calories help!
nic041mccoy
Posts: 74 Member
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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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 helps0
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Try changing your goal to 1 pound per week loss?0
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Set weight your weight loss goal to 1 pound per week, this way you get more calories per day.0
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I changed my activity to "lightly active" and it changed it to 1470. Does that seem about right? Lol0
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2 lbs seems better then 1 lb a week though! Lol0
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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.0
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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.
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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.
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How old are you? I will put your numbers in and give you a suggestion if you'd like?!0
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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.
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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 calories0 -
Sure! I'm 29nic041mccoy 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.
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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 This was VERY rough estimating haha I hope it helps though!! 0 -
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?0
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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? Lol0 -
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 0 -
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?
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That is wonderful. Movement is movement!!!
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
Thanks everyone for the help. Since I started on MFP I lost 15 lbs. It came off pretty quick but could have just been water weight. Who knows! So I changed my weight on here today and it up'd my calorie in take. So the more I lose the more calories I should eat a day? It seems strange to me! But I'm a beginner so I'm lost with all of this! Lol0
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Unless your daily activities are more than an office type job/retail, daily housework, child care, and shopping, you should be set at sedentary.
You then eat back your exercise calories. If you are entering them in MFP only eat back 50-75% as they are overestimated.
Start by losing .5 lbs a week, when you have adjusted to those calories and have got the hang of weighing and measuring ALL your food and drink, (a week or two) drop to 1lbs a week. You could drop to 1.5 lbs if you feel like you are getting enough food.
Don't forget to eat back exercise calories.
Cheers, h.0 -
I had it set to sedentary but it had me at 1200 calories a day which seemed quite low. I work out about 3 days a week for 40-60 minutes.can I count that as "lightly active?"middlehaitch wrote: »Unless your daily activities are more than an office type job/retail, daily housework, child care, and shopping, you should be set at sedentary.
You then eat back your exercise calories. If you are entering them in MFP only eat back 50-75% as they are overestimated.
Start by losing .5 lbs a week, when you have adjusted to those calories and have got the hang of weighing and measuring ALL your food and drink, (a week or two) drop to 1lbs a week. You could drop to 1.5 lbs if you feel like you are getting enough food.
Don't forget to eat back exercise calories.
Cheers, h.
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nic041mccoy wrote: »Thanks everyone for the help. Since I started on MFP I lost 15 lbs. It came off pretty quick but could have just been water weight. Who knows! So I changed my weight on here today and it up'd my calorie in take. So the more I lose the more calories I should eat a day? It seems strange to me! But I'm a beginner so I'm lost with all of this! Lol
No, as you lose weight, your calories will be further reduced, unless you change your goal or activity level. This is why it's helpful not to eat at a rock-bottom calorie level right off the bat.0 -
nic041mccoy wrote: »I had it set to sedentary but it had me at 1200 calories a day which seemed quite low. I work out about 3 days a week for 40-60 minutes.can I count that as "lightly active?"middlehaitch wrote: »Unless your daily activities are more than an office type job/retail, daily housework, child care, and shopping, you should be set at sedentary.
You then eat back your exercise calories. If you are entering them in MFP only eat back 50-75% as they are overestimated.
Start by losing .5 lbs a week, when you have adjusted to those calories and have got the hang of weighing and measuring ALL your food and drink, (a week or two) drop to 1lbs a week. You could drop to 1.5 lbs if you feel like you are getting enough food.
Don't forget to eat back exercise calories.
Cheers, h.
Your activity level DOES NOT include exercise. When you log exercise, MFP will credit you with additional calories to use based on that exercise. Since these exercise burns are often inflated, it's wise not to eat back more than half the calories.0 -
Do you think I can count 3 days a week of 40-60 minute cardio as "lightly active"? That's what I have it set to now.nic041mccoy wrote: »Thanks everyone for the help. Since I started on MFP I lost 15 lbs. It came off pretty quick but could have just been water weight. Who knows! So I changed my weight on here today and it up'd my calorie in take. So the more I lose the more calories I should eat a day? It seems strange to me! But I'm a beginner so I'm lost with all of this! Lol
No, as you lose weight, your calories will be further reduced, unless you change your goal or activity level. This is why it's helpful not to eat at a rock-bottom calorie level right off the bat.
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Set it to sedentary, and eat back your exercise calories.
Aim for a lower loss per week.
Cheers, h.0 -
nic041mccoy wrote: »Thanks everyone for the help. Since I started on MFP I lost 15 lbs. It came off pretty quick but could have just been water weight. Who knows! So I changed my weight on here today and it up'd my calorie in take. So the more I lose the more calories I should eat a day? It seems strange to me! But I'm a beginner so I'm lost with all of this! Lol
No, as you lose weight, your calories will be further reduced, unless you change your goal or activity level. This is why it's helpful not to eat at a rock-bottom calorie level right off the bat.
To clarify, 1200 calories is the lowest number of calories MFP gives a woman- anything below that makes it nearly impossible to get proper nutrition and your body will suffer. If you set your goal at 2 lbs/week, you will be at this rock bottom limit. If you set it at 1 lb/week, likely your calories will be higher initially and then later after you've lost weight, you'll be able to reduce to 1200 and it won't be such a difficult transition right off the bat.0 -
Do not set it as lightly active if your everyday life is not lightly active. That's just cheating
Your activity level does NOT include exercise.
Example: There are many days of the week that I walk around 10 miles, I exercise 7 days a week. I'm still set at sedentary, because other than exercise, I am.0 -
What you want to be doing is logging those workouts. You'll see how the calories are added back to your "bank" for the day.nic041mccoy wrote: »Do you think I can count 3 days a week of 40-60 minute cardio as "lightly active"? That's what I have it set to now.
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