Need help with calorie count..please

JC98
JC98 Posts: 21
edited November 7 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I feel stupid....but I'm at a loss as to how many calories I really should be eating. MFP has me set at 1280, but I hear so often that it is too few calories. I honestly don't care if I lose weight really fast, just want to get healthier and feel good, so I don't want to lose a bunch real quick and then stall out.
I'm 34 yrs old. 5'1 and 173 pounds.
I would appreciate any info anyone can give me.
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Replies

  • bsumbodee
    bsumbodee Posts: 1
    I too think 1300 cals is too low. Just google other websites so you can more accurately figure out how many calories you should be consuming.
  • deethinner
    deethinner Posts: 43 Member
    When I started this MFP also told me 1200 calories was all I should have too. It is very hard to do that. Maybe I will check and see what others say too.
  • GreekByMarriage
    GreekByMarriage Posts: 320 Member
    Someone posted this link yesterday... seems to make more sense to me!

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
    Find an online BMR calculator, try eating closer to that. :)
  • BFitzie
    BFitzie Posts: 14 Member
    My calorie count was too low, too. I think it was 1300 and I just couldn't maintain that so I put in to lose 1 lb every 10 days and that worked out better for me.
    Here's a tool for exercise calories, see if you like it:
    http://www.fatburn.com/free_tool_activity_burn.asp
    Good luck
  • linnettbenson
    linnettbenson Posts: 63 Member
    I put your stats in the Fat 2 Fit BMI calculator. ( A very good podcast with lots of good advice.) You didn't say whether your male or female and what your goal weight is. So I guessed you were a female and I just guessed your goal weight at 150 lb. That is a starting point at least.

    BMR = 1534 (that is coma level)
    Sedentary = 1721
    Lightly active= 1972
    Moderately active = 2223
    Very active= 2474
    Extremely Active= 2725

    Sedentary = desk job and no extra exercise
    Lightly Active = 1-3 work outs per week
    Moderately Active= 3-5 work outs per week
    Very Active= 6-7 work outs per week
    Extremely Active= hard daily exercise & physical job

    Hope this helped.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    Thank you so much for all the replies/advice! :)

    Oh, and yes I am female. Would like to get to around 130-135.
  • linnettbenson
    linnettbenson Posts: 63 Member
    With the real goal weight number, here is the adjusted calorie numbers:

    BMR = 1534 (that is coma level)
    Sedentary = 1643
    Lightly active= 1883
    Moderately active = 2122
    Very active= 2362
    Extremely Active= 2601
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    Thanks, that helps! :)
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    MFP is calculating a deficit for you so that you can lose weight.

    Yes, 1280 would be too low a level if you wanted to maintain weight, but that's not the position you're in.

    How many pounds a week did you tell it you wanted to lose?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    MFP is calculating a deficit for you so that you can lose weight.

    Yes, 1280 would be too low a level if you wanted to maintain weight, but that's not the position you're in.

    How many pounds a week did you tell it you wanted to lose?

    i am thinking she has it set at 2 lbs based on the math.


    I would look to up your deficit to 1 lb per week and eat back 50-75% of your exercise calories.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    I had it set at 1 lb a week.

    I'm female
    34 yrs old
    5'1
    current 173
    goal (for now) 140
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,247 Member
    Ok, I feel stupid....but I'm at a loss as to how many calories I really should be eating. MFP has me set at 1280, but I hear so often that it is too few calories. I honestly don't care if I lose weight really fast, just want to get healthier and feel good, so I don't want to lose a bunch real quick and then stall out.
    I'm 34 yrs old. 5'1 and 173 pounds.
    I would appreciate any info anyone can give me.

    Who is it that is saying 1280 calories per day is too few calories? People like to bandy the "starvation mode" about all the time, 1200 calories will not put you into any such thing.

    1200 calories per day is fine, seriously. Stick to your calories, do your exercise, log both. Weigh and measure yourself once per week, stick the results into the "weigh-in" section on MFP and see what happens :flowerforyou: .
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Here is a guide for setting weekly weight loss goals:
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
    I like to use this calculator. I do the "little/no exercise" option, and then I use the "fat loss" column. Then I eat back exercise calories since they were not figured in to my loss to begin with (the same as MFP).

    http://www.shapefit.com/calorie-intake-calculator.html#
  • Dethea
    Dethea Posts: 247 Member
    Someone posted this link yesterday... seems to make more sense to me!

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Just looked at this site.. it's awesome!
  • devilwhiterose
    devilwhiterose Posts: 1,157 Member
    I'm at 1270. I'm 5'1" and started at 180. The first week was really REALLY hard but after I found certain things to keep me full, I find "some days" that I have a hard time even eating 1270. I did find that if I work out (there are debated out there about this...) I try to eat my exercise calories so that I have a net of at least 1200. It's on the days that I don't eat back my calories that I feel like hell.

    You can add me if you'd like and/or check out my diary for things I eat to keep full.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    thanks everyone...I really appreciate it. I was sticking to my 1280 cals a day, but was just worried after a lot of reading that it was too few and that it'd harm me in the long run. I don't mind losing slower if it means healthier and will last longer. About a week ago I set it closer to 1400, but not sure if I should have done that. I've gotta admit that figuring out how many calories I should eat is harder than eating right/exercising more.
  • Jess5825
    Jess5825 Posts: 228
    I like to use this calculator. I do the "little/no exercise" option, and then I use the "fat loss" column. Then I eat back exercise calories since they were not figured in to my loss to begin with (the same as MFP).

    http://www.shapefit.com/calorie-intake-calculator.html#

    That's pretty darn accurate. I have a BMF, so I just did it out of curiosity. I workout 6 days a week and have a physical job, so I put daily exercise and physical job, just to see what it would give me, and it said my maintenance is 3002 calories, which is basically what I burn on average daily (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less) but pretty darn close. I'm trying a new thing, eating closer to a deficit of 1000 calories (I had been creating a bigger deficit and was plateaued, so I cut back on my exercise a little this week), I'm down a pound. I will have to see if it continues.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    according to that shapefit.com site I should eat around 1473 to lose weight. Maybe I should just manually set my calories at around 1400 and just stay within the 1200-1400.
  • cjw6
    cjw6 Posts: 94 Member
    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.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    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.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    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?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    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.
  • JC98
    JC98 Posts: 21
    thanks....it's finally making more sense and I feel better about where to set my goals. :)
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    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...
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    Despite what posts warning of starvation mode may have you believe, it's not a sudden thing. If you miss a meal one day and only have say 1000 calories your body isn't immediately going to waste away and eat your liver. It's much more gradual than that. The advice given on calculating BMR and such is solid, but I would also add that you should gauge how you're feeling throughout the day. If you constantly feel full or even with exercise you aren't seeing any weight loss or are seeing weight gain, consider reducing your calories and reassess. If you're light headed or dizzy or unable to complete your workouts, consider increasing your calories and reassess. You need to keep an eye on how your body feels, the numbers you might derive from a formula are just starting points.

    Good luck!
  • fimary
    fimary Posts: 274 Member
    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
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    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.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
    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.
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