calories help!

nic041mccoy
nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 225 lbs and 5'6. I work out 2-3 times a week. And im obviously a female. How many calories should I eat a day to lose weight?! Here it's telling me 1200 calories a day but that seems pretty low. Or maybe I'm wrong? Help!
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Replies

  • ms_smartypants
    ms_smartypants Posts: 8,278 Member
    What did you tell MFP how much you wanted to lose weekly ..If you put that you wanted to lose 2lbs a week .....try 1lb a week you will get more calories to eat ...Also MFP is high for calories burned so try to eat between 50-75% back ..I hope that helps
  • AylaAlys
    AylaAlys Posts: 7 Member
    Try changing your goal to 1 pound per week loss?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Set weight your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week, this way you get more calories per day.
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    I changed my activity to "lightly active" and it changed it to 1470. Does that seem about right? Lol
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    2 lbs seems better then 1 lb a week though! Lol
  • Justcallmeskel
    Justcallmeskel Posts: 5 Member
    I am about the same weight and height as you and I have mine set at 2 lbs a week weight loss. I am struggling to eat my full calories daily. Also the more you exercise it adds on to your allowable calorie intake per day.
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    2 lbs seems amazing. I think a majority of people, when they start out, set it to that. The problem is that it will most likely wipe you out. That will lead to quitting, rebounding, etc.. While 2 sounds amazing, 1 lb is more realistic. You still might find that more comes off in the beginning, but aim for 1, and eat for it.

    The upside of a slower loss, besides the obvious of your health and stamina, is that you get more calories to consume. It's a better transition for the new lifestyle.

  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    How many calories do you eat a day?
    Justcallmeskel wrote: »
    I am about the same weight and height as you and I have mine set at 2 lbs a week weight loss. I am struggling to eat my full calories daily. Also the more you exercise it adds on to your allowable calorie intake per day.

  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    How old are you? I will put your numbers in and give you a suggestion if you'd like?!
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    Awesome.. Thanks that's good advice :)
    samanthachen wrote: »
    2 lbs seems amazing. I think a majority of people, when they start out, set it to that. The problem is that it will most likely wipe you out. That will lead to quitting, rebounding, etc.. While 2 sounds amazing, 1 lb is more realistic. You still might find that more comes off in the beginning, but aim for 1, and eat for it.

    The upside of a slower loss, besides the obvious of your health and stamina, is that you get more calories to consume. It's a better transition for the new lifestyle.

  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Are you eating your exercise calories on the days you work out? 1200 calories sounds like maybe a "sedentary" activity level and a goal of 2 lbs weight loss per week.

    How many calories does it add on the days you log your exercise? I'm guessing that will give you more calories
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    nic041mccoy wrote: »
    How many calories do you eat a day?
    Justcallmeskel wrote: »
    I am about the same weight and height as you and I have mine set at 2 lbs a week weight loss. I am struggling to eat my full calories daily. Also the more you exercise it adds on to your allowable calorie intake per day.
    Sure! I'm 29
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    With a guess on your age, I got you BMR at 1700+ and a TDEE of 2050, set at sedentary since I didn't know the details of your workouts. This was based on mid 20s, no exercise. This doesn't give you a big window for a deficit, but it looks like you should be eating much more than 1200 to support normal functions.

    You actually might be looking at 1800 calories to lose 1lb / week, but I'd need to know more to help further :smile: This was VERY rough estimating haha I hope it helps though!!
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    Oh, I put 25 haha... let me get the new numbers. You said you workout 2-3 x / week. Is it light, medium , heavy? How long?
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    Are you eating your exercise calories on the days you work out? 1200 calories sounds like maybe a "sedentary" activity level and a goal of 2 lbs weight loss per week.

    How many calories does it add on the days you log your exercise? I'm guessing that will give you more calories

    I changed it to lighty active. It has me at about 1400 calories a day. Does that seem right? Lol
  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    They are roughly the same. For more accuracy, I suggest googling "BMR and TDEE calculator"

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    ^Here is one, for example. Once you get your TDEE, you should subtract 500 from the TDEE for 1lb / week loss. However, you want to make sure it isn't less than your BMR

    :smile:
  • nic041mccoy
    nic041mccoy Posts: 74 Member
    Aww thanks for the help! Well my exercise is pretty light. I'm a beginner so I normally do about 40 minutes on the treadmill 3 times a week.
    samanthachen wrote: »
    Oh, I put 25 haha... let me get the new numbers. You said you workout 2-3 x / week. Is it light, medium , heavy? How long?

  • samanthachen
    samanthachen Posts: 360 Member
    That is wonderful. Movement is movement!!! :smiley:

    I'd try one of many sites to get that number for you. Remember that you probably will get a number that doesn't sound like a "diet" and that is kind of what's wonderful. it has to be something you can stick with.

    I'm currently eating about 1650 net (but usually over 1800 each day and losing 1 lb. Some weeks is a bit more of a loss, so I might be adjusting my calories up a bit to keep the loss at a reasonable amount. Giving it a break-in period to make sure it isn't just normal fluctuation.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Justcallmeskel wrote: »
    I am about the same weight and height as you and I have mine set at 2 lbs a week weight loss. I am struggling to eat my full calories daily. Also the more you exercise it adds on to your allowable calorie intake per day.

    OP, just a caution. If it were that hard to eat 1200 calories, this site wouldn't be so popular! More than likely you will feel deprived, especially initially, on 1200. Give yourself room to reduce calories later as you lose weight.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    IMO you should do what you can stick with.

    If you want to try for 2 pounds a week then you have to be more choosy about what you eat to stay satiated. Or at least I do.

    Many people here promote losing slow with a smaller deficit. Nothing wrong with it.

    Really it is about knowing yourself and what works for you.

    Personally I'm results driven and just not very good with the patience thing. So I started at 1200 for a couple of months and then bumped to 1300, now 1400. I try to get at least 100 grams of protein a day and I don't really try to track my exercise burn or eat back exercise calories, though I do have a tracker synced. Hopefully this works for me until I reach goal, or at least a pause, and then I plan to gradually increase my calories/reverse to find maintenance.

    I have date goals too, which doesn't work for everyone. For me I know if I realistically want to lose x pounds by x date it isn't going to happen if I slack off. Maybe it won't even if I do everything right, but doesn't hurt to try.

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