Calories?

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shopgirl192
shopgirl192 Posts: 102
in Health and Weight Loss
I know MFP has tools for all of this, but I feel like different websites give me different information.

I'm currently 128lbs... I want to weigh 115. I don't have a time line, I just want to continue to do it in a healthy way.

What is the suggestion number of calories I should be consuming every day?

Replies

  • TheWatchStander
    TheWatchStander Posts: 120
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    Well the way this site works it needs a goal, like 1 pound a week or something like that to compute the number of calories you should eat each day. 1 pound a week is fairly healthy to shoot for.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    I'd go with MFP's calculations, but 1200 and 1500 are ever-popular numbers. You could try one of those. :)
  • mindspinmegs311
    mindspinmegs311 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'd be happy to give you my "professional opinion" (I am a dietetic intern almost done with my internship, on my way to becoming a dietitian) however I need to know your height. :)
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    I'd go with MFP's calculations, but 1200 and 1500 are ever-popular numbers. You could try one of those. :)

    Input all your information, including how much you'd like to lose per week, and go with what MFP tells you.

    Just out of curiosity, how tall are you? Are you sure 115 is a healthy weight for you? Sometimes when you don't have much to lose all you really need is a little cardio and lots of strength training to chnge your body composition a little.
  • mindspinmegs311
    mindspinmegs311 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'd go with MFP's calculations, but 1200 and 1500 are ever-popular numbers. You could try one of those. :)

    MFPs calculations are fairly accurate. You don't want to go too low on your calorie levels because 1) it's hard to maintain and 2) it can put your body into starvation mode.

    A quick and dirty nutrition tutorial: most dietitians calculate ideal body weight by this formula, for a woman it is 100 lbs for the first 60 inches and 5 pounds each inch over 60. For example, I'm 5'6'' so my ideal body weight using that formula is 130 lbs.
    For a man, it is 106 lbs for the first 60 inches and 6 lbs per inch over 60. So, a man that is 5'10'' would have an ideal body weight of 166 lbs.

    NOW. Obviously we are humans and we have various body types and we all should know that BMI isn't always a good measure of how healthy a person is, how overweight or underweight they are, etc. The ideal body weight formula isn't perfect either but it is a good ballpark.

    So how we estimate calorie needs (for weight maintenance) is 25-30 calories per kilogram of body weight if you are under 130% of your "ideal body weight". If you are more than 130% of your idea body weight, we drop it down to varying degrees, anywhere from 14-20 calories per kilogram.

    Essentially if you are a "normal" weight or just slightly overweight, I would suggest you give yourself 25 calories per kg of your actual body weight, then take away 500 calories. A deficit of 500 calories per day = 3500 calories per week = 1 lb of fat lost. Add exercise on top of that and you should have no problem getting to your goal at a nice, easy pace.

    Compare what you get from that crazy math mumbo jumbo I just discussed to what you get from MFP - I bet it will be pretty darn close!
  • shopgirl192
    shopgirl192 Posts: 102
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    I'm a nice and tall 5 feet! haha!!! :)
  • shopgirl192
    shopgirl192 Posts: 102
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    I'm pretty short, so 115 sounds reasonable... to me? I mean I value everyone's opinions, so if someone can show me evidence that 115 is too light, then I will rethink my goal. I'm all about being healthy! :)

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