Calorie Calculator wants people to starve!

SuperTiredMom
SuperTiredMom Posts: 172 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Literally. I was looking up my recommended intake to lose 2 lb/week and Calculator.net said for someone lightly active (exercise 1-3x a week) that I'd need to eat 957 calories per day! Whoa! It's a good thing I have MFP because I know better, but those poor people out there who don't know any different!

Replies

  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,902 Member
    I went and looked and yeah, it tried to give me about 250 less calories per day than MFP does on default settings. Weird.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Just to be logical about it...there are two reasons for this

    1) MFP doesn't allow anyone to be set lower than 1200 calories per day.

    2) Two pounds per week is probably an unrealistic goal. Can't see your profile info but going by your pic, it looks like you don't have much left to lose.
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    The calculator is only responding to the input you gave it. With a low starting height/weight and an aggressive weight loss rate, of course it will output a low number.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Literally. I was looking up my recommended intake to lose 2 lb/week and Calculator.net said for someone lightly active (exercise 1-3x a week) that I'd need to eat 957 calories per day! Whoa! It's a good thing I have MFP because I know better, but those poor people out there who don't know any different!

    Whoa
    that's messed up. 1200 NET is MFPs lowest default minimum.

    Are you sure Calculator.net even includes exercise (MFP doesn't)? You could be comparing apples to oranges.
  • SuperTiredMom
    SuperTiredMom Posts: 172 Member
    It does include exercise, I put light for it. As far as for myself, I'd looked up -1 lb and maintenance but the site gave me for losing,maintenance, and gaining. I was just surprised that a site would recommend such a low number. Even losing 1 lb and working out up to 3x a week was about 1400.

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