just starting up again... how many calories should i eat?

malindaja
malindaja Posts: 29
in Food and Nutrition
Hi! Today I started another chapter in my new life! (Again). I feel so good about it! Exercising and eating healthy really makes me feel so much better.

At the beginning of the year I worked my tail off and didn't drop the weight like I should have. I was goaled to eat 1200 calories and usually got about 800. I know that was starving myself. A few months ago I started NROLFW (weight lifting), and was eating 1600-1800 calories. It was healthy calories, and I felt good.

Then, I fell off that wagon and started turning the healthy 1800 calories into not so healthy choices.

Today I am starting again, and along with my knowledge ... I am GOING TO WIN THIS TIME!

So, my question is... how many calories should I eat?

Replies

  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
    Find out your TDEE for your age, weight and height. This will give you the amount of calories should be consuming to maintain your weight at your activity level.

    Then just eat 250 to 500 calories less than your TDEE to lose 0.5 to 1lb a week.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
    Go into your settings, enter your data and let MFP answer this question.
    Easy!:flowerforyou:
  • sunshinebee
    sunshinebee Posts: 29
    The amount of calories automatically decided for me when I signed up and put my weight/height in - is this to maintain then, or will this help me loose weight?
  • Ahanaz
    Ahanaz Posts: 353 Member
    I eat my BMR.

    I havn't really figured out what the difference is between BMR and TDEE
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
    It's all a math game to me. Burn the calories with exercise. Calorie consumption all depends on how many I burn every day. You know your body better than we do. If your recording calorie intake and your exercise it will be obvious in a short period of time.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Hi! Today I started another chapter in my new life! (Again). I feel so good about it! Exercising and eating healthy really makes me feel so much better.

    At the beginning of the year I worked my tail off and didn't drop the weight like I should have. I was goaled to eat 1200 calories and usually got about 800. I know that was starving myself. A few months ago I started NROLFW (weight lifting), and was eating 1600-1800 calories. It was healthy calories, and I felt good.

    Then, I fell off that wagon and started turning the healthy 1800 calories into not so healthy choices.

    Today I am starting again, and along with my knowledge ... I am GOING TO WIN THIS TIME!

    So, my question is... how many calories should I eat?

    i think you have answered your own question... you said you felt good on 1600 to 1800 when you were doing NROWL so why not do that again?
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    I eat my BMR.

    I havn't really figured out what the difference is between BMR and TDEE
    BMR is the bare minimum of calories you need to eat to not die.
    TDEE is how many calories you burn on an average day by not dying, moving around, fidgeting, running marathons, etc.

    To lose weight in a healthy manner, you need to eat somewhere between these two numbers. :flowerforyou:
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    If I was starting again, and I was serious about being in this for the long term, I'd start by setting my calories at mfp's maintenance for the first month and see what happened. Then I would adjust from there, depending on the results.

    Had I done this the first time round I would have realised that mfp's numbers are all wrong for me. If I'd started at the 1700 odd that would have given me, I would have lost 1lb every week or so, but as I started at 1200, I lost over 2lb a week, which was not my aim.

    Now I know that with my normal level of activity 2000kcal is a diet, so I will never put myself through low calorie hell again!
  • Ahanaz
    Ahanaz Posts: 353 Member
    I eat my BMR.

    I havn't really figured out what the difference is between BMR and TDEE
    BMR is the bare minimum of calories you need to eat to not die.
    TDEE is how many calories you burn on an average day by not dying, moving around, fidgeting, running marathons, etc.

    To lose weight in a healthy manner, you need to eat somewhere between these two numbers. :flowerforyou:

    Thank you for the clarification! That means I need to eat like at least 500 more per day. But I already snack and I have such a hard time reaching 1472 (my BMR) without junk food.

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