im not sure if i should follow the calorie calculator calories

trulyhealy
trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
woman, age: 21 weight: 210lbs 5 foot 5


sorry for the second post i’m just kinda stressing because i don’t know the exact cals to eat. my goal is 1-2lbs a week, more so 2lbs since i’m obese right now for the first 2 months

based off of the calorie calculator it says 2,091cals a day with 1-3 days of exercise but that seems a lot? i would love to eat that much a day but surely that’s too much…

i think it’s because previously when losing weight i was thinner so maybe it’s more of a headspace thing??

my gut is telling me to do 1,600 a day and up to 1,800 cals a day when i’m more hungry or should i just do 1,800 2,000 for the first few weeks? and then lower it to 1,600 after a few months?

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    Follow MFP for a month (so you can compare body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles). Then you'll know.

    I wouldn't be surprised if 2091 (gross intake) would be a weight loss calorie level for you. I'd lose weight (slowly) on that at your height, 5'5", 130 pounds, and literally more than 3 times your age (67).

    Do it for a month. Then you'll have enough data to adjust. Undereating is not healthy. Slow loss is possibly frustrating, if it happens . . . but it's just one month, then you'll have enough experience data to adjust your calorie goal - if necessary - based on experience.
  • trulyhealy
    trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Follow MFP for a month (so you can compare body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles). Then you'll know.

    I wouldn't be surprised if 2091 (gross intake) would be a weight loss calorie level for you. I'd lose weight (slowly) on that at your height, 5'5", 130 pounds, and literally more than 3 times your age (67).

    Do it for a month. Then you'll have enough data to adjust. Undereating is not healthy. Slow loss is possibly frustrating, if it happens . . . but it's just one month, then you'll have enough experience data to adjust your calorie goal - if necessary - based on experience.

    i don’t want to undereat i want to eat as much as possible and i did think 2,000 is a bit much but i am obese but idk. i think i’ll go with 1,500 - 1,600

    another app just said to have to have 1,560 to lose weight and 2,260 to maintain so will go with 1,500
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    If you eat too few calories, you are a lot less likely to stick with this long enough to lose the weight you want to lose. Restrictions lead to binges which lead to weight gain. If you eat enough to fuel your activity and to feel reasonably satisfied, then you are a lot more likely to continue for the months it will take to get where you want to be.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,608 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    woman, age: 21 weight: 210lbs 5 foot 5


    sorry for the second post i’m just kinda stressing because i don’t know the exact cals to eat. my goal is 1-2lbs a week, more so 2lbs since i’m obese right now for the first 2 months

    based off of the calorie calculator it says 2,091cals a day with 1-3 days of exercise but that seems a lot? i would love to eat that much a day but surely that’s too much…

    i think it’s because previously when losing weight i was thinner so maybe it’s more of a headspace thing??

    my gut is telling me to do 1,600 a day and up to 1,800 cals a day when i’m more hungry or should i just do 1,800 2,000 for the first few weeks? and then lower it to 1,600 after a few months?
    Hi, nice to see you back! From memory you’ve reached out before and people have advised you might want to seek support for the nature of some of your posts. I mean this in a caring way, but can I ask whether you’ve done that? I think you got discouraged previously and it would be great to hear you’re over that.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,223 Member
    People carrying more fat can run a bigger deficit so underrating becomes less of an issue. As for OP, over 2k calories is definitely too much unless there’s a very high NEAT burn.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    People carrying more fat can run a bigger deficit so underrating becomes less of an issue. As for OP, over 2k calories is definitely too much unless there’s a very high NEAT burn.

    We'd expect her sedentary TDEE to be around 2100. Any bigger NEAT than sedentary, or with exercise in the picture, 2091 is probably a small deficit.

    @trulyhealy, you'll probably be fine eating 1500-1600, but don't go dramatically lower until you do that for a month and see what the results are.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,223 Member
    edited July 2023
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    People carrying more fat can run a bigger deficit so underrating becomes less of an issue. As for OP, over 2k calories is definitely too much unless there’s a very high NEAT burn.

    We'd expect her sedentary TDEE to be around 2100. Any bigger NEAT than sedentary, or with exercise in the picture, 2091 is probably a small deficit.

    @trulyhealy, you'll probably be fine eating 1500-1600, but don't go dramatically lower until you do that for a month and see what the results are.
    Shooting for a true 1,500 would be optimum

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,216 Member
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    People carrying more fat can run a bigger deficit so underrating becomes less of an issue. As for OP, over 2k calories is definitely too much unless there’s a very high NEAT burn.

    We'd expect her sedentary TDEE to be around 2100. Any bigger NEAT than sedentary, or with exercise in the picture, 2091 is probably a small deficit.

    @trulyhealy, you'll probably be fine eating 1500-1600, but don't go dramatically lower until you do that for a month and see what the results are.

    I would respectfully disagree that 2091 is a deficit for a sedentary lifestyle for OP.

    I didn't say that. I said if she was more than sedentary, and does exercise (as she appears to do), 2091 would probably be a small deficit.

    Sailrabbit puts her sedentary TDEE around 2100, plus or minus a few calories depending on which research-based estimating formula is used. More NEAT than sedentary, or with exercise, higher TDEE, so probably a small deficit.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,223 Member
    Lol I caught that and edited
  • peggy_polenta
    peggy_polenta Posts: 325 Member
    claireychn074 wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    woman, age: 21 weight: 210lbs 5 foot 5


    sorry for the second post i’m just kinda stressing because i don’t know the exact cals to eat. my goal is 1-2lbs a week, more so 2lbs since i’m obese right now for the first 2 months

    based off of the calorie calculator it says 2,091cals a day with 1-3 days of exercise but that seems a lot? i would love to eat that much a day but surely that’s too much…

    i think it’s because previously when losing weight i was thinner so maybe it’s more of a headspace thing??

    my gut is telling me to do 1,600 a day and up to 1,800 cals a day when i’m more hungry or should i just do 1,800 2,000 for the first few weeks? and then lower it to 1,600 after a few months?
    Hi, nice to see you back! From memory you’ve reached out before and people have advised you might want to seek support for the nature of some of your posts. I mean this in a caring way, but can I ask whether you’ve done that? I think you got discouraged previously and it would be great to hear you’re over that.

    op has indicated in the past that she is autistic and is not in need of the kind of help or support that everyone was telling her to get. she was very clear about that and why she said the things she did or asked the questions in the way that she did.
  • ReReNotMe
    ReReNotMe Posts: 63 Member
    Hi not sure I can help but I think I'm coming from a similar place (19, 173cm or 5'8", starting weight 110kg or 240lbs)

    Initially, I thought it was too much being over 2000cal/day but in the beginning it is more sustainable. After about a month I figured I can sustainably eat 1800cal/day and still have energy for the day as well as exercise.

    I did my own maths and found what works best for me and put that into the app to track. It takes 7700 calories to lose 1kg so if you want to lose 0.5kg a week (steady and sustainable for your size) you need a net calories of -550/day. Since I started at around 110kg I have a BMR of about 1900cal/day so eating 1800 cal/day and burning about 6-700 cal through a mix of weightlifting and cardio like cycling, running and dance works out great. Not overloading myself has made weightloss fun and sustainable as it's doable through small changes. If anything I'm able to push myself even further to aim to have a net daily calorie of -1100cal/day to lose about 1kg/week as I know I have the energy to burn the extra calories.

    It takes time to find what works best for you. Initially, I would say focus on smaller changes that are more sustainable, a higher calorie goal can give you a bit of leeway with that. Adjust as you go to see what works best for you in the long term.

    Hope that helps. Good luck :)
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
    I’ve been obese, now overweight.5;1. 1200 calories worked for me. Just focus on losing doesn’t matter how fast or slow

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