I am SO confused!

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anpcampbell
anpcampbell Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been here on MFP for about two weeks or so but I've been trying to loose wait since the beginning of January (not a New Year's resolutions, we all know those never work out anyway lol) and after reading a bit on the forums here I've found myself so hopeless confused I feel like I'm "chasing my own tail".

Now I've read all over that the recommended 1200 calorie intake suggested is bogus and that I MUST eat more than that in order to loose weight. Right now I'm 160 pounds and need to be at least 130 by December. My BMI is 1576 and I'm thinking of setting a deficit of 400-500, I go to the gym for half and an hour yoga afterwards at least three times a week, as well as taking my dog on five to ten minute walks.

How many calories should I be eating? Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!

Replies

  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
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    Your bmi is a percentage not a number if you get what I'm saying. If your bmr is 1576 then you should not eat below that. If you make a deficit using that number there you will be below 1100 calories a day and that's not good at all. You will not get the nutrients you need and you'll be so hungry. Where did you go to get your info?
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
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    BMR of 1576 x 1.35 ("lightly active" setting) = 2128 - 500 (1lb a week deficit) = 1628. Log your gym/yoga as exercise but not your dog walking, because that's an everyday activity already accounted for in your setting.

    But MFP will calculate all this for you...all you have to do is give it your stats, tell it you're lightly active and want to lose a pound a week and it does the math for you and gives you a calorie goal. If you got 1200 you probably told it you want to lose 2 pounds a week, and that's far too aggressive for a goal of only 30 lbs.
  • 2BeHealthy4Life
    2BeHealthy4Life Posts: 150
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    1.Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) quantifies the number of calories your body burns in its idle statesuch as sleeping.



    2.TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) quantifies the number of calories you burn in a day. This measure is best estimated by scaling your Basal Metabolic Rate to your level of activity. TDEE is critical in tailoring your nutrition plan to desired fitness goals.

    IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS GO TO THE GROUP "" EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS '''

    MFP pal Anewlucia started the group EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS ....I copied and pasted this information below from one of her threads that may helpful.

    What is BMR?
    Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the minimum calorific requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. It can be looked at as being the amount of energy (measured in calories) expended by the body to remain in bed all day!

    What is TDEE?
    TDEE is the common abbreviation for Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is a metric to calculate the amount of calories your body needs to function in a day. This is quite similar to BMR; in fact, you need your BMR to calculate your TDEE; but your TDEE accounts for your average daily activity as well to give a figure truer to your specific situation. Basically, the TDEE calculation relies on categorizing your daily activity into one of the metrics' predetermined groupings:

    Sedentary - desk job and little to no exercise
    Lightly Active - light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk
    Moderately Active - moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk (****SIDE NOTE - even if you have a desk job most people fit right here when you workout 3-5 days a week)
    Very Active - hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk
    Extremely Active - hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or training
    Once you have determined where you fit in on the TDEE activity rate scale, this activity rate is used to weight your BMR giving you a more accurate assessment of how many calories you really need throughout the course of the day.

    Here is a link to a site that you plug in your information and it will provide your BMR and TDEE along with your Cut value (again, if you workout 3-5 times a week select "Moderate" and the "Select Your Goal" option you will select is "Lose Fat - 15% caloric reduction.

    You can get your bmr and tdee number from here :http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators

    So now, you should have your BMR, TDEE, and Cut Value (TDEE - 15%)

    Here is a video that talks about this in great detail that hopefully will clear up any questions you may have:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi9xjIRvbY&feature=g-all-u

    If TDEE is figured out correctly, then exercise cals don't *have* to be eaten back because, technically, TDEE figures them in. The underlying factor here, is that most people underestimate their activity levels, (for fear of being told to eat "too much") and then proceed to under eat. If a person is burning 1000 cals/day in exercise, then that should be figured into their TDEE, meaning their TDEE should be AT LEAST 1000 cals more than their BMR. If this is not the case then they are undercutting themselves on the cals. So a person w/a BMR of 1300, that puts up 1000 cal burns should have come up w/a TDEE calculation of 2400 or more. So any situation where a person is not getting those calculations, they should be eating back some of those exercise cals.

    So if you come up w/BMR=1300, TDEE=1800, you need to either A)eat back some cals, or B) recalculate your TDEE to include the *actual* burns that you're getting.

    So to cut using *true* TDEE figures, you'd just eat a flat TDEE (-15%), as long as TDEE is correct. It should be fine. But if you are using MFP's calculations, or are not getting a TDEE that includes the amount you burn each day *plus* BMR, you need to eat back some exercise cals.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    So I've been here on MFP for about two weeks or so but I've been trying to loose wait since the beginning of January (not a New Year's resolutions, we all know those never work out anyway lol) and after reading a bit on the forums here I've found myself so hopeless confused I feel like I'm "chasing my own tail".

    Now I've read all over that the recommended 1200 calorie intake suggested is bogus and that I MUST eat more than that in order to loose weight. Right now I'm 160 pounds and need to be at least 130 by December. My BMI is 1576 and I'm thinking of setting a deficit of 400-500, I go to the gym for half and an hour yoga afterwards at least three times a week, as well as taking my dog on five to ten minute walks.

    How many calories should I be eating? Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

    Thanks!

    Your BMR is what your body burns just to survive. On top of that you burn calories in your everyday activities from brushing your teeth, to your job. That number is your TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure. You create your deficit from your TDEE, not your BMR.

    Your deficit should not be too large to maintain as much lean mass as possible while losing fat. With 30lbs left you should aim for about a 1lb a week weight loss, which is a deficit of 500 or so.

    MFP does all this figuring for you. Or you can find an online calculator that takes your BMR then multiplies it by an activity factor.
    Here is the Harris Bennett one
    "To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

    •If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
    •If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
    •If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
    •If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
    •If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 "

    Keep in mind MFP doesn't account for exercise, which is why it suggests you eat the exercise calories back. If you figure your own, you don't eat the exercise calories back because you already factor them in
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Ha, I am too slow.
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,287 Member
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    I got confused reading this....
  • Chris_acc_can
    Chris_acc_can Posts: 83
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    I got confused reading this....


    Condensed version. Fill out the MFP questionnaire when you first make you account (must be done accurately), and let the website do the rest.

    It's nice people know the math behind MFP but you don't need to know it. Just consume the calories MFP tells you to (eating back exercise... or not, that's another debate).
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Options
    I got confused reading this....


    Condensed version. Fill out the MFP questionnaire when you first make you account (must be done accurately), and let the website do the rest.

    It's nice people know the math behind MFP but you don't need to know it. Just consume the calories MFP tells you to (eating back exercise... or not, that's another debate).

    I agree. Keep it simple. Follow MFP. However. Selecting the proper weight loss per week goal is key.

    The answer to the "eat back" calories question is answersd by understanding the math behind it. Simpl put,MFP creates a calorie goal with a built in deficit. If you eat that number, you are eating at a deficit.
    MFP does not account for exercise, unlike other formulas. By exercising you are creating a larger deficit, not necessarily a good thing. But to keep it simple, follow MFP. It suggests you eat the calories, and does so for a reason.
  • SupremeCalamari
    SupremeCalamari Posts: 5
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    I got confused reading this....


    Condensed version. Fill out the MFP questionnaire when you first make you account (must be done accurately), and let the website do the rest.

    It's nice people know the math behind MFP but you don't need to know it. Just consume the calories MFP tells you to (eating back exercise... or not, that's another debate).

    I agree. Keep it simple. Follow MFP. However. Selecting the proper weight loss per week goal is key.

    The answer to the "eat back" calories question is answersd by understanding the math behind it. Simpl put,MFP creates a calorie goal with a built in deficit. If you eat that number, you are eating at a deficit.
    MFP does not account for exercise, unlike other formulas. By exercising you are creating a larger deficit, not necessarily a good thing. But to keep it simple, follow MFP. It suggests you eat the calories, and does so for a reason.

    I think I understand this finally. So, lets say my goal for each day is 1420. I worked out, burning 650 calories. I consumed 1805 calories today, for a net of 1155. If I want to achieve the weight of 134 in 8 weeks (weight currently at 145), should I be intaking more calories to reach 2000, or just reach the 1420 it recommended?

    Hopefully that wasn't too confusing.
  • Chris_acc_can
    Chris_acc_can Posts: 83
    Options
    I got confused reading this....


    Condensed version. Fill out the MFP questionnaire when you first make you account (must be done accurately), and let the website do the rest.

    It's nice people know the math behind MFP but you don't need to know it. Just consume the calories MFP tells you to (eating back exercise... or not, that's another debate).

    I agree. Keep it simple. Follow MFP. However. Selecting the proper weight loss per week goal is key.

    The answer to the "eat back" calories question is answersd by understanding the math behind it. Simpl put,MFP creates a calorie goal with a built in deficit. If you eat that number, you are eating at a deficit.
    MFP does not account for exercise, unlike other formulas. By exercising you are creating a larger deficit, not necessarily a good thing. But to keep it simple, follow MFP. It suggests you eat the calories, and does so for a reason.

    I think I understand this finally. So, lets say my goal for each day is 1420. I worked out, burning 650 calories. I consumed 1805 calories today, for a net of 1155. If I want to achieve the weight of 134 in 8 weeks (weight currently at 145), should I be intaking more calories to reach 2000, or just reach the 1420 it recommended?

    Hopefully that wasn't too confusing.


    You should be eating 1420 + 650 (total 2070 calories). I always eat back calories burned through exercises. The defecit is already built into the 1420 total so there is no need to not eat back your calories burned. Pus your body needs the nutrients/calories.

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