Calories

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HealthyWarrior
HealthyWarrior Posts: 394 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I've read tons of different things on calorie intake but still confused. I am just looking for what my calorie intake should be on a daily basis for me to lose 2lbs a week. I am 5'1". Female. Age 31 and 166lbs

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  • coconutbuNZ
    coconutbuNZ Posts: 578 Member
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    Doesn't MFP automatically tell you how many calories after you log in your height weight age?
  • HealthyWarrior
    HealthyWarrior Posts: 394 Member
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    It told me 1200 a day which seems really low. Then if I go on other sites to see what they say I get 1385 on one site and 1978 on another site. So confused.
  • Roslynmy82
    Roslynmy82 Posts: 1
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    I hear ya!! I'm at 1300 myself according to this site!!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Based on your stats your BMR is around 1,518 (that's what you need if you spent the day lounging in bed) if you set your activity level to sedentary your TDEE is around 1,821. To lose 2lbs a week requires a daily deficit of 1000cal. MFP won't go below 1200 so realistically you could expect to lose around 1lb a week at 1200 net (approx 600 cal/day deficit).

    How would you describe your activity level? Are you working out?
  • ckneasel
    ckneasel Posts: 34 Member
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    all calorie calculators are innacurate... ideally find one, get a BMR that will allow you to maintain your weight... use that number for a few weeks, if you gain, your number was too high, if you lose then you know where you need to be...

    it's not a hardcore equation here... everyone is different...
  • sfoxy219
    sfoxy219 Posts: 103
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    1,200 is your net. So if you burn 500 with exercise you can eat 500 more calories. This is how i think it works.
  • Rikki007s
    Rikki007s Posts: 102 Member
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    I think a lot of new MFP users make the mistake of trying to lose weight too quickly. I know that MFP gives you the option of losing 2 lbs a week, but if you're going to be eating anything close to 1200 a day you're not going to be able to stick with this as a lifestyle change. I net 1400 a day, but I'm 5'6", so I'm guessing your BMR will be lower than mine. The key word is net. It's important to eat most of the calories MFP gives you including eating back your exercise calories so that you can properly fuel your body.
  • HealthyWarrior
    HealthyWarrior Posts: 394 Member
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    Based on your stats your BMR is around 1,518 (that's what you need if you spent the day lounging in bed) if you set your activity level to sedentary your TDEE is around 1,821. To lose 2lbs a week requires a daily deficit of 1000cal. MFP won't go below 1200 so realistically you could expect to lose around 1lb a week at 1200 net (approx 600 cal/day deficit).

    How would you describe your activity level? Are you working out?
  • HealthyWarrior
    HealthyWarrior Posts: 394 Member
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    Based on your stats your BMR is around 1,518 (that's what you need if you spent the day lounging in bed) if you set your activity level to sedentary your TDEE is around 1,821. To lose 2lbs a week requires a daily deficit of 1000cal. MFP won't go below 1200 so realistically you could expect to lose around 1lb a week at 1200 net (approx 600 cal/day deficit).

    How would you describe your activity level? Are you working out?


    My working out is probably at least 3 walks a week to bring my son to school consisting of 30 minutes total each day. So 1200 is ok?
  • HealthyWarrior
    HealthyWarrior Posts: 394 Member
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    I think a lot of new MFP users make the mistake of trying to lose weight too quickly. I know that MFP gives you the option of losing 2 lbs a week, but if you're going to be eating anything close to 1200 a day you're not going to be able to stick with this as a lifestyle change. I net 1400 a day, but I'm 5'6", so I'm guessing your BMR will be lower than mine. The key word is net. It's important to eat most of the calories MFP gives you including eating back your exercise calories so that you can properly fuel your body.

    I definitely eat back my exercise calories cause I've read almost everywhere that my net calories should never be below 1200. I was just suprised when I put my stats in that my daily calorie goal was at 1200. I've been doing 1200 now for almost a month and I've been doing great but just wasn't sure if 1200 was too low.
  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I read a generic rule of thumb once so it can be taken for what it is worth: Take your weight and multiply by 12. That is, generically speaking, the number of calories you should eat to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose 1 pound a week, subtract 500. If you want to lose 2 pounds subtract 1000. Don't go below 1200. None of this takes into account how active you are during the day or how much you work out. Just something that helped me when I wasn't looking on MFP.
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
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    I would seriously consider switching to 1 lb/week. You are less likely to feel deprived. It's probably only a couple hundred calories more (I think someone ran your calculation at 1320?) but every little bit helps, especially when you are starting.

    Good luck!
  • jennys11
    jennys11 Posts: 118 Member
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    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr


    This will be extremely helpful!

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