calorie intake

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proudmama2four
proudmama2four Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
So according to this site I should eat 1320 calories a day, but i read in a biggest loser book you should times your weight by 7 and that is how much you should eat and i just looked up a site and it said i should be eating 1574 calories a day. oh and i weigh 226.

Replies

  • GreenSkinnyJeans
    GreenSkinnyJeans Posts: 204 Member
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    If so...I should only be eating 1,008 calories
    D:
    D:
    But on a website it says for me to maintain my weight with my daily activity, i get around 1,700 calories..
  • Angelamu77
    Angelamu77 Posts: 39
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    Nothing is better than talking to your doctor about what you should eat. Every site seems to say something else.
  • Keemeri
    Keemeri Posts: 74
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    Well if that is true by the Biggest Loser then I would be 1113 calories a day, which is under the basic 1200 women should have a day.

    It's very confusing! Will be interesting what others have to say .:huh:
  • nukehiker
    nukehiker Posts: 457
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    take your goal weight multiply by 12. this is without exercise included. i can't remember where i found this formula but it's fairly close.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    So according to this site I should eat 1320 calories a day, but i read in a biggest loser book you should times your weight by 7 and that is how much you should eat and i just looked up a site and it said i should be eating 1574 calories a day. oh and i weigh 226.

    The 7 times your weight may be a general rule of thumb for obese people, but does not account for BMR or activity level, which MFP does, I would follow the MFP guidelines and if you want to eat more you have 2 options, exercise, as this gives you more to eat, or change your weekly goal to 0.5lbs/less than what you picked (i.e. switch from 2lbs/week to 1.5/week)

    That calculation would have me eat around 1000 cals, and a man should not go below 1500.
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I've tried several different sites and they've each given me different numbers. It's very confusing. :sad:
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    that would mean i should only be eating around 935 a day! Not a good idea, even for just a couple of weeks.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I've tried several different sites and they've each given me different numbers. It's very confusing. :sad:

    This could be due to some sites including you intended exercise in your caloric allotment, whereas MFP gives you an intake to lose your goal weight with no exercise, then if you workout it adds calories back in so you remain at your goal.

    As an example, assuming you workout 5 days/week 400 cals each session
    site A says eat 1500 cals/day to lose 2 lbs/week, (10,500 calories/week)
    MFP says eat 1200/day, and eat back your exercise calories 10,400 cals/week (1200*7+400*5)

    As you see you get to the same point other sites give you the same intake each day whereas MFP gives you the same deficit each day instead. The MFP way is superior for 1 reason, it will be right if you miss a workout or 2 whereas the other site would have you eat too much if you miss a workout or 2.

    if you miss 3 workouts with MFP you only eat 9,200 for the week to hit your 2 lb goal, if you ate the full 10,500 you would only lose 1.63 lbs.
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
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    Erick speaks sense, Proudmamma. I would definitely stick with the MFP recommendations. The Biggest Loser is, after all, a reality TV show. And while I'm sure some of their info is sound, they're also dealing with more extreme weight loss and way more exercise than the average person can fit into their day.

    (I assume. I have never managed to see it, despite my curiosity.)

    MFP users seem to have a great success rate using the tools here. I'm personally sticking to em. :)
  • proudmama2four
    proudmama2four Posts: 7
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    thanks for all the replies. I will be sticking to MFP
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    Find out your BMR.
  • daisyelaine
    daisyelaine Posts: 480 Member
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    I'm with Mary. Find out your BMR ( which is NOT maintenance, by the way) and work with that. The calculator for MFP is an idiot tool-- it will let you go WAY lower than you ever should.

    Short answer-- read this. Best thing I can say.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    And then, this one.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

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