How many calories? So confused!

lozzieemay · July 2012

Hi everyone,

A little bit about me first - I'm female, a month short of turning 22, 5ft 3" and weigh 194lbs. This is the heaviest I've EVER been, and really strange for me to as I've always been between 133-140lbs and a size 8-10.

Anyway, I'm back to calorie counting tomorrow and going back to the gym, it's been way too long since I've exercised or stuck to any form of healthy eating diet plan - which is why I've gotten so big in such a short amount of time - only 6 months to be exact and I've managed to gain a whopping 50+lbs!

The question I have, is this - how many calories should I consume a day? I've done many online calorie calculators, worked things out myself using my BMI, BMR and different equations, but each gives a different answer which is why I'm confused. I know 1200 is usually the benchmark for females wanting to lose weight & the minimum amount you should eat too, but I'm wondering if this would suit me, or should I start higher and slowly decrease calories?

My activity level is lightly active at the moment, but hopefully getting back into a regular gym routine tomorrow will boost it up to moderately active again.

Any help is HUGELY appreciated!

therealmax · July 2012

Are you using the MFP caloric limit calculator settings? Or are you trying to calculate it on your own? On MFP, they use your BMR, which is the calories burned by metabolic processes (breathing, digesting, etc) and multiply it by a factor for how active your daily life is (sedentary, lightly active, etc.) to estimate what your body needs on a daily basis, or your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Then you choose how many pounds or kgs you aim to lose per week and it will subtract the amounts of calories necessary to reach your weight loss goal.
If you're using online calculators they're just estimates based on weight and sex and body type but usually accurate enough to get a good idea of caloric requirements.

lozzieemay · July 2012

Where do I find the MFP calculator?

therealmax · July 2012

On the web, it's under settings > Edit diet/fitness profile
Then when you go to your home or your food tracker it will show you a daily calorie goal
If you're on a phone app I can't remember the exact way to get to there but it's similar, somewhere in the settings menu

EvanKeel · July 2012

Looking at your stats, an online TDEE calculator (for however much we trust them) puts your daily expenditure at 2318 calories per day with light exercise. Taking 20% off that, you'd be eating around 1800 calories/day.

I'd probably set your goal at a 1lb/week loss and try to get 1800 calories/day.

I am, of course, in no way a fitness or nutrition professional

Or...with no exercise, you're looking at a TDEE of: 2023-20%= around 1600/ day. Note that in either of those calculations exercise is already accounted for.

michellekicks · July 2012

You set your goal to lose 2 lbs/week? If so, I think you could start there, but eat back your exercise calories if you know what you burn (a HRM or a Fitbit is a good investment).

If not, I'd set your goal to lose 1 lb/week, set your lifestyle to lightly active (since you have a baby? and are not bedridden) and just eat that. Any exercise you do will probably be moderate to start anyway if you aren't currently active. Then, you'll have a caloric deficit of 500 calories plus whatever you burn in exercise... this should be safe and also effective.

Drea_ann · July 2012

I am the exact same spot as you. I'm 5'3" and 190 and struggled being at 1200 calories, I was hungry all the time and didn't feel wanted. i really just wanted to sleep all day.
And then i did the calculator, and I eat around 1500, and I eat most of my worked off calories back, and it's working really well. The weight isn't falling off, but I feel Awesome.

Good luck on your weightloss journey!!

mcarter99 · July 2012

There is no need really to check a bunch of calculators. Pick any calorie level lower than your current one and you will lose weight. You probably burn 2000-2200/day at least. Go anywhere between that and 1200, depending whether you want to eat less and lose faster (closer to 1200) or eat more and lose slower (closer to 2000).

ofccat · July 2012

1200 is an artificial number and not something you should go by. Each person is so different. It really depends on so many factors. I would personaly start at around 1400-1500 and see if how it goes. That's how I figured out what worked best for me and weight loss.

lozzieemay · July 2012

Thanks everyone for your responses..

I updated my stats using the MFP settings, and it's got me at 1200kcals a day which is all it ever seems to say! I don't think 1200 is realistic for me, I've been used to eating such large quantities of food lately and high calories that to drop down that low would probably result in me feeling really hungry all the time & I wouldn't sustain it for very long.

I'm considering eating between 1400-1600 a day, and exercising regularly but not eating any exercise calories back - what does everyone think of this? At least then when I start to lose weight I can always reduce calories to a net of 1200 a day in the future, and maybe by then my tummy would've shrunk and appetite would've decreased so 1200 won't seem so hard!

Jalare · July 2012

I used the MFP calculator, which gave me somewhere around 2000 calories based on wanting to lose 1.5 lb a week. Now, I am 6' and have a lot more weight on me than you do. With that said, thinking 2000 was too much for me to lose weight I decided to change my calories to 1800. I lost pretty good the first couple of months then things slowed down, so this week I decreased my calories to 1500. That jump started my weightloss again. I think it's really something you have to start somewhere then adjust based on your body's reaction. Pay attention to your body. I wish you all the best.

lozzieemay · July 2012

That's true. The hardest thing for me when it comes to calorie counting is knowing where to start. Finding that calorie allowance to aim for daily seems like the most difficult thing to do and it's so frustrating!

I'll definitely aim for between 1400-1600 a day, maybe more at the 1600 end, and then see how my body reacts.

DietandVlogsense · July 2012

On the web, it's under settings > Edit diet/fitness profile
Then when you go to your home or your food tracker it will show you a daily calorie goal
If you're on a phone app I can't remember the exact way to get to there but it's similar, somewhere in the settings menu

Seriously use this. It is a god send, but you must ensure you record everything and become somewhat anal about doing so.

I've lost 23 lbs in less than a month and I am by no means crash dieting. If you follow the calorie guide and increase you activity levels, then you wilkl do great.

lozzieemay · July 2012

Basically - if I stick to a set allowance of 1600 a day, and don't eat calories back. Or, I stick to 1200 as MFP suggests but eat back exercise cals, so say I worked out and burnt 400 then my net would only be 800 so I'd have to eat back the 400 calories so I'd be eating 1600.. So in theory, their both the same right?

michellekicks · July 2012

Try this calculator:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

lozzieemay · July 2012

Thanks! I used that calculator and it had me at 1662 calories a day, so guess I was right at thinking of starting at 1600.

Jaxta65 · July 2012

I think you are on the right track now. I was eating 1200 cals for 5 days on the sixth I felt so listless I stuffed a load of chocolate, it didn't help though, I then went on the scooby calculator and upped my calories to 1460 nd am just starting again now today with a new goal. Good luck with your wight loss :-)

santi251 · July 2012

If you eat about 1200 cals a day but don't eat back the cals u've burned, u will lose weight but may eventually lose muscle mass! Eating the 1200 will only be the days u dont exercise.

How many calories? So confused!

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