should i increase my calories intake

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mrschappet
mrschappet Posts: 488 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok, so I am wondering... how do i know if I should increase my calories per day and by how much. Here are my stats:

height- 5'6''
weight 114-117 I toggle between that
26yrs old

I am happy with my current weight I don't want to lose anymore...but i dont want to go above 120lbs. right now my calories per day is set at 1750.. i actually increased it a little because it was at 1700.

I exercise 6 days a week and burn at minimum 250 calories a day... but i average about 340 calories burned a day.. sometimes reaching 500 or more burned.

I know that the dietary guidelines are at 2000 calorie per day .. so i dont understand why mfp has me less than that. I want to pretty much maintain the weight I am at I am healthy and fit but some days I feel kinda in a fog or just blah and I am wondering if it is because I am not getting enough calories.

I am open to your feedback :-)

Replies

  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
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    What dietary guidelines are you referring to that are 2,000 calories? The ones on food? 2000 doesn't apply to everyone. If you're 5'7" and 114 pounds, 1700 sounds pretty adequate taking into consideration your activity level. MFP uses what's called the Mifflin-St. Joer equation (I believe) to determine your calorie needs. Everyone is different.
  • adventuring
    adventuring Posts: 178
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    2000 calories is just a general estimate. Your height and weight dictate how many calories you should eat. Do you have MFP set to maintain your weight now?
  • AI1108
    AI1108 Posts: 488 Member
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    MFP gave you that number because of the age, weight, height & activity level that you entered when you signed up, basically your BMR x activity level. Do you see yourself losing weight at 1750? Have you tried eating your exercise calories? If you're maintaining you should be eating back at least some of your exercise calories, if not all so 1700 + 340 calories burned.

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