I need help on how many Calories I should Consume and how many calories i should burn

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michelleselmon
michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi There I am A Female 23 years old I weigh 225 And My BMR is 1821.75 So i Need some help figuring out how much I need to eat I have read that i need to eat at my BMR but other people say to eat at 1200 calories and I am also wondering do i need to eat back the Exercise calories That i burn?
Any Suggestions or Advice will help Thanks
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Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is a more important number. That's your current maintenance including exercise. Because exercise is included in this number you don't need to eat those calories back. If you want to lose 1.5 pounds a week take 750 off that number. If you want to lose 2 pounds a week take 1,000 off that number.

    1200 is a minimum default BEFORE exercise. This number is based on meeting nutritional guidelines. Because it's a default it could be appropriate OR it could be your goal is too high. You have a ways to go so 2 pounds a week would be ok to start. If you start at 1200 then you should definitely eat calories back.

    Pick something less than TDEE and something you can live with for awhile.
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
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    Thanks so much for your help So If im exercising I don't need to eat The calories back correct? And I have looked up my BMR on Different sites and some say 1700-1821.75 so I am guessing It's somewhere in the middle if i want to lose 2 pounds a week do i take a 1,000 off? It's so confusing lol and also how many calories do i need to burn a day to lose the 2 pounds a week?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    If BMR is 1821, next step is to estimate your normal activity level. If sedentary and no exercise then your TDEE would be about 2185. A safe & easy method is to take 500 off this number, aim to eat about 1685 per day. That's a 1 pound per week loss. Then make an effort to NOT be sedentary. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Take a Zumba or dance class. Find things you like to do, and do them. The extra movement/activity/exercise (whatever you want to call it) will increase your TDEE so you're burning more than 2185 per day, meaning you'll create extra deficit based on moving more. But still eat around 1685 and not 'eat back' exercise calories.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    BMR is what your body burns to keep you alive. Your body uses energy to digest food, pump blood, circulate oxygen, maintain your body temperature, etc. etc. etc.

    Then you also use some energy to move yourself thru the day. Running errands, doing your job, moving around your home, etc.

    Last you burn additional calories for intentional exercise. Cardio burns a decent amount because you're moving multiple major muscle groups for an extended period of time.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2015
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    michelleselmon wrote: »
    Thanks so much for your help So If im exercising I don't need to eat The calories back correct? And I have looked up my BMR on Different sites and some say 1700-1821.75 so I am guessing It's somewhere in the middle if i want to lose 2 pounds a week do i take a 1,000 off? It's so confusing lol and also how many calories do i need to burn a day to lose the 2 pounds a week?

    So If im exercising I don't need to eat The calories back correct? Correct when using the TDEE method less 750 (or whatever number). TDEE is maintenance and there for INCLUDES exercise already.

    BMR is if you stayed in bed 24/7......unless you are bedridden do NOT take 750-1,000 off this number. You should not eat less than 1200 for nutritional purposes. Eating less than this over time.....brittle nails, hair loss (bad things happen).

    MFP will not give a number below 1200....and then you should eat (intentional) exercise calories back. Calorie burn estimates provided by MFP are generous.....eat about 50-75% back
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Plug your info into he MFP and follow the recommendations.

    Eating under your BMR is no great tragedy, but try to eat as much as you can while still losing. You're going to want to cut back on calories later and you're going to want to have some to cut! So enjoy eating as much as you can right now. :)
  • labohn91
    labohn91 Posts: 113 Member
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    It really depends on how much you are going to stick to your plan.

    A 500 calories or less is going to be much easier to deal with you have more room to make mistakes. The down side it will take longer to reach your goal.

    600-1000 will be a bigger cut and you will have to find a way to stick it out through the hunger. The plus side is you will be on a diet for a shorter time.

    Other important questions are you going to exercise and if so how much?
    What is your diet plan going to look like and what are you going to do if you can't stick to it (date,trip,work)?

  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,041 Member
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    Here's my example.

    My TDEE is about 2200. If I cut 500 calories a day, that gives me a pound a week loss. I could do 2 pounds a week at a 1000 calorie deficit. However, that is way too aggressive for me. So I keep my intake around 1625 and eat most exercise calories back.
  • mykidsrock76
    mykidsrock76 Posts: 23 Member
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    Ok, not trying to hijack but I also don't want to start a new thread. I have this same question.

    I'm 38, 5'7", 205 lbs. I have a sedentary lifestyle. But I do go to the gym daily. MFP has my calorie goal at 1203. My calories earned from activity so far today is 869. This usually ends at around 950-1000. Should I be eating those back? Typically I eat between 1300-1500 total for the day. But I'm not seeing much downward movement on the scale this week, lost 3 pounds last week though.

    Thanks for any advice. Again not trying to hijack.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2015
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    mykidsrock76 wrote: »
    Ok, not trying to hijack but I also don't want to start a new thread. I have this same question.

    I'm 38, 5'7", 205 lbs. I have a sedentary lifestyle. But I do go to the gym daily. MFP has my calorie goal at 1203. My calories earned from activity so far today is 869. This usually ends at around 950-1000. Should I be eating those back? Typically I eat between 1300-1500 total for the day. But I'm not seeing much downward movement on the scale this week, lost 3 pounds last week though.

    Thanks for any advice. Again not trying to hijack.

    Is 869 "activity" or intentional exercise? How did you get this number? MFP started you out (height, weight, age gender)....your personal BMR (basal metabolic rate....staying in bed 24/7) + activity level (ie: sedentary....5,000 steps)....and then removes

    500 for 1 pound a week
    1000 for 2 pounds a week.....the minimum default (for women) is 1200.

    So if you do intentional exercise, log it, and eat those calories back.....ideally you get back to your original deficit. However, calorie burns are estimates, people (sometimes) log more than just workouts, people may eye ball portions instead of weighing / measuring.

    So my advice is eat 1200 + 50% of intentional exercise. If you are losing too slow....eat less. If you are losing too fast....eat more.

    The idea behind eating calories back is to give your body enough fuel to support existing lean muscle....this way you lose a larger % of fat.
  • mykidsrock76
    mykidsrock76 Posts: 23 Member
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    Those activity calories are from my Fitbit syncing with MFP. I do not log my workouts as I track them in my Fitbit and don't want to duplicate those.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    mykidsrock76 wrote: »
    Those activity calories are from my Fitbit syncing with MFP. I do not log my workouts as I track them in my Fitbit and don't want to duplicate those.

    Do you have negative adjustments enabled? If yes, it's comparing your activity level (you set) in MFP against your actual activity level..........

    Read up in here on your tracker, your type of exercise, etc......for many people FitBit is spot on

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users
  • mykidsrock76
    mykidsrock76 Posts: 23 Member
    edited July 2015
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    mykidsrock76 wrote: »
    Those activity calories are from my Fitbit syncing with MFP. I do not log my workouts as I track them in my Fitbit and don't want to duplicate those.

    Do you have negative adjustments enabled? If yes, it's comparing your activity level (you set) in MFP against your actual activity level..........

    Read up in here on your tracker, your type of exercise, etc......for many people FitBit is spot on

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

    Yes, I do have negative adjustments enabled. I set my activity level in MFP as sedentary because I'm not overly active throughout the day. After the gym I typically take my kids to the pool and lounge on a chair. (Please, no judgements ;) )

    Like for today it says I burnt 670 during my workout which is probably pretty darn close for what I did.

    So I should or shouldn't eat any or all of those 869 calories?

    Oh, and thank you!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Adjustments are the difference between your Fitbit burn (which is TDEE) and your MFP activity level.

    Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

    Trust your Fitbit for several weeks, then reevaluate your progress. And, of course, learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Logging works.
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
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    labohn91 wrote: »
    It really depends on how much you are going to stick to your plan.

    A 500 calories or less is going to be much easier to deal with you have more room to make mistakes. The down side it will take longer to reach your goal.

    600-1000 will be a bigger cut and you will have to find a way to stick it out through the hunger. The plus side is you will be on a diet for a shorter time.

    Other important questions are you going to exercise and if so how much?
    What is your diet plan going to look like and what are you going to do if you can't stick to it (date,trip,work)?

    Yes i Am going to I am Confused on how many Calories i need to burn to lose the 2 pounds a week I want to stick to consuming 1500 calories but I'm not sure if i need to stay eating at my BMR I am doing Leslie Sanone's Walk at home walks i did a 3 mile today and i plan on doing Zumba also I'm just not sure how much i need to be burning a day and how do i know how much i am burning doing the walks and dance videos?
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    If BMR is 1821, next step is to estimate your normal activity level. If sedentary and no exercise then your TDEE would be about 2185. A safe & easy method is to take 500 off this number, aim to eat about 1685 per day. That's a 1 pound per week loss. Then make an effort to NOT be sedentary. Go for a walk. Ride a bike. Take a Zumba or dance class. Find things you like to do, and do them. The extra movement/activity/exercise (whatever you want to call it) will increase your TDEE so you're burning more than 2185 per day, meaning you'll create extra deficit based on moving more. But still eat around 1685 and not 'eat back' exercise calories.

    Thanks so much for the help :smile: So i eat the 1685 per day. but how much should i be burning a day i am going to do Leslie Sansone's Walk at home videos I did a 3 mile walk today the problem is i'm not sure how many calories i am even burning and i am going to start zumba tomorrow And again thanks so much for the help i have been so confused i have been driving my self crazy researching this stuff lol
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    Kalikel wrote: »
    Plug your info into he MFP and follow the recommendations.

    Eating under your BMR is no great tragedy, but try to eat as much as you can while still losing. You're going to want to cut back on calories later and you're going to want to have some to cut! So enjoy eating as much as you can right now. :)

    Thank you so much for your Advice I just started this Diet today so far i did a 3 mile walk with Leslie Sansone and i plan on also doing Zumba and i have been putting my Calories in on here and it says i still have 600 but i dont have room for anything else but a snack lol my problem is finding food to add up to all the calories i need but thanks again for your help :)
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
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    labohn91
    Yes i Am going to I am Confused on how many Calories i need to burn to lose the 2 pounds a week I want to stick to consuming 1500 calories but I'm not sure if i need to stay eating at my BMR I am doing Leslie Sanone's Walk at home walks i did a 3 mile today and i plan on doing Zumba also I'm just not sure how much i need to be burning a day and how do i know how much i am burning doing the walks and dance videos?
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    StaciMarie1974
    Thanks so much for the help :smile: So i eat the 1685 per day. but how much should i be burning a day i am going to do Leslie Sansone's Walk at home videos I did a 3 mile walk today the problem is i'm not sure how many calories i am even burning and i am going to start zumba tomorrow And again thanks so much for the help i have been so confused i have been driving my self crazy researching this stuff lol
  • michelleselmon
    michelleselmon Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    Kalikel
    Thank you so much for your Advice I just started this Diet today so far i did a 3 mile walk with Leslie Sansone and i plan on also doing Zumba and i have been putting my Calories in on here and it says i still have 600 but i dont have room for anything else but a snack lol my problem is finding food to add up to all the calories i need but thanks again for your help :)

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