help with calorie goals, please? I'm new!

fourluvbugs
fourluvbugs Posts: 194 Member
edited November 9 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I've been lurking on the site, reading a TON and using the trackers for the last week. I'm definitely motivated and looking forward to seeing where this journey will take me.

BUT I'm having a horrible time figuring out what my daily calorie goal should be. I am sure you get questions like this all the time, but would you mind helping me out?

My stats: I'm 39 years old, 5'6" tall female and currently weigh 203. I'm an attorney part time (so that's a sedentary desk job) and a mom to four young children ages 4 to 10 the rest of the time (keeping up with them is not exactly sedentary, but I don't run with them, either). I'm now exercising 3-4 days a week. I'm really out of shape, so starting pretty slowly with Leslie Sansone's walking DVDs (2 miles in 30 minutes) or on my brand new treadmill (3.5 mph for 20-30 minutes at 1% incline).

MFP put me into a calorie goal of 1290. That worked ok for the first week (Superbowl Sunday aside) but yesterday and today I've been really hungry. Is this a good goal for me? Would you recommend something different?

I appreciate the help! I don't want to start this change the wrong way.

Becca

Replies

  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    On the days that you work out, are you eating your exercise calories back?
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 962 Member
    Personally, here is my recommendation and what works for me.

    Don't go by the default numbers that MFP gives you, unless you are 100% sure of and honest with the data you enter and are willing to follow it to a T, including eating all of the exercise calories it gives you.

    I actually went in and set my numbers myself. My minimum calories is set at just above my BMR, so 1700. I add exercise calories on top of that, although not necessarily all of them - it depends what I've been doing, because I don't really think I'm burning as much as some of the online calculators suggest. Usually I aim for about 1900-2000/day when I've been exercising. My goal is to make sure my net calories in a day is relatively close to my BMR level which is approximately 1650. I get famished and tired/cranky if I get much below that, for good reason. So most of my deficit is created through exercise, which in turn makes me hungrier... LOL

    This works well with what my trainer recommended, which was 1800-2000/day regardless of exercise.

    Hope that helps you a bit. Feel free to "friend" me if you'd like. :smile:
  • fourluvbugs
    fourluvbugs Posts: 194 Member
    On the days that you work out, are you eating your exercise calories back?

    Mostly. I'm not sure the calories burns are correct because I don't have a HRM, so I'm going off of what MFP or my treadmill gives me as calories. And then eating more than half of them, but not all of them.
  • jennkess
    jennkess Posts: 86
    Make sure you are drinking tons of water as well.... sometimes hunger signal get confused with dehydration. water is great a flushing toxin's out of you body. when you get up in the morning start with a large glass of water first thing. it will wake up your body and get everything flowing, this tip also helped me drink less coffee which is an extra bonus as caffeine is horrible for your metabolism

    good luck... eventually you will find what works for YOU - not just what some calculated numbers say.
  • lbw1204
    lbw1204 Posts: 3 Member
    So glad you brought this up. I was just thinking of asking the same question. I've been using MFP since Jan. 3rd with a calorie intake of 1200 and have only seen a 3lbs difference. I workout (cardio) 3+ times a week and have been very strict with what I eat. I dont want to get discouraged but I would like to see more of a change on the scale.

    Best of luck to you with your journey.
  • melissalaning77
    melissalaning77 Posts: 12
    Use the food log religiously. EVERYTHING you eat or drink has to go in the log. Be honest with yourself. Same for the exercise. If you are not honest with what you put in you will never see what changes you need to make. After a week or so you may start to see that the choices you make are what matters and you will start to make better choices. Also, keep LOTS of fresh veggies, salad, fruit, chicken, etc. in the fridge. A very filling salad I looooove is: Baby spinach, quartered mushrooms, yellow pepper, and finely sliced red onion, top with goat cheese, and Greek Oregano Feta salad dressing (Kraft Olive Oil one is best). Add cooked chicken to make it a meal if you want.

    I think you calorie goal may be a bit low for you. You might be trying to be a bit too aggressive. Try 1380calories a day for a while. Also, the more you exercise the more calories you gain in a day.

    Good luck and all the best!

    7757099.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • ninjapixie87
    ninjapixie87 Posts: 124 Member
    Hi everyone! I've been lurking on the site, reading a TON and using the trackers for the last week. I'm definitely motivated and looking forward to seeing where this journey will take me.

    BUT I'm having a horrible time figuring out what my daily calorie goal should be. I am sure you get questions like this all the time, but would you mind helping me out?

    My stats: I'm 39 years old, 5'6" tall female and currently weigh 203. I'm an attorney part time (so that's a sedentary desk job) and a mom to four young children ages 4 to 10 the rest of the time (keeping up with them is not exactly sedentary, but I don't run with them, either). I'm now exercising 3-4 days a week. I'm really out of shape, so starting pretty slowly with Leslie Sansone's walking DVDs (2 miles in 30 minutes) or on my brand new treadmill (3.5 mph for 20-30 minutes at 1% incline).

    MFP put me into a calorie goal of 1290. That worked ok for the first week (Superbowl Sunday aside) but yesterday and today I've been really hungry. Is this a good goal for me? Would you recommend something different?

    I appreciate the help! I don't want to start this change the wrong way.

    Becca

    Here's what I do: I have my MFP daily goal set at my "maintenance" calories (1600). My BMR is around 1200, so I try to eat at least 1200 calories a day. I also log my workouts and try to eat back some of (but not all) the calories. As long as I stay between my BMR (1200) and maintenance (1600+exercise), I should lose weight, and the weight loss should correspond to the calorie deficit shown. It's working for me so far, but everyone has different methods and you just have to find what works best for you.

    According to MFP's BMR calculator, your BMR is 1660, so you should be eating at least that much every day. I would recommend setting your goals to maintain your current weight, see what daily calories MFP recommends, and aim for eating between 1660 and that number. And as others have mentioned, be cautious of MFP's exercise calorie estimates...they tend to be high.
  • fourluvbugs
    fourluvbugs Posts: 194 Member
    Thank you so much for the feedback and suggestions everyone. This was very helpful! :)
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