**READ THIS** Figuring out your calorie goals

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

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

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

I think the adding 20% is onto your BMR rather than the TDEE! as that would put it at 1575. Your STATs seem similar to mine, my BMR is1363 and my TDEE is 2050 so I eat at around 20% less (1640 cals) and try to and keep my NET as close to my BMR as possible x

Ah right....I see now! D'uh! Its all just so confusing and so easy to overanalyse! I will stick to what I have my cals set at for now (1480) which seems about right, and net my BMR if poss. Thanks for your help!!

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?