Advise please ? Correct calorie intake?

rugratz2015
rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I'm just under 5ft tall and the app has given me 1,200 calories a day. Years ago, I was told I should only eat 1,300 calories a day,, so there isn't much of a difference there, so I've reduced it to 1,000 - I sit at a desk all day and due to health issues I'm limited to the type/amount of exercise I can do. Can anyone calculate how many calories I should be eating for weight loss please?

Replies

  • ibnfaqir
    ibnfaqir Posts: 139 Member
    you wont lose any weight eating 1k calories a day. Your body will hold onto the weight and you will stall. What will you do then reduce to 500 calories? I would suggest eating at 1300 to 1500 calories a day and exercising 30 mins a day [walk for 30 mins]. After a week you can reduce calories by a 199 or 200.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    ibnfaqir wrote: »
    you wont lose any weight eating 1k calories a day. Your body will hold onto the weight and you will stall. What will you do then reduce to 500 calories? I would suggest eating at 1300 to 1500 calories a day and exercising 30 mins a day [walk for 30 mins]. After a week you can reduce calories by a 199 or 200.

    No... sorry. Starvation mode does not exist like that. http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

    At 5' 1500 a day could well be over her TDEE. OP, how much do you weigh?
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    To lose weight, you should eat 1200 calories, like the app told you to. Women shouldn't eat less than 1200 calories per day.
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Thanks for the replies - DemoraFairy I currently weigh 173 lbs. - Can you also tell me what TDEE stands for as well please? thanks x
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    ibnfaqir wrote: »
    you wont lose any weight eating 1k calories a day. Your body will hold onto the weight and you will stall.
    So completely false.

  • Whitezombiegirl
    Whitezombiegirl Posts: 1,042 Member
    Hi Rugratz.

    I'ma female 5ft0 and currently 107lbs. My maintenece level is about 1300 without exercise (average of various calculations) and I eat approx 1000 a day (before exercise) and lose about 0.5-1lb a week. I often go over and sometimes go under cals- at this point I let my hunger dictate. It all works out roughly by the end of the week. Like anyone - if i have a huge blow-out i will most probably not lose that week- and sometimes thats worth it! :)

    TDEE- Total daily energy expenditure i.e minimum energy to live plus energy used in daily life.
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Thanks Whitezombie, that makes a lot of sense x
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    At the moment you could probably eat 1200 and lose weight fine, though you may need to go below it as you get lighter as Whitezombiegirl said.

    1200 is a minimum recommendation, but like all recommendations, they don't work for everyone. I mean, I know someone who would gain weight on 1200 calories.
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Thanks DemoraFairy, I hadn't thought about needing to reduce in the longer term x
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    ibnfaqir wrote: »
    you wont lose any weight eating 1k calories a day. Your body will hold onto the weight and you will stall. What will you do then reduce to 500 calories? I would suggest eating at 1300 to 1500 calories a day and exercising 30 mins a day [walk for 30 mins]. After a week you can reduce calories by a 199 or 200.

    WRONG!

    OP, eating under 1200 calories a day is unhealthy, unless doctor supervised. Your body won't be getting all the nutrients it needs, nor is something like this sustainable.
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Thanks for the help everyone, I've reset my calorie intake to 1,200 per day, but where it is getting that I burn 1,670 day, without any exercise is beyond me, but will give it a couple of months and see how I go, thanks x
  • ercarroll311
    ercarroll311 Posts: 295 Member
    I agree with you that it can be hard to believe the TDEE numbers you sometimes get. Ive found that using a TDEE calculator that takes body fat percentage into account is the most useful. Even so, metabolism isn't the same for everyone at the same height, weight, and composition. Just based on my experience, I would agree that 1200 is a good place to start since you're pretty short (like me) and not able to get physical activity. See how that works for you for a few weeks and go from there. It always takes some time to start getting results.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    rugratz2015 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies - DemoraFairy I currently weigh 173 lbs. - Can you also tell me what TDEE stands for as well please? thanks x

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure aka maintenance

    Instead of the one-size-fits-all 1200 ....look up your TDEE (include exercise) and subtract 500 calories for 1 pound a week, 750 calories for 1.5 pounds a week. These are estimates too....but a second (and 3rd) opinion is a good thing.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    Thanks for the replies, I checked my TDEE on another site and it also gave a figure in rhe 1600's, so I'll presume it's right. At least I'm losing, just gonna take longer than I thought :disappointed:
  • RodHudson1229
    RodHudson1229 Posts: 65 Member
    Well the thing about weight loss is that you didn't put it on overnight and sadly it isn't coming off overnight either. Be patient and remember your building a new better you:)
  • rugratz2015
    rugratz2015 Posts: 593 Member
    RodHudson1229 wrote: »
    Well the thing about weight loss is that you didn't put it on overnight and sadly it isn't coming off overnight either. Be patient and remember your building a new better you:)

    I use that saying myself, and I know it's true, but I also know I can put 7 lbs on in a week, so it would be nice to see it come off in a week :wink:

  • holly55555
    holly55555 Posts: 306 Member
    rugratz2015 wrote: »
    RodHudson1229 wrote: »
    Well the thing about weight loss is that you didn't put it on overnight and sadly it isn't coming off overnight either. Be patient and remember your building a new better you:)

    I use that saying myself, and I know it's true, but I also know I can put 7 lbs on in a week, so it would be nice to see it come off in a week :wink:

    It is pretty much impossible to overeat 24,500 calories over maintenance in one week, which is 7 lbs. I think you're seeing water fluctuation. You cannot gain nor lose 7 lbs of real weight in a week.

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