Appropriate number of calories to shoot for??

[KimShea]

I'm trying to figure out what I should be shooting for, calorie wise.  I know this differs depending on the person, but i'm a 5'4" 45 year old woman.  MyFitnessPal when I tell it to calculate it for me, and just shooting for a 1lb weekly loss is suggesting 1510, but that is a lot higher than I thought it should be? 

If anyone is willing to share numbers or insight, I'd appreciate the info!

[emili]

Hello! You need to start with calories you burn without doing anything but normal living. there are 100 different calculators on line to help you figure it out. you will need your age, weight, height, and activity level. Once you have that number- you will need to do some math. If you want to lose, you want to reduce that number by a certain percent. If you plan on exercising, you need to estimate how many calories you will burn and then figure out do you need to add calories back in or are you comfy being at a more reduced percentage. A safe number is 1200 for most women. When I was losing, I reduced it by much more, which is not for everyone, not suggesting it, but it worked for me. I lost a lot in a short period of time and have been holding steady for over a year. I exercise a lot, eat very healthy and stay within a calorie range that works for my body. the best advise I can give you is, start with a number and adjust as you go. everyone responds different- you will figure it out.

[DJC_63]

For the first six months I had my fitbit I just let it track what I burned each day, and I used what it had set for my "calorie burn goal", which was 2,493.  I made that my main goal so that if I hit that amount burned I got notified.  I input my food but not consistently. I usually made sure that what I ate was always less than what I burned.

Then I discovered that I could tell Fitbit how much I wanted to lose and it let me choose from 4 different "plans".  I chose the 3rd most aggressive plan to lose 35 pounds by March, I think.  Once I chose that I got diligent about inputting everything I eat every day into the Food log.  It tells me how many calories I can eat each day depending on my activity level. If I do more, I can eat more. On the days that I don't do much of anything it seems to set my max calories around 1100 - 1200.  I'm 53 and 5'9", if that matters.  I don't think it does - all it looks at it how much I want to lose, what I burn each day and what I eat each day.  It's been very helpful for me.

I notice that on days where I don't go anywhere I tend to eat more and do less. Also I'm not losing at quite the rate that I'd like, but I have been lifting weights and doing Pilates to build more muscle.  So my steps aren't as much as other peoples, but I'm still getting smaller because my muscles are being built back up.  I hope this helps!

[IamRBrown]

Here is what I use for calculating my calorie intake:

(Target Weight * Metabolism Rate)+Calories burned = Calories allowed

Where:

• target weight is where you want to be
• metabolism rate = usually around 10 for average person (I am almost 50 and have a mostly desk job - I use 7)
• Calorie burn can be taken from fitbit or from a known accurate tracking source (my LG phone has LG Health & it is really accurate for walking/running (even tho I don't run...), so I use it - it is more accurate than the fitbit is IMO.)

Hope this helps a little...  it may not be the best method for calculating & you will have to play with the metabolism factor a little to see where you begin to lose at, but it is working for me.

Good luck on your progress!

Ruth

[Heybales]

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@KimShea wrote:

I'm trying to figure out what I should be shooting for, calorie wise.  I know this differs depending on the person, but i'm a 5'4" 45 year old woman.  MyFitnessPal when I tell it to calculate it for me, and just shooting for a 1lb weekly loss is suggesting 1510, but that is a lot higher than I thought it should be? 

If anyone is willing to share numbers or insight, I'd appreciate the info!

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Be aware that the MFP suggestion is based on YOUR selection of activity level outside of exercise - and NO exercise accounted for. Hopefully you guessed right, but how would you know?

Did you select sedentary? Do you have kids? If that little head in the picture is your kid's - Sedentary is not true.

So if you are as active as you selected - and you do no exercise - then indeed 1510 would be rough estimate.

Why do you think that sounds higher than it should be?

Do you have any experience with actual daily calorie burns - or merely the fad/extreme diets you see in magazines and websites starting at 1200?

And if you are using Fitbit - why use MFP's estimate of no exercise day and your hopeful guess of activity level - when MFP is willing to correct itself based on what your Fitbit actually tells it?

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10098937/faq-syncing-logging-food-exercise-calorie-a...