Ladies - how many calories do you eat a day?

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Replies

  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    I'm 31yo, 5'3" and 168lbs and eat 1560 on rest days and at least half my exercise calories on workout days. I lose about 1lb per week (averaged out as I maintain for a couple weeks then the scale moves down about 2lbs).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited February 2018
    My base is about 1400 calories to lose 1/2 kg a week (a little bit over a pound). I'm usually active enough to eat 1700-1800 calories, more on long run days. When I want to eat more I have a low day and spread the calories among other days or use them up in one day if I have something special planned.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    I am almost 47, 5'3" tall, weight = 113 (approximately) and I eat an average of around 1400 calories regularly with low activity level due to a terrible back. I have used a FitBit in conjunction with MFP for many years in order to maintain my weight appropriately and it helps me to determine how many or how few calories I can eat in order to maintain my weight. I HATE clothes shopping. :)

    My biggest thing to keep me full is PROTEIN! I have a protein-something for breakfast (yogurt or egg whites, typically), and try very hard to have some kind of meat at both lunch and dinner as well. It really helps keep me full.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    edited February 2018
    46, post-menopausal, 5.2.5", 118lbs after a 150lb loss.

    I eat 1500-2200 a day depending on activity level. Sedentary days only get me 1350 cals, so I keep moving.
  • acmorris77
    acmorris77 Posts: 80 Member
    If hunger is your issue, try intermittent fasting to lose the last few. It's more a schedule to eat, and I'm never hungry.
  • susann4041
    susann4041 Posts: 6 Member
    The last few pounds are the hardest and lifting heavy weights retains water in your body to heal the muscles.It sounds like your not eating enough maybe if you up your calories to 1700 to 2000 slowly as you are already at a pretty healthy weight ..If it's fat your wanting to loose bring the fat down to 45g a day in your diet but up the protein times your weight DO NOT STARVE yourself.Listen to your body. Cut back on heavy cardio.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    susann4041 wrote: »
    The last few pounds are the hardest and lifting heavy weights retains water in your body to heal the muscles.It sounds like your not eating enough maybe if you up your calories to 1700 to 2000 slowly as you are already at a pretty healthy weight ..If it's fat your wanting to loose bring the fat down to 45g a day in your diet but up the protein times your weight DO NOT STARVE yourself.Listen to your body. Cut back on heavy cardio.

    losing .5lbs a week is definitely not starving, and adding even more calories would put her at maintenance. I'm confused by your suggestion.
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
    1200-1400.. i dont exercise very much at all
  • angelsja
    angelsja Posts: 859 Member
    I'm 5'8 and just under 180lbs. I aim for 2040 to lose 1lb a week, that's based on what I maintain on roughly with exercise already factored in (lifting 4-5 times a week) It's normal for weight loss to slow down as you get closer to your goal but 2lbs a month is still a good healthy amount.

    If you want to start upping your calories but don't want to gain weight then I'd suggest gradually increasing them over time. Based on your weight loss you could probably go up around 200/250 a day to start, try that out for a few weeks and adjust as necessary. Also, if you haven't factored your exercise into your daily activity level already, then you should be eating back exercise calories as the deficit is already created without any exercise, just as the activity level you set MFP up with, and eating too little consistently over time can have a detrimental effect on weight loss.

    What calories were you set to to lose I've 38lbs to goal weight you are the same height/weight as me?
  • mfpmishka
    mfpmishka Posts: 36 Member
    5'7.5, 125lbs, 34yo female, working out 5-7x a week, 3x a week weights, loosing on 2300. I maintain on 2500-3000 calories, sometimes more when I do long runs (over 15 miles).
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,069 Member
    edited February 2018
    My calorie range right now is 1,931 - 2,269. The low end of that is a more strict deficit than I am requiring of myself, and the upper end is what should be (approximately) my maintenance at my goal weight.

    I'm going through a recomp with a veeeryy slow weight loss.

    5'7", 39, F

    I workout 5 days a week at the gym, 2 hours with calorie burns in the 400-900 calories a day (depends on the day and what I'm doing that day) - mind you, I'm training for my sport, so it's more intense than what I would likely be doing if my goal was just staying fit.

    According to my trend, I'm slowly losing about 1/2 lb/week. Measurements have steadily been heading in the right direction.

    At this point, I'm not set on these numbers as I also like to listen to my body. If I'm ravishing, then I'm going to eat something. If I'm not that hungry, I'm not going to force myself to eat into my range. Since my workouts have steadily increased since November, it's also hard to say what I'll need to keep it up. I'm in a workout plan that I will probably maintain for several months if not longer, upping weights and or reps/speed as I can, but not "new" exercises, so hopefully I'll adjust a bit. Hard to say what true weight loss is right now since I kept increasing intensity pretty dramatically as I was able until I got onto this plan.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    Weight loss about 1700-1800. Maintain about 2000-2200
  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
    I try to stick to 1800 calories for weight loss & if I'm feeling hungrier on a particular day I'll eat at maintenance according to my Fitbit calories.
  • kindofangel2003
    kindofangel2003 Posts: 16 Member
    edited November 2018
    I am 35, 68kilos, 1.70cm. I eat 2500 cals/day and I maintain. I lift 3/week, run 2/week. I burn 300 cals/day through exercise. I don’t eat back my exercise calories.
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    I am 74. 5'7 and currently weigh 144.4. I treat my MFP allotment (1200 calories) ss net calories, not gross. Therefore, I eat back a good portion of my exercise calories. I work out daily, various activities, for 60 to 160 minutes (averaging abot 90 min). I find that exercise actually helps with hunger, as long as I maintain a pretty regular eating schedule.

    This has worked well for me. I have lost 38 pounds in 4 months with few problems with hunger. My daily intake is approximately 110 g protein, 130 g carbs, and 65 g fat.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    edited November 2018
    I maintain at between 1500-1700 depending on my activity level. When I want to lose weight, I have to eat 1200-1400 a day. I am 36 years old, 5 feet, and average about 8000-10000 steps a day.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    anywhere from 2000-2500 or so
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    mortuseon_ wrote: »
    mortuseon_ wrote: »
    Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    No I don't, I try to keep my calories similar regardless of whether I exercise or not!

    I think that you should set your activity level at whatever you usually do re: your job, walking around etc., then log the exercise. Eat those calories back, up until you are at your correct number of net calories (MFP is set up to do that). To lose, you should be eating x net calories, not x totalcalories. You're probably feeling very hungry because your net intake is much lower than it needs to be!

    I hope that makes sense? So if you eat 1400 and burn 300 on the same day, eat that 300 back (a total of 1700) because your net calories are still at 1400 when you do that, and you will absolutely still lose weight. If you didn't eat that 300 back, your net would be at 1100, which is really low!

    Yes that's very helpful thank you! I will start eating back my exercise calories. If it was a week or so I was super hungry I'd put it down to hormones or something but my body obviously needs more calories so eating back what I burnt off seems like a logical place to start!

    Glad to hear it!

    If you use MFP to set your calorie goal, exercise, but don't eat back any exercise calories, you are not using MFP the way it was designed.

    Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1