confused on caloric intake

partyof5
partyof5 Posts: 2
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I am really confused on how many calories I should take in..when I plug in my stats on here it says I should eat 1200 calories ..I think that is too low..can someone help me with this..I am 5'7 32 yr old female weight 185...work out 5 days a week..jogging..strength training..bootcamp class once a week..would like to lose 25 lbs..I just think that 1200 calories is too low..especially with working out..help!!!!

Replies

  • partyof5
    partyof5 Posts: 2
    I am really confused on how many calories I should take in..when I plug in my stats on here it says I should eat 1200 calories ..I think that is too low..can someone help me with this..I am 5'7 32 yr old female weight 185...work out 5 days a week..jogging..strength training..bootcamp class once a week..would like to lose 25 lbs..I just think that 1200 calories is too low..especially with working out..help!!!!
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    What's your goal weight loss per week? If you have it set to losing 2 pounds a week, you may want to change it to losing 1 pound a week.

    I'm 5'7" (165 lbs) as well and will tell you that if I eat only 1200 calories on a consistant basis I feel like craaaaap.
  • aprilvet
    aprilvet Posts: 724 Member
    Eat back those exercise calories!!! Get a good HRM so you know how much you burn. This way, you can eat at least 1500-1600 cals a day!!!!:drinker: I agree, 1200 cals a day is really hard to maintain.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    5'7" 185 lb 32 year old female (I'm assuming lightly active), your maintenance calores is around 2150 or so, that means you put yourself at a 950 calorie a day deficit, that's very low, as said in the above post, personally I would try a 500 to 600 calorie deficit, and eat back enough exercise calories to stay at that deficit, that would mean 1500 to 1600 calories a day before exercise.

    It may be more complicated then this, but this is a good starting point. Remember, with only 27 lbs to lose and a BMI of about 28.5 or so, you should be trying for a 500 to 700 calorie deficit (for most people).
  • dclarsh
    dclarsh Posts: 364
    I am really confused on how many calories I should take in..when I plug in my stats on here it says I should eat 1200 calories ..I think that is too low..can someone help me with this..I am 5'7 32 yr old female weight 185...work out 5 days a week..jogging..strength training..bootcamp class once a week..would like to lose 25 lbs..I just think that 1200 calories is too low..especially with working out..help!!!!

    Remember that the calorie goal they give you is a "net" calorie goal. It's what you eat minus what you burn for the day through exercise. So, if you workout and burn 500 calories, you'd actually eat 1700 calories that day to reach your net goal of 1200.
  • AnneElise
    AnneElise Posts: 4,206 Member
    i second the replies on here. make sure your goal is to loose 1 lb a week and you get to eat back all your exercise calories so it should be up to about 1600.
  • mrsyac2
    mrsyac2 Posts: 2,784 Member
    Going off the weight you want to lose I would say 1600 calories a day- I am currently about to start training for a figure contest and it says take the weight x 10 calories-
    I too feel 1200 is too low- I am not a doctor nor a trainer nor a nutritionist. But the range of 1400-1600 calories for a female is fine and its plenty of food if you plan correctly. Good luck-

    Remember that MFP is just a guide and you have to find what works best for you- Have you tried just tracking your normal food for a week to see how many calories you are typically eating before your decided to count calories? If so then take that number and deduct either 250 and burn the other 250 or deduct 500 from that-

    When I first started losing my weight I just subtracted 500 from 2000 calories and ate 1500 calories I am typically within that range but I zig zag anywhere from 1380-1490-

    I personally don't eat what my calories earned from workingo out but you will get mixed opinions on that.
  • xXmimiXx
    xXmimiXx Posts: 564 Member
    1200 cals is a base, if you add in your exercise each day that will give you more cals to eat
  • persian_dancer
    persian_dancer Posts: 110
    yea at first it told me to eat 1200 calories so I switched my preferences to lose 1 pound a week and it gave me 1370 per day. I like it way more! It's amazing the difference 170 calories can make! I would highly recommend having that make calories because I work out 5 to 6 days a week as well. Also whatever you workout you can eat back those exercise calories, it's actually best that you do because you'll be losing the weight as healthy as you can. :drinker:
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
    I did a little experiment at home for my own sanity and found that I feel better, I am less sluggish, and less cranky when I stick to 1500-1700 calories per day. The 1300 the site gave me produced nothing but headaches....for everyone around me too :wink:
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