Frantic about adhering to the "right" calorie intake? Read t

And that's just it. That's why I started this thread. People seem to be confused over a concept that should be really friggin simple: eat less calories than your body needs.

In order to eat less than we need, we need to know how many we need in the first place.

Hence the estimated total daily energy expenditure from my previous post. Put differently, I estimate all of the outflows, and then I can make a target inflow that comes in lower than the outflows to generate an energy gap/shortage/deficit or whatever you want to call it.

Based on the above, I don't get why it's so confusing.

There are many ways of going about calculating total energy expenditure.

My way is simple... just take your current weight and multiply it by 15. If you're very overweight, sedentary, or feel you've some metabolic issues, maybe drop that multiplier down to 12-13 or so. If you're very lean, very active, or feel that you have a fast metabolism... bump that multiplier up to 17-18.

These multipliers take into account all forms of energy expenditure: bmr, tea, and tef

BMR = basal metablic rate

TEA = thermic effect of activity

TEF = thermic effect of feeding

The guesswork in it all is precisely why I tell people to focus on the process AFTER picking a calorie intake rather than the calorie intake itself. The process mentioned in the very first post in this thread will smooth out any miscalculations and deviations.

If you don't trust my numbers... than simply refer to one of the many equations that are floating around on the net such as the Harris-Benedict, Katch-McArdle, and Mifflin-St. Jeor equations. These equations predict BMR. Once you have your BMR calculated, you multiply it by an activity factor. The more active you are, the higher that factor will be. The combination of the BMR estimation from the formula and the activity factor will give you an estimated total energy expenditure.

This total energy expenditure shouldn't be far off from taking your weight and multiplying it by 14-16, assuming you're active.

Or simply use one of the many calorie calculators on the net (these typically rely on one of the above formulas anyhow). Maybe MFP has one handy... I'm not sure. I only ever come to the forums. Here's a simple one:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

Here's the biggest kicker that I think everyone needs to read 50 millions times...

If you go about things bass ackwards by calculating your BMR and then setting that as your daily calorie target, you're then forced to add to it (or using MFP vernacular - "eat back") activity calories after the fact. Which is what you see a lot of MFPers doing around here.

And that's fine... but you don't need to obsess over eating them back vs. not eating them back. There's no clear cut right and wrong. I think a lot of this anxiety and stress comes from not focusing on total energy expenditure from the get go. If they calculated total energy expenditure from the get go, they'd know whether or not eating exercise calories back would put them in that sweet spot of a 20-35% deficit off of total expenditure.

I harped on this in another thread which you can find here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories

If you're going to base your target off of BMR though and add activity calorie back into the picture after the fact... I don't get why you're only adding in exercise calories. What about all the energy expended cleaning, walking, going up stairs, etc, etc, etc.?

Anyhow, I'm not meaning to reply directly to you, Lisa... I'm simply using your post as a stage to rant a bit more.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know just enough to be slightly dangerous, but not really quite enough to always be as effective. I've got 90+ lbs to lose, and I have been eating between 1250-1500 cals per day. Weighing, measuring and logging every last item that goes into my mouth, down to a tsp of ketchup and the quarter of a large shrimp I ate off someone's plate the other day. I know from past experience that BLT's can really mess wth a diet. (Bites, Licks & Tastes) I'm having no problem with my current level of food, I'm very mindful to keep things clean, so between the lean protein and tons of veggies I'm eating, I'm never hungry.

I've been readng like crazy about starvation mode and all the research seems to point to it not being as much of an issue if you are quite obese. I also have been moderate with my exercise for the time being, knowing as I get closer to goal I want to have that in my toolbox to help amp up my fat loss.

Correct me if I'm making the wrong assumptions, but your extremely helpful post seemed to back up my extrapolations.

Oh, and thanks!!!!

Obese folks can definitely get away with steeper deficits. Granted, in my experience the results from steeper deficits tend not to "stick" as much. But that's more a psychological issue than a physiological issue... as if those two can be separated.

With my obese clients, I'll set an average weekly target loss of 1% of body weight each week. I'll adjust my calorie intake up or down based on how close to that mark I am.

You're welcome.

You're welcome! Thanks for reading.

You're welcome... let me know if you need anything cleared up.