional help might really be needed. (I mean to say what is the name of the profession that could help me with this.)

Anything above 1.5 pounds per week would be more appropriate if you had 50+ pounds to lose. Some people can use 1%....others need to use .5%. There is a range for a reason. Obese people can use the 1%.

I see that there is a time frame for your weight loss.....bad idea all around. There will be weight fluctuations...water weight, hormones, etc. The scale is just ONE number.....it's not even the best number. Track your progress with a tape measure too. There will be weeks with no loss on the scale....but it shows up with a tape measure. What most people really want is to be smaller. The number on the scale lies (a bit).

1300 is terribly low when your BMR is 1699. Look for threads on skinny-fat. These are people that lost quickly and end up being puffy & jiggly still. When they're at their goal weight.....they think they need to lose more. Remember muscle is compact & firm......1 pound of muscle is smaller than 1 pound of fat.

A personal trainer should have better knowledge. Some trainers have more knowledge than others.