Why am I meant to be eating so many calories?

Is the 2000 so calories your TDEE? Did you subtract 15 or 20% from the TDEE?

You don't need to take the advice of other dieters but you can. That's all the Fat2Fit guys and the talk here in the forums is. Why not take the advice of something with actual professionals behind it, like the goals this site sets for you?

It says

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight.



Activity Level -> Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1753
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2009
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2265
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2520
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2776


I'd say I was lightly active

If you go with lightly active I'm thinking you shouldn't eat back any exercise calories unless they are above and beyond the "light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk" .. you didn't say if you were or not...

It says

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight.



Activity Level -> Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1753
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2009
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2265
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2520
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2776


I'd say I was lightly active

That's your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is closer to 1667. You probably want to be eating in the area of 1700 calories per day. But that's an end goal, increase calories slowly and monitor results.

It says

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight.



Activity Level -> Daily Calories
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1753
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2009
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2265
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2520
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2776


I'd say I was lightly active

I did this, so this value has your exercise factored in so you will not need to eat back your exercise calories unless your net is below your BMR, I eat about 1970-2050 a day depending on my exercise and I'm still losing, as the above poster said you can ease into it or take the plunge. I upped right away and did gain 8lbs, but I stuck with it and a month later I have surpassed where I started (started 165, lost 5lbs on 1600cal diet, gained 8lbs on 2000cal diet then lost 9lbs )

That's your TDEE, not your BMR. Your BMR is closer to 1667. You probably want to be eating in the area of 1700 calories per day. But that's an end goal, increase calories slowly and monitor results.

1700 gross or net?

Because your body needs fuel, especially if you are working out. I am really loving the idea that i can EAT and I am still losing weight.

No offense meant to the OP...but this type of question always baffles me.

If you have a hard time consuming more than 1200 calories and you are here because you have weight to lose, I wonder how on earth did you put weight on in the first place?

Not that I'm proud of it but I could EASILY down 1200 for breakfast.

Having said that - if you can manage on 1200 calories and the scale is still moving for you, good on ya! Everyone has a different path - if this one works for you, why does it matter what anyone else says.

I kinda agree here. I think this too sometimes when i see those questions--only because I wish I had that problem of not being able to eat enough!

In all seriousness, I think upping your caloric intake should be more about the quality of foods you eat as opposed to eating more quantity. I haven't seen you diary so i don't know if this is the reason you have a hard time hitting your cals but i can say when I cut back severely on meat, chicken, fish and dairy in the beginning of the year, I noticed immediately that my veggie-based meals were so low in calories. But throw in more lean chicken, lean pork, avocado and nuts and you I more calories in the same sized meals. try to get more calories for your buck basically.

I just upped my goals after reading New Rules of Lifting for Women, when eating so few calories you lose weight yes, but you also slow down your metabolism, and lose muscle mass as well. Also, the 2000 calorie number, its meant to be how many you eat daily, despite exercise, you don't need to eat back your exercise calories with that number, its not meant to be a net calorie number, the idea is that you would probably net around 1500 calories which would be a 500 calorie per day deficit from workout which would result in about a pound a week weight loss. I've read multiple studies that suggest that 500 is even too much and really you should only slash that number by about 300.

According to NROL4W, take your weight, divide it by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms then times that by 7.18 and add 795 to that. Thats your BMR. Then find your BMI. If your BMI is 18 to 24.9 and you are under 35 years times your BMR by 1.6 on a non workout day, and by 1.8 on a workout day. If your BMI is 25 or higher, times it by 1.4 on no workout days, and 1.6 on workout days. If you are over 35 and under 24.9, times by 1.5 for non-workout days, and by 1.7 on workout days, over 25 by 1.2 and 1.4. Set your macros to 40/30/30 (carbs/protein/fat). Granted this program is designed for recovery of the intense heavy weight lifting workout program, but you can at least get a general idea of what your BMR is and DO NOT eat below your BMR unless you want to slow down your metabolism and all that stuff. If you want to lose weight, they suggest cutting the number times 1.6 by 300 calories at the most, so you don't shock your system and lose muscle mass

I ran into the same issue, I am a cardio enthusiast and the machine says I burn 600-800 cals per hour workout. I also find that, even after using 800 cals, I am full. My tummy really doesn't want more than 1600, which puts me under the 2000 I should eat between my alloted 1200 and my used 800. I read ALL the threads on this topic as today was a slow day at work. Verdict seems to be that anything less that 1200 is pushing your body into starvation mode. This has been hard for me to adjust to as well but I have found a few helpful strategies:

Just be very very careful to not believe the machines....The are known for completely over estimating calorie burn... If you can get a HRM it would give you a better idea of how much you really burn...

No offense meant to the OP...but this type of question always baffles me.

If you have a hard time consuming more than 1200 calories and you are here because you have weight to lose, I wonder how on earth did you put weight on in the first place?

Not that I'm proud of it but I could EASILY down 1200 for breakfast.

Having said that - if you can manage on 1200 calories and the scale is still moving for you, good on ya! Everyone has a different path - if this one works for you, why does it matter what anyone else says.

I agree...... I don't think based on your height, weight and age you should be at 1200 calories. I am at 1200 and I'm 33, 5'4", and 125 lbs. Even that is hard for me, you def. need to eat more. 2000 seems way too high, I would do the 1300-1500 range and see what happens. If you ate donuts and loaded omelets all day you could easily do 1200 in one sitting. I didn't realize how quicky calories added up until I started counting! Just remember, you dont have to stay at 1300-1500 too long and you will lose weight and be able to have more calories. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you need to eat and when you're ok! GL and hang in there!

No offense meant to the OP...but this type of question always baffles me.

If you have a hard time consuming more than 1200 calories and you are here because you have weight to lose, I wonder how on earth did you put weight on in the first place?

Not that I'm proud of it but I could EASILY down 1200 for breakfast.

Having said that - if you can manage on 1200 calories and the scale is still moving for you, good on ya! Everyone has a different path - if this one works for you, why does it matter what anyone else says.

I agree...... I don't think based on your height, weight and age you should be at 1200 calories. I am at 1200 and I'm 33, 5'4", and 125 lbs. Even that is hard for me, you def. need to eat more. 2000 seems way too high, I would do the 1300-1500 range and see what happens. If you ate donuts and loaded omelets all day you could easily do 1200 in one sitting. I didn't realize how quicky calories added up until I started counting! Just remember, you dont have to stay at 1300-1500 too long and you will lose weight and be able to have more calories. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you need to eat and when you're ok! GL and hang in there!

This one said all I wanted to say.

No offence to your advice but where did you pull your numbers form they don't make sense, if her BMR is 1667 according to you why would you suggest 1700 gross for her when she said her activity level is moderate 1-3 workouts a week, which is about 100 cals above her BMR and then say that includes exercise calories, every time she worked out she'd likely net below her BMR. To the OP: I suggest you follow the chart, assuming you entered your goal weight and the calculation has a cut factored in.

1-3 light workouts a week, 700 calorie surplus over BMR for the week. It's not that huge of a discrepancy.

I also said 1700 since 1500 was making her feel full, it's a target checkpoint, not the end goal. The calculation listed doesn't have a cut factored in. As I said the 2k estimate was TDEE since that printout came from fat2fit

Ok so I see where the 1700 number comes in but fat2fit does have a deficit it states:

Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point."


so that is the TDEE value of her goal weight not her weight therefore it is a deficit for her.

EDIT: this chart told me I should eat 2045, and my TDEE is about 2450 so there is a cut.

Try adding things to the food you eat. If you have an apple, cut it into slices and dip it in peanut butter. Eat nuts as snacks - they have protein and good fats. Add some more meat or veggies into your pasta. Stuff like that.