suggested calories

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nukehiker
nukehiker Posts: 457
in Food and Nutrition
so MFP suggest that i consume about 2200 calories a day. i'm pretty new to this, but I have noticed that I am normally about 500 calories under that sugestion. do i need to consume more ? or is that just an extra cushion I have in case I need it ??

thanks

James

Replies

  • MissTarasy
    MissTarasy Posts: 1
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    Hi James,
    My name is Erin and I'm new to the fitness world, too. I'm not sure how the suggested calories work. I've tried to stay "in the green" since I started MFP. But, I believe you "earn" the calories back that you burn from exercise. I've tried to research this, but I'm still confused! Looking forward to reading other responses.

    I live in Colorado...and if you're looking for places to hike - Colorado is the place to be!

    Best of luck,
    Erin
  • Vicky14174
    Vicky14174 Posts: 715 Member
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    What do you have your activity level set at? Make sure you have it set correctly for your normal day of movement. Also you need to eat all or most of your exercise calories every day.
  • drfelle
    drfelle Posts: 6
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    Is it saying you need 2200 calories to maintain your current body weight? - or 2200 to lose X amount of pounds per week?

    I'm a male and 2200 calories will maintain my current weight - and anything less than that I'm going to lose weight. If I eat 2000 calories a week I will have a deficit of about 1400 calories for the week - that means I should lose about 1 pound per 2 weeks.

    I get a bit more aggressive and limit my net calories to 1500 calories. I wouldn't go any lower than this number; I have found weight loss stops happening at anything less than 1500 calories.

    Remember to make up the calories you burn through exercise.
  • Xandi
    Xandi Posts: 319
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    James if you start out at 2200 calories a day... and you eat that... it is good, if you don't you body will most likely have a hard time losing weight as you are making it think you are starving yourself. If the 2200 is after you exercise.. so there are exercise calories added on there is a debate over if you eat them or not ( you don't have to but you can).
  • nukehiker
    nukehiker Posts: 457
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    thanks Erin ! I was thinking of a hiking trip this summer maybe to Zion national park and go hike the narrows. it looks awesome. I would be open to some suggestion you might have of great places to go in Colorado. let me know if you find the answer to the calorie question. oh by the way my profile picture is from last spring at the grand canyon when I hiked from the south rim to the canyon floor. i think the trail was called blue angel trail ? it was 4.5 miles each way.

    thanks

    James
  • sydhager
    sydhager Posts: 3
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    Colorado!! I love Colorado. Our sons live in Fort Collins...we are in Michigan. If I lived there I wouldn't need myfitnesspal!!

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