**READ THIS** Figuring out your calorie goals

bumping for later....i need to figure this out sooner than later but its scarrrrry!!

Bump, to show partner later.

Bump!

Can someone help the dumb person please? *lol* Maybe it's too early but all the terms and numbers have got me a wee bit confused. Ok, I did the military BF check and found I'm at 36.4% BF (UGH!) and according to that I'm "Overweight" but not "Obese". However, according to the post that the original person made on here I'm "Obese" OK, whatever *lol* MFP has me eating 1500 calories a day but the Military thing says I should be eating up to 2234 calories a day based on being moderately active. (I work out/exercise most days of the week, might give myself one day off) Now, maybe someone can explain the whole calorie deficit thingie in simple terms If I exercise and I log it on MFP the program adds the calories back into my daily goal. However, I've always been taught a calorie burned is gone, you don't get to "eat it back" So... why is this? How do I know how many calories I should really be eating? I weigh 166 (starting was 172) and the miltary site says my ideal weight is 145lbs, I was thinking more along the lines of 135-140. Any help with these numbers and making sense of it is so greatly appreciated.

Maybe I just need another cup of tea? *lol*

Can someone help the dumb person please? *lol* Maybe it's too early but all the terms and numbers have got me a wee bit confused. Ok, I did the military BF check and found I'm at 36.4% BF (UGH!) and according to that I'm "Overweight" but not "Obese". However, according to the post that the original person made on here I'm "Obese" OK, whatever *lol* MFP has me eating 1500 calories a day but the Military thing says I should be eating up to 2234 calories a day based on being moderately active. (I work out/exercise most days of the week, might give myself one day off) Now, maybe someone can explain the whole calorie deficit thingie in simple terms If I exercise and I log it on MFP the program adds the calories back into my daily goal. However, I've always been taught a calorie burned is gone, you don't get to "eat it back" So... why is this? How do I know how many calories I should really be eating? I weigh 166 (starting was 172) and the miltary site says my ideal weight is 145lbs, I was thinking more along the lines of 135-140. Any help with these numbers and making sense of it is so greatly appreciated.

Maybe I just need another cup of tea? *lol*

most calculators account for exercise in the activitiy level - for example on fat2fit 'moderate active' means you workout 3-5 times a week. you should eat the number in the chart that matches your activity level.
On MFP 'moderate active' accounts for activity from your job only and doesnt take into account any burned from exercise and therefore gives you a smaller allowance, which is why you have to eat back exercise. The allowance already includes a deficit, so by not eating back exercise you are creating deficit twice. You should eat the net goal PLUS exercise cals, and you should be aiming for 0.5-1lb /week with what you have left to lose.


an example for explanation using my numbers:
BMR 1550 Katch Mcardle - this is what your body needs to just keep you alive and everything working properly.
MFP total daily activity is 2060 based on sedentary as i have a desk job. Add exercise of 350 = 2410. This is TDEE.
Fat2fit gives me 2215 for moderately active (2658 TDEE).
I think Fat2fit is more accurate as their calculation takes body fat % into account.
To lose weight, you create your deficit by taking 500 cals / lb from TDEE without your net cals going below BMR.

I eat 1950 total / 1600 net. (2658-1950 = 708 deficit). I lose approx 1.5 lbs per week, while leaving enough cals to cover my BMR.
Say I eat 1600 and dont eat back exercise so net is1250 . This would be making a too big deficit (2658-1600 = 1058 deficit so this only leaves 1250 for my body to do 1550 cals worth of work, eventually it will start breaking down muscle as this is the easiest fuel source. As you lose muscle you burn less calories, so your loss will slow down or stop.

hope this helps!!

So should we eat our BMR @ lean body mass?

My BMR is 1609

My lean Body Mass BMr is 1328

My TDEE at sediatry is 2029

I do 3 zumba work outs a week burning 700 calories each time

Do I eat 1328 BMR NET or 1609 BMR NET ?
Thanks

Bump for later

Awesome, awesome post!

can you tell me what is "bump" and how to do it?

bump

Bump !

Hey
I have just read through the whole long topic about BMR and TDDE. I am now even more confused that what I was to begin with!! Sorry but could someone help me figure out how much I should be eating?

I am 5'3" and weigh 108 pounds. My goal is to loose about 10 pounds. According to MFP I should be eating 1200 calories a day? I do JM workouts 5/6 times a week and walk/run 3 times a week.
My measurements are
neck 11.5
hips 30
waist 29

I am a 36 year old mum of 5 and am desperate to loose these last 10 pounds.....can someone please help me?
Thanks

Hi

I have done the calculations on fat2fit and it gives me this:

My BMR is 1313

The chart is this:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1652
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1893
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2134
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2375
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2616

I have a desk job so that means my TDEE is 1652 x 20% which is 1982. My MFP goal is currently set to 1480 (to lose 1/2 lb per week at sedentary). I work out about 5 times per week burning approx 2000 calories in total through these workouts (mix of running and weight training/kettlebell classes). At the moment I try to NET 1300-1500 calories per day.

I just wondered if anyone had any views/help with this/can advise if my calculations are correct. My weight loss tends to be very slow. For example I haven't lost weight for 2 weeks (not gained either though!).

I understand that according to the fat2fit chart I am actually moderately active and could just eat 2134 calories per day and ignore exercise calories! Would this be a better approach??

Thanks!!

Hi

I have done the calculations on fat2fit and it gives me this:

My BMR is 1313

The chart is this:

Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1652
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1893
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2134
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2375
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2616

I have a desk job so that means my TDEE is 1652 x 20% which is 1982. My MFP goal is currently set to 1480 (to lose 1/2 lb per week at sedentary). I work out about 5 times per week burning approx 2000 calories in total through these workouts (mix of running and weight training/kettlebell classes). At the moment I try to NET 1300-1500 calories per day.

I just wondered if anyone had any views/help with this/can advise if my calculations are correct. My weight loss tends to be very slow. For example I haven't lost weight for 2 weeks (not gained either though!).

I understand that according to the fat2fit chart I am actually moderately active and could just eat 2134 calories per day and ignore exercise calories! Would this be a better approach??

Thanks!!

You have calculated wrong, you don't anything on to the chart! you would deduct to give you your defecit! I would put you as moderately active thus givin gyou 2134 as your TDEE you then deduct up to 20% from that which is 1707 cals or 15% which is 1813, this is what you should aim to eat every day! You need to keep your NET at or above your BMR of 1313.

For example if you have eaten 1707 cals today but burnt off 500 cals working out then you would need to eat at least an extra 106 cals to get your NET at your BMR! But if you ate 1707 cals and burnt off 300 then your NET would be above your BMR which is fine so no need to eat more.

Does this make sense? You basically need to fuel your body to work properly x

EDIT: You can manually change your goals on MFP x

Thanks - it does say at the beginning of the thread to ADD 20% to suggested calories on fat2fit to get TDEE. The chart says that those are the calories you should eat to lose weight according to activity level - those figures don't give TDEE. Or am I still reading it wrong!

I'm sorry to jump on the bandwagon of people looking for affirmation but since I started a conscious effort to lose weight i've often encountered (seemingly) conflicting information. Today was one of those days when I read the information posted and found myself feeling totally lost again.

My fitness pal gives me a goal of 1830 which i've really just used as a general guideline. I know, however, that there's no way I'm getting the additional calories I "earn" all the time. 1830 is based on me sitting at my desk all day but I work out regularly, strength training 3 times a week, soccer on two teams (2-4 games a week), and intervals on the treadmill and rowing machine to round it all out. additionally i go up and down two flights of stairs at least twice a day and make a point to get up and walk, at least a little, somewhat frequently (maybe these should be hints not to use the "sedentary" for the auto goal setting?).

1830 is already lower than f2f gives me for my BMR which is 2216. if i look t f2f's moderate and active goals they give me 3470 and 3862 respectively. I think i probably fall between those two categorizations but look at those numbers! that's a HUGE difference. Am I really supposed to start taking all that in?

I've enjoyed the success both in numbers and the way i feel and look so trying to consider changing things now is more than a little daunting but I have always intended this to be a life change and would like to give myself the greatest opportunity at success sooo.... here are my numbers, am i getting something wrong somewhere?

SW 318
CW 266
GW 229 (18% BF)
BF 29.4%
H 77 in
age 35

Anyone?