Daily Calorie Allowance

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swjones19083
swjones19083 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Question here: When I began this program I entered my weight and my goal. The program gave me a daily allotment of calories I could have and still reach my goal, although it didn't say how long it would take to get there. The number of calories it stipulated was 2840. Since then, many people who I know who are themselves trying to eat healthier and lose weight, think that number is way to high.

Can you help me figure out what I should be using as a ceiling for daily calories? On January 22 I weighed 301.5 pounds. My goal is to get down to 240 pounds (61 pound loss). I am a 52 year old male who drives truck for the local school district. I also load and unload my truck, so it's not as sedentary as you'd think.

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  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    edited February 2018
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    Try setting it for sedentary, and logging your waking and loafing as separate excercises and see if it changes. It will be kind of high to start, because you have a higher starting weight.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    When did you start, how much have you lost since starting?

    To get a calorie goal, you need to set a rate of loss. What did you pick?
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    edited February 2018
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    When you set your goal, the program asked you to set you rate of loss - I believe the imperial options are .5, 1, or 2 pounds a week. As you lose weight you’ll need to lower your calorie intake to maintain your rate of loss, plus these numbers are all estimates based on population data - it’s going to take you some time to get a hang of counting calories and you may lose slower or faster than the program predicts. All that is to say that it can be tricky to predict how much time you will need.

    That said, given your active work, current weight, and gender, 2800 calories sounds like a perfectly reasonable goal to lose a steady amount of weight (your height matters here too). I’m a moderately active but short woman and have lost from 208 lbs to 163 lbs in the last year eating around 2200-2000 calories. It’s very common for people to believe you can only lose weight by eating a tiny number of calories, but if you are starting fairly large and are able to estimate your intake fairly accurately (which can take time - a food scale will help a lot) you can lose weight while eating a reasonably decent number of calories. Good luck!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,487 Member
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    Given your weight, but not knowing your height, the calorie goal sounds correct for a 'very active' person wanting to lose 2 lbs a week.

    You may find 'active' suits your job description better as you do split between moving, lifting, and sitting.

    Try the calorie goal you were given for a month, and see how you go. You can then adjust so you are losing at a sustainable rate.

    It will give you chance to get use to a lower calorie goal, and hone your skills in logging and using a food scale- get one, and weigh everything, if you don't have one.

    (you will probably drop water weight in the first couple of weeks so your loss at the beginning may be high).

    Cheers, h.
  • swjones19083
    swjones19083 Posts: 5 Member
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    My wife set it up so I am not sure what she set the rate of loss at. I would guess 2 pounds, as that is the most normal, safe way. I started at 301.5 January 22. This morning I am just a hair under 290. It's just that several people have said that 2840 calories a day seems quite high, but I am a big man doing a laborious job. I was thinking of manually setting my daily caloric total down to 2500. I normally barely eclipse 2100 each day, since January 22.
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
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    swjones19083 wrote: »
    My wife set it up so I am not sure what she set the rate of loss at. I would guess 2 pounds, as that is the most normal, safe way. I started at 301.5 January 22. This morning I am just a hair under 290. It's just that several people have said that 2840 calories a day seems quite high, but I am a big man doing a laborious job. I was thinking of manually setting my daily caloric total down to 2500. I normally barely eclipse 2100 each day, since January 22.

    I wouldn't force yourself to eat more than 2100 each day, but there's no reason to reset your calorie allotment manually at this point as long as you continue to lose, although you will want to update your weight in the app if you haven't already and see if it gives you a new calorie amount based on a lower weight.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    swjones19083 wrote: »
    My wife set it up so I am not sure what she set the rate of loss at. I would guess 2 pounds, as that is the most normal, safe way. I started at 301.5 January 22. This morning I am just a hair under 290. It's just that several people have said that 2840 calories a day seems quite high, but I am a big man doing a laborious job. I was thinking of manually setting my daily caloric total down to 2500. I normally barely eclipse 2100 each day, since January 22.

    It sounds like you're off to a decent start then - I'd just stick to it and not worry overly much about the exact numbers. If I'm mathing it out right, it sounds like you're losing maybe 2.5 pounds a week, which is probably fine for now - 2 pounds a week is the standard recommended maximum, but many people can manage a bit more just fine at higher starting weights. Another standard I've heard is 1% of bodyweight per week which is right around where you are. If it makes you feel better to manually reset your calorie goal go ahead, but again, what really matters are your actual results.

    I didn't have the link when I posted last night, but I've found https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html to be a helpful website for mapping out rate of loss and calories, so long as you take it with a big old grain of salt. It estimates that if you stick to around 2100 calories, you should ideally reach your goal in roughly 6-7 months. Life is rarely ideal, but I find the numbers fun to play with. Good luck!
  • swjones19083
    swjones19083 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you Mega Moose. Thank you to all those who responded to my query. Six to Seven months is a number I did not have and if I can be 240 by Labor Day I would be very happy with that. Each pound I lose results in something in my life getting easier. Either I can tighten my belt more than before, fit clothes I couldn't, get less winded when working, etc. Just for kicks I went back and looked at my daily calorie totals since February 4th. Here are those numbers:

    1777, 1961, 2043, 1958, 2049, 2316, 2033, 1959, 1336, 3061 (oops!), 1887 and so far today - 1219. As you can see, I could lower the total daily amount to 2500 and not even bat an eyelash. Many, many years ago I followed a WOE that was based on my limiting myself to 2000 calories a day, and I lost a ton of weight. Losing thew weight hasn't been a problem. The real battle starts in keeping it there, and I am hoping that being armed with Myfitnesspal will help me manage my weight once I get to my goal.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
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    I posted a thread a few days ago that might be of help to you.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10639284/down-eight-pounds-in-seven-weeks-sharing-my-tdee-spreadsheet#latest

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