Daily Caloric Intake

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71Angel
71Angel Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
How do I determine what my basic daily caloric intake should be? When I signed up, it set me at 1200 calories - which isn't much. I have reviewed BMR calculators, and I get different amounts with each of them. I understand the concept of calorie in/calorie out, but I need to know what my base calories should be for a day.

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  • Michelle9939
    Michelle9939 Posts: 291
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    I have always heard to not go below your BMR. Then when you exercise, you need to be eating more.
  • 388gigi
    388gigi Posts: 485 Member
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    Go back into your settings and have a look again, most likely your daily calorie intake is around 1700, but MFP has taken away 500 or so depending on what your weight loss goals were (ie. lose 1kg per week)
  • almille
    almille Posts: 89
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    All of the calculations are just guesses. Try a number for a week or two, lower it if you don't lose weight ;)
    up it if you feel lousy, tired, hungry (and you might not even be losing weight, that's the tricky bit.)
    Rinse and repeat until you find what's right for you.
  • Michelle9939
    Michelle9939 Posts: 291
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    MFP has my BMR at 1,510. I went to another website and it calculated it as 1,599.
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
  • Jokenmit
    Jokenmit Posts: 80 Member
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    the caloric amount you were given is for losing weight. your BMR is for maintianing. as my doctor put it to me "Its what would you have to have to survive and stay the same weight you are right now, even if you were buried in the sand up to your neck."
  • 71Angel
    71Angel Posts: 7
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    I just found a BMR calculator on this site - didn't even realize it was there. It puts my BMR at 1503. So I need to eat less that this daily to lose weight??? And maybe a little more if I exercise??? I believe it will have to be trial and error, however that takes longer than I am patient for. But I am determined to stick to it, so we will see how it goes.

    Thanks for the input!
  • JConstine
    JConstine Posts: 69
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    Actually no. Your BMR is how much energy your body uses for it's most basic functions. So if you did nothing but lie still for 24 hours, you would ideally need 1503 Calories to operate. When you get up and walk around and do whatever for 12 hours a day, you burn more energy.

    This is where the sedentary, active, very active settings come in. Based on your activity, you need more calories to operate and maintain your actual weight.

    With those added calories from you basic, daily activities, you build a deficit so that you can lose weight.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    I think that it is trial and error. MFP set my calorie limit so that I was not losing weight. So I checked a reputable site for a second opinion, and that site suggested a limit that was 400 calories lower. So I custom adjusted my daily goal, and checked my daily activity setting to make sure that it was sedentary, with no allowance for regular exercise. Since then, I've been losing at the rate of 1 lb per week (on average) eating to that max goal plus any allowance my exercising give me. I think that you have to try the recommendations out, and then adjust until you get something that works. I'm very happy now.
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
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    BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate = The number of calories you would burn at your current weight if you did nothing but rest for 24 hours.

    This is NOT the same as if you were up and about going about your daily business.

    Example: at 5'6" &158 pounds, my BMR says 1403 calories per day.

    However, at 5'6" &158 pounds, with a sedentary lifestyle I actually burn closer to 1680-1750 calories each day. This is because I am not resting, but going about the daily business of being a sedentary office-bound human with no life ;-)

    If you look at the top of the right-hand box on your 'Goals" page it will tell you the "Calories burned from normal daily activity" value.(Which includes whether you have selected a sedentary or more active lifestyle/activity level for your profile) THIS is what MFP uses to subtract the 500 or so calories from to calculate your deficit, NOT the BMR.

    The 1200 calorie minimum is based on a totally different set of data. This is based on a study researching the minimum calories the AVERAGE adult female needs in order to gather appropriate nutrients through diet to maintain organ and other bodily functions without distress.

    So MFP (to my knowledge) never recommends less than 1200 for women and 1500 for men.

    I hope that helps explain it.
  • 71Angel
    71Angel Posts: 7
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    I just looked at my Goals page - see I learned another new thing. It has my daily calories at 1880, and I've set my caloric intake to 1400 leaving a 480 calorie deficit. It says I should lose 1 pound a week on this - however, I run/Zumba at least three times a week, so that will boost that.

    Does it sound like I have it right now?
  • Xaspar
    Xaspar Posts: 726 Member
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    Sounds pretty good to me. I upped my calories to 1400 and have just not been eating back exercise calories unless I have a MAJOR deficit... and I am still losing regularly.

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