calorie conundrum
 

so according to this tool:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/cal...alculator.htm#

i should be eating about 1880 calories for fat loss (1-2 lbs per week). i can tell you that at 1880 calories and 3 days of exercise per week (which is what i put into the calculator) i will not only not lose weight, but i have been known to gain.

back when i weighed 145 and worked out 5 times per week i would gain weight on anything over 1600 calories. i ate 1500 just to maintain that weight with regular exercise.

so do i have like a stupidly slow metabolism or are there others who can't get by with losing weight on 1800 calories??

for the record i have recently had my thyroid checked and fasting blood sugar. i'm perfectly normal. unfortunately. ha!

I dunno. I always thought those calories were awfully high too. I would definitely gain on 1800 calories a day. I usually eat between 1200-1500. My calorie intake, according to that calculator, is rediculously high when I put in that I workout 5 times a week- like 2200 or something. I just do what I know works. However, I will tell you... if my weightloss stalls, and I eat 3 days of higher calories, I can usually get my metabolism revved up again- not really sure what that means.

Yeah, the site you are using looks a little high. I put in my stats and it told me I could eat 1900 calories to lose weight, where other sites like this have told me 1500. 1500 seems to be working for me right now.

Maintenance: 2429 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1943 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1720 Calories/day

That is for me w/3 days a week of exercise... There is no way I would lose eating 1943 a day. I probably eat more like 1500 - 1600.

Maintenance: 2523 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 2019 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

Yeah right! This is with me working out 5x/week. I actually only work out 4 at the gym but 5 days a week I walk my dog for 30min at a really brisk pace, so I figured I'd go with 5. I WISH I could eat 2500 calories a day to maintain! ha. I'm eating closer to 1200-1400 calories per day with a weekly loss of about 2lbs. I don't think I am being "extreme"

For maintenance it says I need: 1951 calories

I've been maintaining around that, so I guess it is accurate for some people.

Everyone's body is different, those calculators are merely suggestions.

interesting. well i'm glad to know i'm not the only one who can't eat what some magazines and calculators suggest. that makes me feel much better. :)

would be nice though if i actually could eat like that. not in this lifetime! ha!

RESULTS - GUIDELINE ONLY
Maintenance: 3128 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 2560 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 2560 Calories/day



[I] feel that my body needs more Good calories and I see better results when I eat more and healthy.:carrot:

I can't eat that much and lose, either. One day a week I let myself eat more than usual (up to 2100 or so) but the rest of the time, to lose, has to be under 1500, regardless of how hard I'm exercising.

When I see those formulas I get really confused, and sometimes really annoyed. I'd love to be able to lose 2 lbs a week on 1800 calories... but I try to remember our bodies are all different and one formulaic solution won't work for everyone.

who are these wonders who can eat such amounts and still lose? NBA players? ha!

but really it makes me feel better knowing i'm not quite so abnormal. i was really starting to get a complex about why i can't lose weight on 1800 calories a day like "normal" people.

just kinda makes you question all the guidelines they set out for us.

I would lose on 1800 a day, but very slowly. 1600 worked well for the first few weeks but I'm slowing down a bit lately (of course, that could be because I went OP a couple of times, so take that with a grain of salt). I'm thinking a wider range, say 14-1600, might work well for me. So no, you're definitely not alone.

(For reference, it says I need 1720 for fat loss.)

It gave me a high number too. The way I have learned it (and it has worked) is whatever your goal is, add a zero. My goal is 150 and I eat a 1200-1500 calorie diet. Maybe it's not correct for everyone but it's worked well for me thus far.

It's somewhat accurate for me...

Maintenance: 2271 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1817 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1362 Calories/day


But that is with the activity level set at "exercise every day" - I actually have a job where I am dashing about the place all day and work out for 1-2 hours 6-7 days a week.

I can maintain my weight at around 2000 a day...sometimes a little over but I generally stay naturally around 1500 at the moment and am steadily decreasing my body fat % - the scale is a little slower to move!

Maintenance: 2367 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1893 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

This is about right for me. I try to stay at 1800 or less and I've lost about 1 to 2 lbs per week.

It was about right for me too:

Maintenance: 2353 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1882 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1536 Calories/day


My goal daily is 1800, and i usually have a day or two at 2000. I work out 6 days a week. I've been averaging 1.5 lbs per week.