Need help with calorie count..please

Eating 1200 kcal/day isn't going to cause you any long term harm (as long as it is a balanced diet). Eating 1400 per day isn't necessarily going to be healthier, because it depends what your calorie intake is made up of. What is important is finding something you can stick to, so if you don't feel you can stick to 1200, pick a slightly higher figure and accept slightly slower weight loss. But don't get hung up on 'starvation mode', it is given WAY more credence and credited with WAY more significance that it deserves.

Eating very low calories can have it's problems. Quicker rate of muscle loss which leads to a slower metabolism. This is very apparent in those who workout a lot and don't eat additional calories to compensate. Now in an extreme case, such as HCG diets, I have seen people lose up to 50% of the weight in lean muscle mass. Now what determines low calories is based on a persons weight and body fat %.


This is also why exercise is so important as it will allow a person to eat more. If you exercise, then you need to eat more than 1200 calories to provide the body with adequate nutrition to fuel it's body. Now, I am not a huge fan of starvation mode and do think people out play it, but your body does have mechanism to conserve energy. If it feels like it's not receiving enough fuel, it will hold onto calories in fear of not seeing enough fuel for later. This seems to be reinforced by people who start to eat more and end up losing weight.


Either way, end of my rant. It comes down to the fact, that you need to figure out your BMR, then you can multiply it by your TDEE multiplier (add in exercise) and then create a deficit. Also, the less you have to lose, the smaller your deficit needs to be.

thanks again everyone!

My BMR on just about every site says 1534.......so if I'm doing it correct I should multiply that by 1.2 (if I just use sedentary) which equals 1840.8. From that number I either subtract 500 calories or 20%, correct? Which would be 1340 or 1472 to lose weight. Did I do that right? Then when I exercise, eat back most or all those calories?

You can split the difference @ 1400 calories. As you get closer to your goal (within 20 lbs), i would recommend using the 20% rule a bit more. And eat back at least 50-75% of your exercise calories. It really depends how your measure. MFP calculations can be high. HRM are a bit more accurate. So i would say, 50% using MFP and 75% if you use a HRM.

Fat to Fit radio tools has 2 fantastic tools to use!

1) Military body fat calculator
2) BMR tool

I bet you get 1600+ if you do the math.

most people over 5'3" can eat 1600 calories and lose weight because the TDEE is about 2200.
Thats with only working out 3 times a week...

at 4ft 10 and 171lbs, i feel i should be eating less, the dietician at my doctors clinic put me on an 800 cal a day diet, i dont

people are getting stuck on this "starvation mode" thing. thats not really my issue with lower caloric intake. the issue is that it's not a realistic, maintainable amount. I aim for 1400-1600 a day and am losing weight consistently. you shouldn't feel hungry all the time or something is wrong. if you are comfortable at 1200 cals then maybe its right for you, but don't feel like you won't lose weight if you eat a little more.

1200 calories yes, BUT! The more you exercise the more extra calories you earn!!!! the more exercise you do the more you can eat!

at 4ft 10 and 171lbs, i feel i should be eating less, the dietician at my doctors clinic put me on an 800 cal a day diet, i dont

Thats really low and wont be good for your lean muscle mass. I would question it since you dont have a lot of weight to lose, just my opinion though. But as long as you are comfortable with it, its cool.

I agree, i have been ignoring my doctor and following 1200 cals, but isn't it awful you think by going to your doctor you would get sensible advise, and i have 45lbs to lose.

See i think even 1200 calories is too low. You should ask your dietician to read your body fat. This way we can really evaluate your caloric needs.

thanks, have phoned and cannot be another appointment for 3 months!