Need Help Determining Caloric Intake

joiedekel
joiedekel Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'4 and 371 pounds and I took up my own challenge this summer to get in better shape, change my diet, and just live a healthier lifestyle in general. Right now I exercise 5-6 days per week for 45 minutes at a time and rotate between walking, HIIT workouts, and strength training. I typically do 5 cardio workouts a week and two separate strength training sessions. My focus has been on moving more and making sure I'm sweating and I KNOW I'm putting in serious effort in my workouts. I have also changed my diet significantly. I gave up soda (I only drink water and tea now) and I eat a clean diet. I track my calories every day and have set my caloric intake for 2,000 calories. My question is this: there are SO MANY calculators out there that tell you how much you should be eating to lose weight, but NONE of them seem to say the same thing (for example, one calculator says I should be eating 3,000 calories and then another says 1600).

Based on your understanding, am I eating too little calories? Too many calories? Because I want to continue losing weight steadily, but when I step on the school and see minimal movement or even weight gain when I KNOW I'm putting in the work, I feel like maybe I'm doing something wrong. If it helps, I don't have PCOS or a thyroid condition, so there really is nothing medically wrong with me that would cause a problem. I have also been on this program for nine weeks and have lost 25 pounds (so I do know I CAN lose weight, I just want to make sure I'm doing it CORRECTLY).

Any advice you can give me would be so so appreciated --- thanks!

Replies

  • daremightythings
    daremightythings Posts: 247 Member
    edited August 2017
    First, sweat doesn't have any correlation to calorie burn.

    The reason you see such wild variation in calorie calculator results is because there's wildly different formulas people can use to determine calorie needs. 3000 calories probably is based on a formula that takes into account your exercise and 1600 is probably a formula that says eat this at a base level and add more on days your exercise.

    The only thing that will cause weight loss is a caloric deficit. Some people achieve this through counting calories alone. Some people prefer to eat low carb as a way to manage their cravings and make it easier to mainten a calorie deficit. Some people eat vegan, Paleo, etc. The net effect is a caloric deficit.

    Input your information into MFP. Eat what it tells you. Enter your excerise into MFP. Eat 40-50% of those calories as well (fomrila based calorie burn estimates are notoriously generous). Monitor your weight for 6-8 weeks for a downward trend. Adjust your intake if you are not losing at the rate you anticipate. 25# in 9 weeks is a great and consistent rate. Keep it up!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Since you're losing weight, that's not too many calories. As for too few, how do you feel? Do you feel satisfied with what you're eating? Do you have enough energy for your workouts?
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    Calorie trackers are a great tool, but ultimately, there's a lot of estimating involved and your body will tell you if you've got the right balance. Track your calories and your weight. If you're losing weight, you're maintaining a deficit. If you're hungry and miserable and wiped out by your workouts, you probably should eat more. Diets and logging patterns and bodies are so varied that no one can tell you that you're doing things exactly right. The longer you stick to it, the better you'll figure out what numbers are right for you.
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    ^ You're losing weight. If you feel good then you're doing it right :smile:
    What does MFP say your daily calories should be?
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    Also, 25 lbs over nine weeks it great progress! It sounds like you might be getting hung up by the completely normal day to day variations in your weight. Maybe look into weight trend apps, and look up the posts on "weight loss is not linear." You will be up some days and down others. That's normal and you can't control it. What matters is the trend.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    edited August 2017
    There are two different approaches, broadly:

    TDEE: This includes an allowance for exercise, so you eat the same amount every day.

    NEAT: This does not include exercise, so you need to track your exercise and eat extra to make up for it.

    Myfitnesspal is NEAT by default, so its calorie goals will look much lower than other calculators. Once the exercise is added in, the final number will be very similar.

    You can choose NEAT or TDEE based on your own preference. If you want to use TDEE on myfitnesspal, just calculate your number using another calculator, then enter it on here manually.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    Get a body composition readout from your gym... that will give you some numbers to work with... it will estimate fat and muscle mass%... and the number of calories you burn (TDEE) given your current weight... I suggest that you are doing interval training and not HIIT... interval training is HIIT's little brother... all the same you would be better with steady state cardio... there is a reason it's also referred to as fat burner cardio... as far as that goes... give steady state a go for 12 weeks... a minimum of 3 hours/ week.

    I personally put my fat in the context of how many 20 lb bags of flour I am carrying beyond my goal weight... currently about 2-1/2... from that Perspective imagine the stress on your joints, skeleton, soft tissue, so refrain from high impact cardio until you are carrying far fewer bags... injury setbacks can ruin your hard work
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