What did you use to figure your Cals/day?

You're on Page 1 of 2
Go to
  • I'm really confused. Since I'm a little anal, I decided to download two calorie counting apps to see which I liked the best. (lose it and fitnesspal)
    They give me two completely different amounts. So, of course, I ran to Dr. Google and clicked the top page and it says a much lower amount. What in the world?
  • Read the sticky. So maybe it's not so far off. I'll see how lose it treats me. It's wasn't the highest amount allowed, so I feel good about that.
  • I personally use LoseIt! and love it. I haven't tried anything else (except caloriecounters in the beginning). I've had success with LoseIt! and would recommend it to anyone.

    Good luck!
  • I'm a bit of a techno-Neanderthal and have never used an app in my life. When counting calories I just ballpark every meal in my head.

    F.
  • Another lose it ap user here.
  • How many calories were suggested to you? How much exercise do you plan to do? How many pounds would you like to lose a week?


    My suggestion is that you start a little on the higher end, to give yourself some wiggle room when you get closer to goal. Good luck!
  • I love my fitness pal - I just scan the barcodes!! Easy peasy
  • Lose it give me 1877 cals/day. I haven't hit that number yet but I get anywhere from 1600-1800/day.


    We usually get into our swimming pool for several hours a day. Before I get out, I do laps back and forth from shallow to deep around 20 times. So I think I'm getting pretty good exercise (at least my breathing tells me I am). I'm just not quite sure how I'll track it.
  • For women, the easy method of calculating calories is taking your goal weight and multiply it by 10. For maintenance calories, take your current weight and multiply by 10. (This assumes little to no exercise so you might need to eat a bit more if you feel hungry.)

    I know it sounds really simple but it is.
  • ^^ that's genius!
  • That's how my nutritionist showed me to do it.

    So yours would be 2650 if you didn't want to gain or lose.

    To get to 170, your calories a day would be 1700. The difference between your maintenance calories and your goal weight calories is 950. So if you have a deficit of 950 every day (950 x 7 days a week = 6650), you'd lose just under 2lbs a week. (There are 3500 calories in a pound.) With the exercise you do every day, I'm sure you'd be over 7000 in a deficit which would be 2lbs.

    The numbers aren't exact and a woman's body fluctuates with hormones, TOM, etc. but it's pretty accurate. Be sure to drink at least 64oz of water and try to keep your sodium down (not eating a lot of processed or takeout food, etc.).

    I hope that makes sense.
  • Quote: That's how my nutritionist showed me to do it.

    So yours would be 2650 if you didn't want to gain or lose.

    To get to 170, your calories a day would be 1700. The difference between your maintenance calories and your goal weight calories is 950. So if you have a deficit of 950 every day (950 x 7 days a week = 6650), you'd lose just under 2lbs a week. (There are 3500 calories in a pound.) With the exercise you do every day, I'm sure you'd be over 7000 in a deficit which would be 2lbs.

    The numbers aren't exact and a woman's body fluctuates with hormones, TOM, etc. but it's pretty accurate. Be sure to drink at least 64oz of water and try to keep your sodium down (not eating a lot of processed or takeout food, etc.).

    I hope that makes sense.

    Thanks for figuring all of that up! It's amazing that it's that simple. Consider my mind blown.
  • I do like the x 10 thing. I got high readings with My Fitness Pal. Using this formula, :
    21.6 * Fat Free Mass + 370

    Where Fat Free Mass = Weight - (Body Fat Percentage * Weight).

    The numbers are much different.
  • I haven't heard the multiply by 10 thing before. That works out to what I'm consuming now. I used Spark People. I liked that it gave me a range instead of one number. And I love being able to scan barcodes. Makes it super easy!
  • I use the MYPLATE from livestrong! It is pretty cool. It gives you diagrams and all that stuff. Im trying to lose weight and I put I want to lose 2 lbs a week and that I had a sedentary job. And it told me i could eat 1224 calories. And so far its worked lost 3 lbs already in a week. of course I include exercise .