Daily Calorie Consumption Help!! Online Calcs Suggest Between 1200-2600, Not Helpful
Bworms1980
Posts: 25 Member
Hi,
I'm new to seriously trying to lose weight. I received a lot of tips and helpful info when I posted here back in December. I'm now putting those food and nutrition suggestions to use but I'm having trouble with daily calories.
I don't know how many calories to eat because all the calculators online and from apps are giving me different information for the same body data. A few suggested 1500 calories and for the first few days everything was great, but now almost 2 weeks later, I'm feeling groggy, dizzy and hungry periodically. MFP suggests 1400 for me which seems low. Been less than two weeks, but according to my scale, I'm losing way more than 2lbs/week. Don't know if its too little calories or the fact that I'm obese.
Here's my stats:
Female
36
5'5
Sedentary (Work sitting at pc most of the day, get around 2-3,000 steps a day if i'm lucky) Use a mini stepper 3 days a week but only lasts about 3 min for now.
269.8LBS
Weigh Ins
August 4 - 274.8LBS
August 9 - 272.8
August 11 - 269.8
Help!
I'm new to seriously trying to lose weight. I received a lot of tips and helpful info when I posted here back in December. I'm now putting those food and nutrition suggestions to use but I'm having trouble with daily calories.
I don't know how many calories to eat because all the calculators online and from apps are giving me different information for the same body data. A few suggested 1500 calories and for the first few days everything was great, but now almost 2 weeks later, I'm feeling groggy, dizzy and hungry periodically. MFP suggests 1400 for me which seems low. Been less than two weeks, but according to my scale, I'm losing way more than 2lbs/week. Don't know if its too little calories or the fact that I'm obese.
Here's my stats:
Female
36
5'5
Sedentary (Work sitting at pc most of the day, get around 2-3,000 steps a day if i'm lucky) Use a mini stepper 3 days a week but only lasts about 3 min for now.
269.8LBS
Weigh Ins
August 4 - 274.8LBS
August 9 - 272.8
August 11 - 269.8
Help!
0
Replies
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Hi, welcome.
i'm no expert but if you're feeling groggy and dizzy it does sound like you're not eating enough. how much are you trying to lose and how quickly?
Are you logging everything and using food scales? It could be that you're not logging correctly and underestimating your intake.
it looks like you've lost 5lbs in a week. the first few weeks can show a higher loss as a lot of water is lost in this time. are you drinking enough fluids? my first 2 weeks i lost something like 8lbs and then it slowed. check your stats on MFP are right. i'm sure there are others who can offer more advice, but that's just my 2 pennies worth.1 -
MFP is lower because its goal intends you to add exercise calories - most other calculators already include your exercise.
But all calculators do is give you a start point, you are way beyond that!
Losing at over 2lbs a week and feeling "groggy, dizzy and hungry" tells you all you need to know - you can, and should, eat more than you currently do and will still lose weight.3 -
You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
A good goal is to lose around 1% of your current total bodyweight per week. Your TDEE based on your age, weight and height 5'6", should be around 2670. You can most probably, safely, lose 2 pounds per week eating 1670 calories per day. Initial loss will be slightly higher, because some water is flushed from your body with glycogen, which is the body's fast action energy reserve. (The reason you won't be losing more eating less than that, is that your body can't release fat any faster and will be eating away on other stuff, mostly muscles, and partly shut down to conserve energy. This is most likely why you feel unwell). I suggest setting MFP manually to 1670, get a food scale, use it, and log accurately and consistently. Don't worry about exercise now (and don't eat back any exercise calories), focus on food first. Eat a variety of foods you like and stick to your goal. That's all it takes.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.2 -
Whenever I feel groggy, dizzy my cure is always to eat a large meal (600-800 cals). Eat your good carbs, your muscles are begging for them.0
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I haven't ordered my food scale yet. I have been logging all calories. I have been guesstimating the call of boneless chicken breast and salmon.
I drink at least 8 cups of water daily and 3 cups of unsweetened Japanese green tea after each main meal. I do 5 small meals.
I have been sticking to the 1500 calories. Didn't realize until recently that some people eat back the calories they burn exercising.kommodevaran wrote: »You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.
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Bworms1980 wrote: »I haven't ordered my food scale yet. I have been logging all calories. I have been guesstimating the call of boneless chicken breast and salmon. I drink at least 8 cups of water daily and 3 cups of unsweetened Japanese green tea after each main meal. I do 5 small meals.kommodevaran wrote: »You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.
All this is fine, but you can't log accurately without a scale. A good electronic food scale costs around 10-15 dollars and you can get one at Walmart. Eat anything you like. Log everything. Drink enough so you're not thirsty, but more water will not make you lose faster. Tea will not make you lose weight. Number of meals is not directly important for weight loss, but it will be for adherence to calorie goal, and an appropriate calorie goal and adherence to calorie goal is what's important for weight loss.0 -
I'm trying to lose 120lbs with 2lbs/wk. I haven't ordered my food scale yet but have logged all calories and guessed with the meat. 8+ cups of water daily and 3 cups green tea. Will double check stats.Hi, welcome.
i'm no expert but if you're feeling groggy and dizzy it does sound like you're not eating enough. how much are you trying to lose and how quickly?
Are you logging everything and using food scales? It could be that you're not logging correctly and underestimating your intake.
it looks like you've lost 5lbs in a week. the first few weeks can show a higher loss as a lot of water is lost in this time. are you drinking enough fluids? my first 2 weeks i lost something like 8lbs and then it slowed. check your stats on MFP are right. i'm sure there are others who can offer more advice, but that's just my 2 pennies worth.
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Food scales are one of the many things I've been unsure about. Just didn't know if I need one or if it's mostly for bodybuilders. Beyond that I've logged everything I'm going to eat. Have to start logging here because I was logging in S Health app.kommodevaran wrote: »Bworms1980 wrote: »I haven't ordered my food scale yet. I have been logging all calories. I have been guesstimating the call of boneless chicken breast and salmon. I drink at least 8 cups of water daily and 3 cups of unsweetened Japanese green tea after each main meal. I do 5 small meals.kommodevaran wrote: »You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.
All this is fine, but you can't log accurately without a scale. A good electronic food scale costs around 10-15 dollars and you can get one at Walmart. Eat anything you like. Log everything. Drink enough so you're not thirsty, but more water will not make you lose faster. Tea will not make you lose weight. Number of meals is not directly important for weight loss, but it will be for adherence to calorie goal, and an appropriate calorie goal and adherence to calorie goal is what's important for weight loss.
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Scales are not for bodybuilders - who will be more focused on the macros. You need a food scale and you need to weigh everything to work out the true calories. For example I was logging my morning cereal as a portion (30g) before I had scales. When I decided to weigh it I was actually eating 70g of cereal (which was a lot more calories). Same with milk. I logged 100ml of milk but when I measured it I was using over 300 ml. This all meant that I was eating loads more than I should have been. My first time properly logging I worked out I was eating over 3000 calories a day!1
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Finding the right calorie intake goal is a bit of trial and error. If you're feeling hungry/bad then that is an indication that you may need more. Try adding an extra 200-300 calories per day.
Note: ultimately a food scale helps with logging accuracy. If you're losing weight with estimating, then there is nothing wrong if you keep going as you are for now. Keep in mind that as you lose weight, your body uses less energy and then it can become more important to improve accuracy. In other words, feel free to continue doing what works - and change when it no longer works.1 -
Thank you for the advice. Is a scale better than measuring cups? Also do I measure things that say 1 item is the serving size. Like a tofu dog for example. Or log the calories that package gives?0
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Congratulations on your weight loss thus far, @Bworms1980!
At your stated size, you can eat around 2,000 or thereabouts. That number will go down as you lose weight, though.
You're on the right track with buying a food scale, and logging everything you eat. Keep going, you will succeed!0 -
My first 50 lbs were lost with estimating/measuring cups. When you have more to lose, you have a greater margin of error. As you lose more weight, you'll need to tighten up your logging because the gap closes. Know that humans are notoriously bad at estimating what we burn and what we eat, and not in a good way. We always under estimate what we eat, and over what we burn. My suggestion is to keep doing what is working, and when the numbers stall - and they will - get your food scale, start logging tightly, and if they don't start moving again, come to the boards. A food scale is the first place everyone will tell you to start.
Yes, weigh things that say one item is the serving size - these are generalized and not always accurate. Then, if your tofu dog weighs more than the serving size on the package you can either trim it to match the data in MFP, or you should be able to change the serving size to "1 gram" and put the number your scale read. IE my steak last night was 125g, so I entered it at 125 servings of 1 gram.1 -
Bworms1980 wrote: »Thank you for the advice. Is a scale better than measuring cups? Also do I measure things that say 1 item is the serving size. Like a tofu dog for example. Or log the calories that package gives?
A scale is better than measuring cups.
The calories for a servings on a package can be wrong by up to 10% either way. It depends on how strict you wanna be, but if the item is particularly calorie dense, I would weigh it too.
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Wow, I had no idea that even single serving items were off. I'll be doing some homework to see what food scale to get then. Thank you.0
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The package will probably say something like 1 serving = 1 tofu dog, 95g. There will almost always be a weight in grams for the serving size. That is what you rely on.
If you weigh the tofu dog and it is 99g, then its simple math: actual divided by typical = servings you consume. So 99 / 95 = 1.04 servings. You'd log 1.04 servings. Or if there is an option in the database to change the serving size from 1 dog to grams, you can do that and then just log as 99 grams.Bworms1980 wrote: »Thank you for the advice. Is a scale better than measuring cups? Also do I measure things that say 1 item is the serving size. Like a tofu dog for example. Or log the calories that package gives?
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Bworms1980 wrote: »Thank you for the advice. Is a scale better than measuring cups? Also do I measure things that say 1 item is the serving size. Like a tofu dog for example. Or log the calories that package gives?
Not only is a scale more accurate than measuring cups (for anything other than liquids, at least), a scale is also quicker and easier, once you get the hang of it. A few tips:- Assembling a salad in a bowl, a stew in a pan, sandwich on a plate? Put the bowl/pan/plate on the scale, zero, add an ingredient, note the weight, zero, add the next ingredient, note the weight . . . .
- Using something from a carton or jar, or cutting a slice from a hunk of cheese? Put the container or chunk on the scale, zero, take out portion, note the negative value (it's the amount you took out).
- Eating a whole apple, banana, unhulled strawberries, corn on the cob? Weigh the ready-to-eat food, eat the yummy parts, weigh the core/hulls/peel, subtract & note.
- I like to keep a few clean plastic yogurt-tub lids around to weigh small items, like a handful of nuts or chopped hardboiled eggs or something. Drop the lid on the scale, zero, add item, note weight, eat or use - just a quick rinse of the lid under the faucet & you're done.
No measuring spoons to scrape out, or wash, except when you need to measure liquids . . . and you can weigh some of them, too.
You can estimate the occasional meal you eat out (in someone's home, or at a restaurant without nutrition info online), and that won't present a problem. But weighing food at home is easy and accurate.
As someone earlier mentioned, you can get along for a bit, while you still have quite a lot to lose, by estimating. Just watch your loss rate, and adjust to lose no more than that 1% (less is OK). But a scale will simplify your life, and be more vital as you get closer to goal weight.
Good luck!
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Ditto for the scale. I was soooo wrong eyeballing. Some people can do it, but I don't think most of us are good at it because of the over-sized portions we're used to seeing.
Today, when I packed my lunch for work:- Turned on scale
- Put pyrex dish on scale
- Hit "tare" (zeroed it out)
- Added broccoli to weigh out 1.5 servings
- Hit "tare" (zeroed it out)
- Added rice to weigh out a 1/2 serving
- Hit "tare" (zeroed it out)
- Added my beloved chicken tenders (one serving is 66 grams, I've had them weigh anywhere from 62g-151g)
- Put on lid, toss in cooler
I do this when I cook, too. Weigh out ingredients, toss into skillet, then add egg whites.
It will help you readjust to what a serving size is when you realize abut half the portion you were eating fills you up fine.
If you're hungry, make sure to get enough healthy fat, protein and fiber.2 -
Just purchase a cheap scale at somewhere like Target or Walmart. They are all pretty standard.
If you're feeling groggy and or weak, I find hard boiled eggs, ev n just one, perks me up quickly. I buy the big carton of 18, boil them and leave them in a bowl in the fridge. They really help when I'm feeling low and would otherwise choose something less healthful or more fattening.
I try not to eat more than three in one day, and often just one a day. But I don't have any cholesterol or other issues to worry about. I was just too fat. Luckily I lost my weight before I got lasting problems....0 -
Bworms1980 wrote: »Wow, I had no idea that even single serving items were off. I'll be doing some homework to see what food scale to get then. Thank you.
You've gotten a lot of good advice, I'm just chiming in to say you don't need a fancy food scale to weigh properly. Just make sure it has a "tare" function to zero it while there is still food on it (useful for meals, salads, sandwiches, etc.) and that you can easily switch between grams and ounces as some entries only have one or the other.0 -
Bworms1980 wrote: »Wow, I had no idea that even single serving items were off. I'll be doing some homework to see what food scale to get then. Thank you.
You've gotten a lot of good advice, I'm just chiming in to say you don't need a fancy food scale to weigh properly. Just make sure it has a "tare" function to zero it while there is still food on it (useful for meals, salads, sandwiches, etc.) and that you can easily switch between grams and ounces as some entries only have one or the other.
And don't be fooled to buy one that "measures liquids". Water and a few other liquids weigh 1 gram per milliliter, but weight and volume is not the same, and displaying weight as volume is not just a gimmick, it's a scam. You can weigh liquids, as long as you use entries that are in grams and are correct. The differences aren't usually very large, and values for foods are never totally accurate, but you'd want to do this as accurately as possible, and small discrepancies can add up over time.0 -
Bworms1980 wrote: »I haven't ordered my food scale yet. I have been logging all calories. I have been guesstimating the call of boneless chicken breast and salmon.
I drink at least 8 cups of water daily and 3 cups of unsweetened Japanese green tea after each main meal. I do 5 small meals.
I have been sticking to the 1500 calories. Didn't realize until recently that some people eat back the calories they burn exercising.kommodevaran wrote: »You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.
I heard a doctor say the other day that too much green tea is actually bad for you, as it can cause <I believe it was liver> disease. Nine cups of green tea a day sounds to me like it would fall into the "too much" category. Don't take my word for it though, ask your HCP in case I misheard lol.0 -
Carriehelene wrote: »Bworms1980 wrote: »I haven't ordered my food scale yet. I have been logging all calories. I have been guesstimating the call of boneless chicken breast and salmon.
I drink at least 8 cups of water daily and 3 cups of unsweetened Japanese green tea after each main meal. I do 5 small meals.
I have been sticking to the 1500 calories. Didn't realize until recently that some people eat back the calories they burn exercising.kommodevaran wrote: »You get differerent suggestions based on what activity level you set (which is kinda fuzzy) and whether you'll be eating back exercise calories or not. Estimations don't really matter that much - you need to adjust to real life anyway, and only time and trial and error and correct measurements of input and output, can tell what your expenditure, and thus calorie need, is.
Keep in mind that you'll need to adjust calorie goal when you've lost some weight; MFP doesn't do this for you automatically when you've set your goal manually.
I heard a doctor say the other day that too much green tea is actually bad for you, as it can cause <I believe it was liver> disease. Nine cups of green tea a day sounds to me like it would fall into the "too much" category. Don't take my word for it though, ask your HCP in case I misheard lol.
I have only been drinking 3 cups of green tea but, I am going to lay off because it is causing my acid reflux to act up.0 -
Whew, that's a much more reasonable number sorry to hear about your reflux though. Hope it gets better soon. 0
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I also forgot to ask, do I weigh foods before or after cooking, such as raw meat or cook meat, rice, etc.
And, what about soups? I was thinking about this last week. I had to measure out a cup of soup but it had noodles. Do I just weigh out a cup regardless of the amount of noodles I scoop in or out?0 -
Whenever possible, weigh before cooking. At any rate, use a correct entry - raw for raw, cooked for cooked.Bworms1980 wrote: »I also forgot to ask, do I weigh foods before or after cooking, such as raw meat or cook meat, rice, etc.
"Cup" is a volume measurement. Measure OR weigh. Was this a home made soup? Made by you? You can use the recipe builder - log every ingredient you put in. Divide the finished dish into either 1) number of servings that it yields (like if you'll eat half today and half tomorrow, make it two servings and log one each day), or 2) weigh the total amount when it's ready, set number of servings to number of grams (or ounces), and log the number of grams (or ounces) you serve yourself. Remember that you need to use the net weight (subtract the weight of the pot; weigh it beforehand and write down how much it weighs).And, what about soups? I was thinking about this last week. I had to measure out a cup of soup but it had noodles. Do I just weigh out a cup regardless of the amount of noodles I scoop in or out?
Soups and casseroles can a bit tricky because how much of the different bits and pieces that end up in your bowl can vary, but if you are going to eat the whole batch, there is no issue, just log the appropriate serving.0 -
kommodevaran wrote: »
Whenever possible, weigh before cooking. At any rate, use a correct entry - raw for raw, cooked for cooked.Bworms1980 wrote: »I also forgot to ask, do I weigh foods before or after cooking, such as raw meat or cook meat, rice, etc.
"Cup" is a volume measurement. Measure OR weigh. Was this a home made soup? Made by you? You can use the recipe builder - log every ingredient you put in. Divide the finished dish into either 1) number of servings that it yields (like if you'll eat half today and half tomorrow, make it two servings and log one each day), or 2) weigh the total amount when it's ready, set number of servings to number of grams (or ounces), and log the number of grams (or ounces) you serve yourself. Remember that you need to use the net weight (subtract the weight of the pot; weigh it beforehand and write down how much it weighs).And, what about soups? I was thinking about this last week. I had to measure out a cup of soup but it had noodles. Do I just weigh out a cup regardless of the amount of noodles I scoop in or out?
Soups and casseroles can a bit tricky because how much of the different bits and pieces that end up in your bowl can vary, but if you are going to eat the whole batch, there is no issue, just log the appropriate serving.
That makes sense, thanks. I think I'm going to have issues with measurements because while I love words, I'm hopeless with numbers.0 -
Meat, rice, noodles..etc are best weighed before cooking if possible. Depending on how you cook something and for how long it may have absorbed/evaporated different amounts of water affecting the accuracy of the calories for the cooked product. With that said, don't stress too much if all you have available is cooked, but try to weigh raw when possible.
As for soups, stews and such, if you are only cooking for yourself it can be reasonably accurate even if you have different amounts of ingredients each time because it all adds up and averages out. If you are cooking for a family, it could be a bit less accurate but don't stress about it. The way I do soups and mixed dishes is like this:
1. Weigh the pan/pot/container I'm going to cook stuff in and note it down.
2. Weigh all the ingredients as I add them and note their weights down.
3. After the dish has finished cooking I weigh the dish in its original pot and subtract the weight of the pot. I then add all the ingredients by weight in the recipe tool and set the number of servings to a certain weight (100 grams in my case). So if a whole dish minus the pot weighs 2000 grams I set the number of servings to 20. The when I eat, say I had 350 grams, I just log the recipe as 3.5 servings.0 -
Bworms1980 wrote: »kommodevaran wrote: »
Whenever possible, weigh before cooking. At any rate, use a correct entry - raw for raw, cooked for cooked.Bworms1980 wrote: »I also forgot to ask, do I weigh foods before or after cooking, such as raw meat or cook meat, rice, etc.
"Cup" is a volume measurement. Measure OR weigh. Was this a home made soup? Made by you? You can use the recipe builder - log every ingredient you put in. Divide the finished dish into either 1) number of servings that it yields (like if you'll eat half today and half tomorrow, make it two servings and log one each day), or 2) weigh the total amount when it's ready, set number of servings to number of grams (or ounces), and log the number of grams (or ounces) you serve yourself. Remember that you need to use the net weight (subtract the weight of the pot; weigh it beforehand and write down how much it weighs).And, what about soups? I was thinking about this last week. I had to measure out a cup of soup but it had noodles. Do I just weigh out a cup regardless of the amount of noodles I scoop in or out?
Soups and casseroles can a bit tricky because how much of the different bits and pieces that end up in your bowl can vary, but if you are going to eat the whole batch, there is no issue, just log the appropriate serving.
That makes sense, thanks. I think I'm going to have issues with measurements because while I love words, I'm hopeless with numbers.
An under-appreciated side effect of using MFP for weight loss is the way it can sharpen one's numeracy skills. I've noticed that my ability to remember numbers, without transposing digits, is markedly better. If you can avoid fearing the math - things like calculating your deficit, what an over-goal day might do to your loss rate, etc. - those are really powerful tools to have during weight loss, and you can improve your arithmetic/math skills as well.1
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