Mayo Clinic Calorie Calculator

Medilia
Medilia Posts: 230 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I went on to Mayo clinc and put in my information and they are recommending 1800 calories a day for me. I am currently on 1200.

I am 5" female and I work an office job.

I am very confused (So much conflicting information on everything lately.)

Replies

  • sweetdixie92
    sweetdixie92 Posts: 655 Member
    I don't know anything about mayo clinic (never even heard of it), but as a 5' girl myself, 1800 sounds way too high for an office job. I have multiple physical jobs (horse stables) and have three of my own that keep me active, and I shoot for between 1200 and 1800 calories a day. But that's trying to lose. Not sure if you're maintaining or losing.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    The more aggressive you put your goal, the less calories you're allotted. Additionally, you will be earning extra calories through exorcise, as MFP does not include them.
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
    If I remember correctly I believe that one is calculating your TDEE for you, so you would need to subtract a percentage from that number in order to have the total number you should eat in a day to lose weight (if you have a lot of weight to lose, 20%, if you are close to your goal, 5-10% off of your TDEE). Basically it's telling you that you'd maintain your weight at 1800 calories based on the info you provided it.

    The scooby's workshop TDEE calculator actually gives you a number that includes the percentage off. I think the Mayo Clinic one is slightly confusing.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    willrun4bagels is right. It is telling you how many calories your body needs to maintain so you need to subtract a % off it.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Medilia wrote: »
    So I went on to Mayo clinc and put in my information and they are recommending 1800 calories a day for me. I am currently on 1200.

    I am 5" female and I work an office job.

    I am very confused (So much conflicting information on everything lately.)

    It gives me 2200. I do 1700 now, which typically results in about a lb/week loss, so not bad. Typical TDEE calculator, pretty general options.

    I'm guessing that the reason you get a higher number than with MFP is that it doesn't seem to include the deficit for losing weight and it includes your exercise, whatever that might be.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    You know that you can live on 1200 comfortably (you started a thread about eating under, yes?), so I think you should go with that. And then if you have a bad day, you can just tell yourself Mayo says 1800.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    willrun4bagels wrote: »
    If I remember correctly I believe that one is calculating your TDEE for you, so you would need to subtract a percentage from that number in order to have the total number you should eat in a day to lose weight (if you have a lot of weight to lose, 20%, if you are close to your goal, 5-10% off of your TDEE). Basically it's telling you that you'd maintain your weight at 1800 calories based on the info you provided it.

    The scooby's workshop TDEE calculator actually gives you a number that includes the percentage off. I think the Mayo Clinic one is slightly confusing.

    Oh never mind my previous post, then. 1800 is your maintenance.
  • Medilia
    Medilia Posts: 230 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    You know that you can live on 1200 comfortably (you started a thread about eating under, yes?), so I think you should go with that. And then if you have a bad day, you can just tell yourself Mayo says 1800.

    Haha, yeah I am horrible when it comes to under eating, didn't even eat all the lunch I logged into the diary today (But I ate most of it so I can't be bothered trying to weigh and subtract what I did not eat)

    So long as I don't go over say 1750 I am still losing then =p
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited December 2014
    Those online calculators are general guides and aren't intended to be specific to you. If you want to be sure what is right for YOU, you need to see your doctor. :)
    backin3 wrote: »
    I don't know anything about mayo clinic (never even heard of it)...
    For those who don't know, the Mayo Clinic is one of the top medical institutions in the world.

    Their name was appropriated by goofballs who put together a fad diet and attributed it to them. There is also a Cleveland Clinic diet that didn't come from the Cleveland Clinic. Be sure to double check with the site itself before embracing anything labelled as coming from a top hospital. :)
  • BelieveImagineBe
    BelieveImagineBe Posts: 1 Member
    Wow. I used this calculator to figure out my maintenance for my current weight (what it actually takes to maintain this obese number) and the maintenance for my goal weight. Surprise! They are exactly the same number of calories for a woman of my age and height! This makes it so clear why it's necessary for me to eat at a significant deficit of my goal maintenance if I want to lose weight. I used to believe that if I ate at my goal maintenance level I'd lose weight. Well, clearly when the levels are the same for the obese weight and the goal weight, I would be spinning my wheels - and I have been!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    BelieveImagineBe wrote: »
    Wow. I used this calculator to figure out my maintenance for my current weight (what it actually takes to maintain this obese number) and the maintenance for my goal weight. Surprise! They are exactly the same number of calories for a woman of my age and height! This makes it so clear why it's necessary for me to eat at a significant deficit of my goal maintenance if I want to lose weight. I used to believe that if I ate at my goal maintenance level I'd lose weight. Well, clearly when the levels are the same for the obese weight and the goal weight, I would be spinning my wheels - and I have been!

    That doesn't sound right. Seems like a bug or an error.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Here's the link:

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

    It clearly says, "Use the calorie calculator to estimate the number of daily calories your body needs to maintain your current weight". (My bolding)
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Darn, a zombie got me.
  • lunkodh
    lunkodh Posts: 1 Member
    Since the link from Orphia does not work anymore :wink:
    I am attaching a link for the same thing,
    https://gohealthing.com/calorie-calculator/
  • jdubois5351
    jdubois5351 Posts: 460 Member
    It gives me 1,860 calories a day to maintain, which is exactly what MFP would give me, seeing that I now eat at a deficit of 500 cals a day to lose more weight. I'm 50 years old, 179 cm and 80 kg.
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