How many calories?

sammyzip50

Silver Member
Interested to know:

How many calories people are eating?

How have you worked it out?

Consider exercise in your calculation?

Reassessing calorie intake when you've lost weight, when and how much?

Thanks!
 
I aim for 1,400 calories six days a week, with more like 1,800 on a Sunday (treat day!). For me, that's more or less maintenance level now. I started off on 1,800-2,000 a day, then gradually reduced it as I lost weight. I've never calculated it particularly scientifically, just experimented in order to find out what worked! No exercise for me. :) xx
 
Hiya, I'm just starting back on calorie counting. I have between 1500-1800 cals a day depending on how much exercise I've been doing. It generally works out as 1500 cals net after deducting my exercise cals.

I set this as my limit because it means I can still eat the foods I enjoy in moderation, without being hungry and in theory I should still lose weight.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I have about 1500 cals a day. I lost 8 lbs in June and the last 3 weeks or so it's been a nightmare. The first week my weight sts and put this down to totm expecting a loss the week after. The scales reluctantly budging down a pound. Then I gained a pound and put that down to exercise increase. Neither less I should losing steadily. I found a link to work it all out. I can maintain at 2396 cals and if I drop 500 cals should lose a pound and so forth. In fact if I ate more over 1600 cals I should lose 1.5 pounds based on exercise per week. I'm not really losing on 1500 cals even with exercise. Don't know what to do. I'm losing focus and eating more as results are the same. It's too early to plateau. Any thoughts?


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I lost 8 lbs in June and the last 3 weeks or so it's been a nightmare. The first week my weight sts and put this down to totm expecting a loss the week after. The scales reluctantly budging down a pound. Then I gained a pound and put that down to exercise increase.

So you lost 8lbs in June then you STS then lost 1lb then gained 1lb.... that's not a plataeu. And 3 weeks isn't really long enough to make a judgement on your intake being correct. It could be anything. The heat, hormones, lack of sleep, more stress, less stress etc...

This is my weight loss this year (the minuses are gains). Weight loss isn't linear.
Difference
-1.0
2.8
0.4
0.0
0.0
3.8
0.6
0.7
0.9
-0.6
1.8
1.4
2.4
3.0
0.0
0.0
-1.6
0.0
4.4
0.0
-1.6
2.8
-0.4
-0.8
0.0
0.2
1.4
2.4

Oh. I'm on 1700 NET calories. Which usually equates to a food intake of 1900 - 2100 calories per day. I haven't readjusted because 1700 is my maintanence number for my goal weight, so i'm just going with that til the end (maybe a slight drop down when I get real close!)
 
Hi Stackhead,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Looks like I need to be more patient. I gained two pounds today but then I have eaten more over the weekend, first time since I started in June. I think I will have to plod along and 1500 cals is okay since most can eat more and still lose. I have been under a lot of stress lately and the fluctuation of the weather doesn't help. Not expecting much now for the next two weeks and its TOTM again soon. Really hope by the end of July there looks like some weight loss.
 
Hi Stackhead,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Looks like I need to be more patient. I gained two pounds today but then I have eaten more over the weekend, first time since I started in June. I think I will have to plod along and 1500 cals is okay since most can eat more and still lose. I have been under a lot of stress lately and the fluctuation of the weather doesn't help. Not expecting much now for the next two weeks and its TOTM again soon. Really hope by the end of July there looks like some weight loss.

Patience is key and it can be so frustrating. I had a month of STS and 1 gain and I nearly threw the scales out of the window!

You've just got to trust that the deficit you're creating is working, and it does (honestly it does) eventually all even out in the end!
 
Patience is key and it can be so frustrating. I had a month of STS and 1 gain and I nearly threw the scales out of the window!

You've just got to trust that the deficit you're creating is working, and it does (honestly it does) eventually all even out in the end!

Was your calorie intake consistent during this time?
 
I worked out my TDEE and worked out the cals I need to lose weight (20%) which is 1580 cals.

Going to stick to this and review if my exercise levels change, stop losing weight and when I lose 7 lbs.

Going to focus on the month.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I have about 1500 cals a day. I lost 8 lbs in June and the last 3 weeks or so it's been a nightmare. The first week my weight sts and put this down to totm expecting a loss the week after. The scales reluctantly budging down a pound. Then I gained a pound and put that down to exercise increase. Neither less I should losing steadily. I found a link to work it all out. I can maintain at 2396 cals and if I drop 500 cals should lose a pound and so forth. In fact if I ate more over 1600 cals I should lose 1.5 pounds based on exercise per week. I'm not really losing on 1500 cals even with exercise. Don't know what to do. I'm losing focus and eating more as results are the same. It's too early to plateau. Any thoughts?

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Are you eating just 1500 calories or are you eating back your exercise calories as well (so having 1500 net)?

Be careful with your exercise calories as you could be allowing for more than you've actually burned. Even when eating back my exercise calories, I will not eat more than 2000 cals a day.

I would advise going back to basics and being meticulous with weighing, measuring and recording everything you're eating.

To be honest, I am in my early days here. I am also less concerned with my weight loss as I have been previously. I started back calorie counting and exercising as a way of gaining control of my binge eating and finding a happy weight in the process. What the scales say week in week out is of little consequence to me right now.
 
Are you eating just 1500 calories or are you eating back your exercise calories as well (so having 1500 net)?

Be careful with your exercise calories as you could be allowing for more than you've actually burned. Even when eating back my exercise calories, I will not eat more than 2000 cals a day.

Is there any reason why you won't eat more than 2000 calories per day?! I mean if you're doing the NET method? Just curious.

I would advise going back to basics and being meticulous with weighing, measuring and recording everything you're eating.

Yes to the above. Can not stress enough how important it is to log everything. Anything and everything that isn't water should be logged.

To be honest, I am in my early days here. I am also less concerned with my weight loss as I have been previously. I started back calorie counting and exercising as a way of gaining control of my binge eating and finding a happy weight in the process. What the scales say week in week out is of little consequence to me right now.

Yes. And No.

What the scales say week in, week out is also of little consequence to me. Its the general trend that I'm concerned with.

The thing about calorie counting is that you need to use it as a tool for eating for the rest of your life, when you get that settled in your head then everything else just happens naturally.
 
Hi Ladies!

I have 1500 cals worked out on light exercise per week. Is that considered a net calorie intake? I mean some people eat their exercise allowance? I eat 1500 and exercise on top.

I use MFP and weigh etc. I don't estimate. In fact the bar scanning on some items are over the product calories do I manually add them to tighten up.
 
Hi Ladies!

I have 1500 cals worked out on light exercise per week. Is that considered a net calorie intake? I mean some people eat their exercise allowance? I eat 1500 and exercise on top.

I use MFP and weigh etc. I don't estimate. In fact the bar scanning on some items are over the product calories do I manually add them to tighten up.

So the two methods are calorie goal + exercise calories, so say your goal is 1200 calories, you earn 300 from exercising so you eat 1500, but you NET 1200 (1500 - 300 = 1200), so you're still hitting your goal. This is the MFP method.

If you worked out your TDEE the exercise calories are included in the calculation so if your goal is 1200, you eat 1200 regardless of how many calories you earn from exercise.

Make sense?
 
Stackhead, I haven't eaten over 2000 cals yet just for my own weirdness really! I want to make sure I keep some kind of deficit and I am quite distrusting of my exercise calories being too generous. For me to eat over 2000 cals does mean a lot of exercise for me anyway so it wouldn't happen too often.
 
The last twice I've dieted I've eaten as little as possible. This time round I'll be going to my calorie limit and staying there. I want this to be maintainable nt a quick fix this time round.
 
I have been having 1,200 - 1,300 calories a day, divided into

breakfast - 250
snack - 100
lunch -350
snack - 150
dinner - 350

i also work out 4-5 times a week burning 300-500 calories each time. i don't eat those back.

i am almost in my healthy weight bmi and getting close to my target
 
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