How many calories to eat?

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hperowl
hperowl Posts: 234 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Question... MFP says I should consume 1200 calories a day, but in a forum topic someone posted that you should eat less than your TDEE (2156 for me) and more than your BMR (1574.3). That's approximately 1600-2100 calories a day. That seems like a huge amount! What are your thoughts?

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  • surromom2010
    surromom2010 Posts: 457 Member
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    I don't have a FLIPPING clue, I'm having a hard time eating over 1100 without eating junk. I'm just not that hungry...Supposedly I'm supposed to get a little over 1200 and eat back around 50% of the calories I burn, it's like I'd be eating constantly.
  • spartangirl79
    spartangirl79 Posts: 277 Member
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    Question... MFP says I should consume 1200 calories a day, but in a forum topic someone posted that you should eat less than your TDEE (2156 for me) and more than your BMR (1574.3). That's approximately 1600-2100 calories a day. That seems like a huge amount! What are your thoughts?

    Question -- do you work out, if so how much and what type?

    MFP seems to set everyone's daily goal at 1200, and it's too low. If your BMR is 1574, then you should be eating more than that. Keep in mind, your BMR is what you burn just lying in bed all day, every day, doing nothing.

    If your TDEE is 2156, I'd aim for the halfway point (so, say, 1600-1800, on the conservative side) and see how it goes for you. you can always adjust, but if your TDEE is 2156, eating 1200 is going to be almost a 1000 calorie deficit which is not going to be enough fuel, IMHO.
  • Carolyn_T_87
    Carolyn_T_87 Posts: 7
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    Hi there,

    I think MFP makes it quite confusing.
    When I first started, I was on 1200 calories a day (trying to get 2 pound loss a week). However, this puts your body into starvation mode, where your body aims to keep any calories it can. It is a bad way to go if you want to lose weight. I did 1200 calories for months and got nowhere.
    Someone then recommended I upped it to around 1500 a day, and suddenly things got better and I started seeing progress.
    Also, log your exercise, and any exercise calories you do are like £free calories", so you can afford to eat more.

    I do recommend moving above the 1200 though.

    It is recommended that women eat around 2000 calories a day, and men 2500 a day on average anyway, so the number you are quoting isn't that bad!

    Good luck!!!!


    Hope this helps :)
  • SOCALGIRLY38
    SOCALGIRLY38 Posts: 27 Member
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    HI, I have a bodyfit media band. If you aren't sure exactly what you are burning, you may want to invest in one of these to determine exactly what you burn, either when you exercise and if you don't. Then you can target your caloric restriction appropriately.

    Good luck, I know it can be confusing. I bought my bodyfit media through Costco and saved money that way.
  • FitMama2013
    FitMama2013 Posts: 919 Member
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    If I were you, I would increase slowly...100 calories a week for a month so then you're at 1600. See how you feel at 1600 and go from there...but, I think 1200 isn't enough for you! At least try to get your BMR :)
  • Witste25
    Witste25 Posts: 1
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    Surromom2010 I agree with you. I am eating low calorie foods and I am only eating 1000 cals a day. I eat when im hungry so im not starving myself. Sometimes you just gotta do what works for you!
  • wildboar1
    wildboar1 Posts: 88
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    Need your height, weight and activity levels to give you an guesstimate of your BMR & TDEE.
  • hperowl
    hperowl Posts: 234 Member
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    Need your height, weight and activity levels to give you an guesstimate of your BMR & TDEE.

    I'm 5ft 7, 180lbs, I workout 1-3 days a week (more if I can squeeze it in) but I'm a mom of 4 and always on the go. I'm tired all the time and I know some of that is kids that don't sleep through the night, but even with a decent nights rest I still don't have the energy I think I should. Thanks so much everyone for your input.
  • zerbe6982
    zerbe6982 Posts: 68
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    This is an interesting topic. I always assumed 1200 calories was the normal limit for weight loss, but I just pulled my BMR and it showed 1566.

    Now I'm even more confused then when I started. :)

    I don't want to starve my body, but I really want to lose weight. :ohwell:

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