Daily calorie allowance question

  • Hi All!

    I have a question about daily calorie allowances. On my Fitday they suggest that I should be eating 1537 calories to lose the weight that I want by the date that I want. I clicked on one of the Fitday links, and it took me to the Mayo Clinic site. I plugged in all my values (height, weight, age, gender), and THAT SITE said that to lose weight I should be eating 1200 calories. Now, I KNOW that there's just about 350 calories difference between the two numbers, but 350 calories can be a whole extra MEAL!

    Also, my Calorie Queens book says that to reach 200 pounds you should be eating approximately 2400 calories a day, and to weigh 160 (my goal weight) I am supposed to be eating 1920 calories. If I ate that many calories I would STILL BE in "Plateau Land!"


    Anyone ever find discrepancies like that?

    I am confused!

    Cheryl
  • Yes, discrepancies all the time. DON'T listen to those stupid calculators. Only you can know what will work for you by trial and error. No one or nothing else. Only you, you and you can figure it out.

    According to another "standard" formula you times your weight by 7 and that is the number of calories you should be eating, which would bring you to 1393. I think that is a good place to start and experiment. Remeber you weigh less now, your body NEEDS less fuel now and you don't burn calories the same way you used to. You, 199 lb. woman you. That's what you get for being so skinny. You get the prize of having to eat less OR move more in order to lose weight. You'll figure it out.
  • Cheryl - I'm still fat so obviously I don't have the answers. However, with degrees in Chemistry and Biology I do have a fairly good grip on how the body works, I think. Hypothetically, let's say you got to the weight you were at by eating 3000 calories a day. ANYTHING less than that will start to cause a weight drop. Yes, it could be very slow...in fact, so slow you wouldn't even realize it for a few months...but it would happen. I would guess that the 19?? calories is a correct number that it would take for a woman to maintain a weight around 160... I would also guess that if you ate that amount, you WOULD lose weight...but it might not be at a pace with which you'd be happy. You will obviously lose quicker if you drop those calories down. However, the caveat to all of that is if you drop TOO low the loss slows down. I agree with Robin. You have to find what works best for you...to keep you keeping on. You've lost 76 lbs, girl!!! You're doing something really great!!! I think you don't need to worry about the minutia but just keep doing what's working.
  • Thanks Robin and Tricia!

    I get it now! Thanks SO much for the careful and complete replies! So complicated, this weight loss thing! And we all wonder why it is so difficult for people to lose weight! Honestly, there is SOOOOO much to learn! There are so many variables, too, which can make a girl (or guy)...NUTS!!!

    Ok...now how do you know if you've chosen a calorie amount that may be getting the weight to come off but may be also causing your body to go into survival mode? Are there any signs that I should look for so that I don't cause a standstill in my metabolism? I exercise every day for 1-2 hours. I heard that exercise will help guard the metabolism so that it doesn't slow down. Any truth to THAT one?

    Thanks so much!

    Cheryl
  • Calories
    I have been working with my trainer to find out the correct calorie intake for myself and I am 6'1'' and should be eating around 1800 calories to stay at my current weight of 182, but in order for me to loose a pound a day i need to be either cutting out roughly 500 calories a day or working out and staying at the 1800 calorie intake. My trainer said that 3,500 calories are equivalant to loosing 1 pound of fat a week.

    If you belong to a gym they should have a nutritionist there who can help you calculate how many calories you should be eating a day. Like other people have said though, you have to find out what is right for you and make sure you don't go under your correct calorie intake either, b/c then your body will start eating itself and you will loose muscle.
  • Quote: Thanks Robin and Tricia!


    Ok...now how do you know if you've chosen a calorie amount that may be getting the weight to come off but may be also causing your body to go into survival mode? Are there any signs that I should look for so that I don't cause a standstill in my metabolism? I exercise every day for 1-2 hours. I heard that exercise will help guard the metabolism so that it doesn't slow down. Any truth to THAT one?
    Scientifically speaking, muscle is the big worker bee in the body. So it stands to reason that exercising will increase muscle mass which will then maintain a healthy metabolism. All that happens in the absence of other metabolic disorders which you may or may not have. If you are steadily dropping weight then you have picked a calorie/exercise plan that IS working. Standard research says that below 1000 calories a day (ON AVERAGE) is when the body starts to react...however, I would add that if you are used to a LOT of calories and then suddenly cut them way back, the body could also react adversely for a while. If those cut backs are still in the healthy range, eventually your body will get used to the energy you're giving it and will kick back in to a metabolic norm.

    I'm wondering if part of your concerns aren't because you've just overcome a MAJOR hurdle and met a HUGE goal...back into the 100's you are! Now, maybe you're so fired up that you want the rest to just fall off! It seems to me like you are doing a great job. I wouldn't start messing with anything you're doing unless the loss stops. Just my opinion...
  • Quote: It seems to me like you are doing a great job. I wouldn't start messing with anything you're doing unless the loss stops. Just my opinion...
    I completely agree. If it ain't broke, don't fit it! If it is broke, just keep playing with your calories and keep track of the results. Since you exercise daily, you have a little more room to work with.
  • OMG Cheryl, I just saw that you're 199!!!! Where's the "I Hit Onederland" thread so we can celebrate? Did I miss it? I'm too slow to keep up with everything, and I was supposed to celebrate with you!!!

    Anyway....WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

    Go, you!
  • Cheryl, I wouldn't worry about survival mode. Just do what you have been doing. Perhaps cut back a little on the calories and increase just a bit your exercise. IF you see that you are no longer losing at a comfortable rate that is. I have been trying to do that every week, since I weigh less every week and am burning less calories every week. If you try something and it's not working for you one week, just change it up the next. Like everyone else said, you have OBVIOUSLY been doing MANY things right. There's no reason to think that that is going to stop now. I 'm glad though that you are AWARE of the fact that things will ALWAYS have to be tweaked as we go along.
  • OK, I can't find the option in fitday to find my calorie range? I've been playing between 1400-1800 for a few weeks, and the loss is happening, but the higher calories make me uncomfortable, physically as well as mentally. 1800 seems like ALOT of food for me, especially as most of mine comes from raw<er> foods, like veggies and fruit. At this point, even steamed veggies taste a little blah and mushy to me. I just can NOT eat 1800 calories of raw veggies with lean protien and whole grains. I've taken myself back to 1200 for the next 2 weeks, to help get me over the urges that followed my 3 calorie splurges, hoping that taking it back to basics will help curb those cravings. Any ideas on a good site to estimate what I should eat calorie wise? And when you do those calculators, do you put in current or goal weight to get the calorie range? Or take the smaller numbers from both weights and use that as a upper and lower amount?
  • at www.thedailyplate.com you put in your weight and how quickly you want to lose and it will calculate. For example, at my weight, to lose 2 pounds per week it says around 1800 calories. I always shoot for under that, though, and have not ever made it that high. But I did like using it as a guide.