How to figure out your OWN calorie target?

tiffanic83
tiffanic83 Posts: 64
edited December 18 in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone else felt like the calorie target they give you is too high? I know my body and trying to lose weight in the past and that it hasn't worked. I put into the goals section 2 lbs a week and the calories just seem really high. For example, my mom can't eat over 1200 calories a day or she gains weight. I am guessing I am the same way. But FitnessPal tells me I need to be eating 2100. I think that's way to high for me, am I wrong? I've been at about 1200-1600 for the past two weeks, but am waiting on a scale so don't know if I've lost anything yet. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I know this is a computer system so it isn't going to be perfect.

Replies

  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Try this...A lot of people on here go by this - me included. HTH
  • tiffanic83
    tiffanic83 Posts: 64
    I went there and its telling me the same thing... maybe it is correct. It just seems weird cuz thats honestly not much different than how I was eating before I wanted to make a bigger change. If 2100 was true I wouldn't be where I am :/ In theory anyways.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    Actually most of my friends on here have the opposite issue...the MFP recommended calories are below their BMR Figure your BMR and star there. You may gain a few pounds to start while your body resets...but after that you should start losing fairly rapidly.

    At this point my weight loss has completely stalled - so I'm increasing calories to give me a kick start again. It's worked for many of my friends and I'm sure it will work for me.

    Those of us who have dieted for many years have destroyed our metabolism by eating way too few calories. We drop weight, but it's not sustainable.

    My advice take it off slowly so it stays off.

    Good luck!
  • trinitrate
    trinitrate Posts: 219 Member
    You might be surprised at how many caories most of us take in when we're not tracking things... When I began, my BMR was ~ 2600.-2800.. No way I would have guessed I was eating 2800+ calories a day before. My MFP suggested calories started around 2100 and dropped slowly from there.

    All I can say, I followed the numbers, and it did work. If you force yourself to 1200 even if your suggested to start much higher, it'll work, but you'll probably feel miserable and eventually get weaker. Start at or just under the suggested calories, and add some exercise in for 30 days and see what happens.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

    Use this to figure out how many calories you need. A lot of people are shocked that more calories are far better than less calories (including me) but it works! You have more energy and you get less cravings while still losing weight at a good rate
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I went there and its telling me the same thing... maybe it is correct. It just seems weird cuz thats honestly not much different than how I was eating before I wanted to make a bigger change. If 2100 was true I wouldn't be where I am :/ In theory anyways.


    If both are saying the same thing then I would think that is correct...When I first came on here I just logged what I ate normally to see how many calories I was actually eating & it was a whole lot more than I thought...So you may think that you were eating that much but you may have been eating a lot more....I would try it for a while but eat healthier food than you eat now & you should see a difference...You also have to consider what activity level you are at b/c the more higher you put that the higher the calories it will give you per day....I put mine at Sedentary so that I can log my exercise & it won't be counted twice....HTH
  • tiffanic83
    tiffanic83 Posts: 64
    Thanks for all the feedback. I set mine at Sed for activity level as well, even though I am exercising. I will see how things go.
  • hurleycutie142
    hurleycutie142 Posts: 479 Member
    wtf myfitnesspal tells me to eat 1250 and that website tells me to eat 2100... big difference!!! which one do i go with
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    wtf myfitnesspal tells me to eat 1250 and that website tells me to eat 2100... big difference!!! which one do i go with

    If you're referring to me, then perhaps you didnt measured properly or something? I am a male that is 100 lbs above you and I was told 2500 so perhaps your body fat % is a bit off?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Try this...A lot of people on here go by this - me included. HTH
    this works for me. the MFP guidelines were far too low
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    I think that you should experiment and find out what works for you. I have ate 1250 cals for the last 21 mths and lost 100 lbs. I dont eat back exercise cals. Alot of people say this is too low and I should eat more and eat exercise cals. But I have found this is what works for me. Maybe you should start at 1400 or 1500 cals and see how much you lose. If you arent losing then decrease if you loose fast then increase cals
  • tiffanic83
    tiffanic83 Posts: 64
    Ya I know the computer can only tell someone so much... it can't account for genetics. Good job on the 100 lbs :) I hope to be there within a year!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Try this...A lot of people on here go by this - me included. HTH
    buddyChrist.jpg
  • Kalius
    Kalius Posts: 1 Member
    wtf myfitnesspal tells me to eat 1250 and that website tells me to eat 2100... big difference!!! which one do i go with

    MFP is probably set to give you the amount that would result in ~2 lbs per week. The linked website however shows you approximately how much you should eat to maintain your current weight (or how much you would eat to maintain when at goal weight).
  • tiffanic83
    tiffanic83 Posts: 64
    they both tell me the same thing. I even tried setting my goal weight lower and it still said 2100...
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    If you were to log an average day from before you start on here I think you will be surprised at how many calories you actually take in. I have logged a normal day on 1st March (I started here on the 11th March) and I had 2400 calories?! I truly thought I was barely eating.
    My mum has always been big. If she eats low calories she loses weight, she ups her calories she gains. But maybe if she ups her calories she will only gain for a short amount of time then lose weight? Doubt we'll ever know because she won't stick with it. Genetics are'nt everything. Also I'm sure I saw a study whereby there is only a tiny percentage of people who are actually effected metabolic (weight?) wise by their genetics and actually have this 'fat gene'. (Sorry its early and I'm tired so may be talking tosh).

    *edit* to say I eat at my BMR (the one which Fat2Fit gives me) and also eat my exercise calories and despite health issues (which mean in theory at least I should be gaining) I am losing still every week. It works. You just have to trust it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    MFP was way way too low for me. The fat2fit one is much higher (buy about 400 cals) for my stats. I use the later (a bit over 1700 at sedentary, approx. 2000 with exercise) and am currently losing my goal of 1lb a week.
  • doorknobs3
    doorknobs3 Posts: 9 Member
    One way to figure out your best target is to know how your body feels on the amount of calories you are fueling your body with. Do you have enough energy, are you getting cravings, Do you feel satisfied at the end of the day with out being hungry or hunger pangs. A good thing is to also chek with your doctor and have him do a blood panel on you for your minerals and vitamins and if you are in the middle or upper normal range than you are doing well. that is what he told me at 1000-1200 when I first started now I stay pretty close to 12-1300 and my numbers are normal.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Has anyone else felt like the calorie target they give you is too high? I know my body and trying to lose weight in the past and that it hasn't worked. I put into the goals section 2 lbs a week and the calories just seem really high. For example, my mom can't eat over 1200 calories a day or she gains weight. I am guessing I am the same way. But FitnessPal tells me I need to be eating 2100. I think that's way to high for me, am I wrong? I've been at about 1200-1600 for the past two weeks, but am waiting on a scale so don't know if I've lost anything yet. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I know this is a computer system so it isn't going to be perfect.

    Just try it and see.

    If you can lose weight on 2000, why would you want to go as low as 1200?
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Has anyone else felt like the calorie target they give you is too high? I know my body and trying to lose weight in the past and that it hasn't worked. I put into the goals section 2 lbs a week and the calories just seem really high. For example, my mom can't eat over 1200 calories a day or she gains weight. I am guessing I am the same way. But FitnessPal tells me I need to be eating 2100. I think that's way to high for me, am I wrong? I've been at about 1200-1600 for the past two weeks, but am waiting on a scale so don't know if I've lost anything yet. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I know this is a computer system so it isn't going to be perfect.

    Just try it and see.

    If you can lose weight on 2000, why would you want to go as low as 1200?

    Also, you could chat to some of the ladies here and get some advice from them - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/17-women-eating-2-000-calories-per-day
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    most people underestimate calories in
  • urafever
    urafever Posts: 1
    I think that is a good question. I would like fitnesspal to allow me to set my own calorie target but i can't figure out how to do it.
  • drewc47
    drewc47 Posts: 1 Member
    Don't forget that as well as calories in, different foods will metabolise differently also.

    Some processed foods will not metabolise very well, and sit in the gut or go straight to fat. This is something to avoid.

    If you stick to what MFP says, while eating good food, you should be able to lose weight.

    I would stick to the same calorie intake, even if you burn off 500 from cardio etc (the 500 from cardio isnt exact anyway), instead of using that as a "FREE" 500 calories.

    Just realize that the MFP calorie count takes into account: BMR, calories burnt from general day to day activity (ie, low if you said sedentary, etc), as well as the goal weight loss. So if your BMR is 2500, and you are fairly sedentary, your total upkeep is approximately 2900 calories. Then if you aim to lose a pound a week, you eat 500 under that per day, for 2400 per day.

    If you eat less than 1200 calories a day over a period of time (based on a BMR of 2400. 50% of your BMR), your body will enter starvation mode, where your body will stop losing weight (or significantly slow), while reducing your metabolism in order to primarily keep the vital organs running. You'll find that you feel lethargic, your muscle mass will drop, and you'll suffer other health problems. Then when you kick up your calorie intake back to ideal, your body will stay in starvation mode for some time, and you'll put weight on easily.

    @urafever, if you click on "Goals" in My Home, then press "Change Goals" down the bottom, you can select "Custom" and manually input your own goals (calories, weight loss, etc).
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Don't forget that as well as calories in, different foods will metabolise differently also.

    Some processed foods will not metabolise very well, and sit in the gut or go straight to fat. This is something to avoid.

    If you stick to what MFP says, while eating good food, you should be able to lose weight.

    I would stick to the same calorie intake, even if you burn off 500 from cardio etc (the 500 from cardio isnt exact anyway), instead of using that as a "FREE" 500 calories.

    Just realize that the MFP calorie count takes into account: BMR, calories burnt from general day to day activity (ie, low if you said sedentary, etc), as well as the goal weight loss. So if your BMR is 2500, and you are fairly sedentary, your total upkeep is approximately 2900 calories. Then if you aim to lose a pound a week, you eat 500 under that per day, for 2400 per day.

    If you eat less than 1200 calories a day over a period of time (based on a BMR of 2400. 50% of your BMR), your body will enter starvation mode, where your body will stop losing weight (or significantly slow), while reducing your metabolism in order to primarily keep the vital organs running. You'll find that you feel lethargic, your muscle mass will drop, and you'll suffer other health problems. Then when you kick up your calorie intake back to ideal, your body will stay in starvation mode for some time, and you'll put weight on easily.

    @urafever, if you click on "Goals" in My Home, then press "Change Goals" down the bottom, you can select "Custom" and manually input your own goals (calories, weight loss, etc).


    Lol
    False....most of it.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
    Listen to Helloitsdan. He knows what he is talking about. I am eating 2550 calories a day, and losing weight.
  • tiffanic83
    tiffanic83 Posts: 64
    alright so I tried one day to eat the recommended calories and well I didn't feel well and I felt too full. And I wasn't eating back my exercise calories either. And I was eating healthy food for the most part, not icky stuff. I don't want to feel like that everyday. I don't understand why I don't even eat that much everyday and I am so overweight. Lordy it just doesn't make sense lol.
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