Eating the wrong # of cals?

ace175
ace175 Posts: 518 Member
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
was just looking @ some websites about how many calories I should eat to lose weight based on height, weight, age, gender...and those websites said I should be eating a lot more calories than what MFP tells me to eat. I'm now worried that I might not be eating enough calories...and I really want to do this the healthy way. Over the summer I did the slimfast 3-2-1 plan, and was not getting enough calories at all and my hair started falling out, so I really want to do it right this time..

MFP told me my calorie goal is 1480, and some other websites gave me this:

You need 2184.3 calories per day to reach your goal weight slowly and maintain that weight without exercise.

If you reduce your current caloric intake to 1854.5 calories per day you will lose one pound per week without exercise.

Any ideas what to do? Please help!!

Replies

  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
    I know everyon'e different but I lost the EXACT amount of weight per week that MFP told me I would eating the amount of calories they suggested.
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
    I know everyon'e different but I lost the EXACT amount of weight per week that MFP told me I would eating the amount of calories they suggested.

    I am the exact same way (with exceptions during TOM)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    What is your MFP goal? MFP may not be that different, if MFP used the same starting point and you chose to lose 1.5lbs/week MFP would give you 2184-750 = 1434, for a one pound loss MFP would give you 1686.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Many other sites use different formulas to break down the calorie intake based on BMR. And depending on the formula, they plug in different numbers for the calculations depending on the level of activity you specify. LiveStrong gives me a daily calorie goal 130 calories more than MFP does. They're relatively the same to me since I always have a deficit from working out. It's up to you which site you would like to use, but use one and consistently use it, just as a baseline. You can always manually change your caloric goal on MFP anyway if you feel it's giving you something lower than you need.

    A shift in intake [up or down] will always change as your body requires it. There may be days you're not hungry and you don't eat all of your calories, and there will be days where you're perpetually hungry and go over. It should all balance out in the grand scheme of things. Just make sure it's all within your preference of healthy food choices.
  • aclcoates
    aclcoates Posts: 7
    I started this in Oct5,2010 and always ate what MFP told me to. I've lost 35 lbs so far. I would stick with MFP.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    I know everyon'e different but I lost the EXACT amount of weight per week that MFP told me I would eating the amount of calories they suggested.

    Same here.
  • Queentipsie
    Queentipsie Posts: 15 Member
    I had a doctor tell me if you want to be 180 then eat 1800 calories. 160 then eat 1600. 140 eat 1400. This doesnt include your workout calories. This is just losing weight based on eating! Dont go below 1200 which over time would yield you 120 pounds over time.
  • bhb301
    bhb301 Posts: 338 Member
    Some one told me it was bc they don't take into acct you exercising. So that's why if you exercise you should increase your cal intake.
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
    So I usually burn about 300 calories working out... but I eat back most of those calories, but I still try to stay under my goal of 1480...is that right/okay?
    All of these numbers make me so confused!!
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
    So I usually burn about 300 calories working out... but I eat back most of those calories, but I still try to stay under my goal of 1480...is that right/okay?
    All of these numbers make me so confused!!

    If your goal is 1480 calories, that means that many NET calories. Calories consumed - calories burned = Net calories

    So if you burn 300 calories, that means you can actually EAT 300 more calories, as shown below...

    1780 - 300 = 1480 calories.

    See how the calories consumed 1780? That is 300 calories more than the 1480, BECAUSE you worked out and burned 300 calories. You can EAT BACK your exercise calories, as long as your NET calories hits your goal. On MFP, the site AUTOMATICALLY updates how much you can eat when you put in a workout. So in the morning before eating/exercise, your diary would say "daily goal 1480," if you burn 300 calories exercising and put that in it'll NOW say "daily goal 1780." See how that works?

    Just pay attention to your net calories and you'll be fine :)
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
    So I usually burn about 300 calories working out... but I eat back most of those calories, but I still try to stay under my goal of 1480...is that right/okay?
    All of these numbers make me so confused!!

    If your goal is 1480 calories, that means that many NET calories. Calories consumed - calories burned = Net calories

    So if you burn 300 calories, that means you can actually EAT 300 more calories, as shown below...

    1780 - 300 = 1480 calories.

    You can EAT BACK your exercise calories, as long as your NET calories hits your goal. On MFP, the site AUTOMATICALLY updates how much you can eat when you put in a workout. So in the morning before eating/exercise, your diary would say "daily goal 1480," if you burn 300 calories exercising and put that in it'll NOW say "daily goal 1780." See how that works?

    Just pay attention to your net calories and you'll be fine :)


    Ohhhhh ok! This is making complete sense to me now! Wow! Thanks a bunch!!
  • Mollydolly10
    Mollydolly10 Posts: 431 Member
    Haha great! (I kept editing it to try to make more sense) haha
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    So I usually burn about 300 calories working out... but I eat back most of those calories, but I still try to stay under my goal of 1480...is that right/okay?
    All of these numbers make me so confused!!

    Like Molly said, in this case you would eat 1780, otherwise your body is only functioning as if you ate 1180 calories (1480-300) and didn't exercise, which from this site and the other site is not enough for you. You should eat all of the calories, within 50 or so, of what MFP suggests, these are goals, not numbers you want to stay under. The closer you are to your goal the better, and you don't have to do any work or math, MFP does it all for you, just eat what it says.
  • khrys1
    khrys1 Posts: 444 Member
    Did those other websites ask you how much you move around for your job, etc. on a daily basis (moving that wouldn't be considered working out, but does help you burn calories?) I know MFP takes that into account. I know you're supposed to eat at least 1200 calories a day, and for me to stay exactly the same, I could have 2100 calories a day. I believe MFP takes that baseline of 2100/day and just subtracts how many fewer calories you need to eat in order to reach the pound, 1.5 pounds, or 2 pounds you entered into the site (when you set your goals) based on how much YOU wanted to lose each week. Maybe double-check your goals on MFP and make sure they're set right for you. Good luck!
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