How many calories do you burn per day?

[JenFZ09]

It's a rare day when I burn 2000 calories or more, even when active, which is typically daily. I'm 5'5" and am 118-120 lbs and run and lift heavy. If I run for six miles and get close to 20,000 steps, I might cross the 2000 calorie mark for that day. I'm in very good shape, if that makes a difference.

So, how many calories do you burn and what are your stats?

[Dominique]

Macros are important, but they come after calories (for weight management): if you want to gain weight, you must make sure you are in a caloric surplus. You can consider macros after that.

130g of protein sounds like a lot for someone your size. A high protein intake commonly recommended for bodybuilders, strength athletes and the like is 0.8 to 1.0g per pound of body weight. In your case (38 kg = 84 lbs), that would be between 67 and 84g, so with 130g you’re consuming almost double that. Protein tends to be more satiating in average than other macros, plus it also takes more time to digest, so no wonder if you feel full with that high (for your size) an intake.

I would suggest you reduce your protein intake to a more "normal" level (e.g. 0.6-0.7g per pound of bodyweight) and increase (healthy) carbs and fats. How you spread it between carbs and fats is up to you and your preferences. The minimum amount of each macronutrient you need for health is very low, so you have a lot of flexibiity in how you allocate your total intake to each macro.

Reducing protein should make it easier for you to eat more, but if you’re still having problems, consider things like limiting fiber-rich carbs and consuming some of your carbs and fats in liquid form (e.g. fruit juice, olive oil).

[misula]

Pfff lets say I eat  1900-2000 And no gaining So if i increase to 2100 And eating just 85g protein (just 15% ) ..could you please suggest the rest of thé macros? 

[Dominique]

Let’s start with macro percentages. Protein is the building block of your body: you need it not only to build new muscle, but also for things like growing your hair,nails etc. Protein intake should therefore be determined in relation to the size of your body, not as a percentage of your total calories. If you have a large body, you need more protein (in absolute terms), if you have a small body, you need less. Carbs are the preferred (*) fuel for your activity: if you are a very active person, you need a lot of carbs to fuel that activity, if you are mostly sedentary, you need far less. Once you have determined protein (based on your size) and carbs (based on your activity), you can fill the rest with fats (based on your goal regarding weight management: do you want to lose, maintain or gain?). 

(*) Some people (proponents of the ketogenic diet and other low-carb diets) chose to reprogram their body to use fats as their main fuel for activity. They only eat the bare minimum of carbs for things like fiber and micronutrients, and fats are their adjusting variable. The idea remains the same, except you switch carbs and fats.

What you see with the above is where macros fall as a percentage of their total calories depends to a large extent on their activity level: for a very active person, carbs will have a bigger share of the total, and protein a smaller share (as in your case: "just" 15%); for a mostly sedentary person, protein will have a higher share of the total (even if it’s the same amount in absolute terms), and carbs a smaller share.

You’re currently eating 130 P, 230 C and 70 F (total calories: 2070). If you were eating "just" 85 P, but would like to increase total calories by – say – 250, you could eat 305 C and 85 F (total calories: 2325), or 270 C and 100 F (total calories: 2320), or any other combination that would result in desired total calories. 

[misula]

thank you for exhausting respond. I cant imagine me eatinng this amout of food...I will rather cut down my steps..i think..

[Dominique]

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@misula wrote:

thank you for exhausting respond. I cant imagine me eatinng this amout of food...I will rather cut down my steps..i think..

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Sorry for having exhausted you with my response . Yes, 2300 calories is certainly a lot of food for someone your size. Reducing your activity level (for instance, as expressed by your average step count) is certainly one option, especially if it’s currently very high (as I suspect): you can still be active enough from a health perspective with a lower activity level. You could also eat foods that have a high caloric density, yet are healthy (most calorically dense foods are unhealthy); one such food is high quality peanut butter (by "high quality", I mean no added salt, sugar, palm oil etc.). Eat a spoon of peanut butter every now and then during the day, this will get you hundreds of extra calories without feeling full.

[WendyB]

@misula  you might want to really read what @Dominique  is saying. he is pretty wise and has helped a lot of people who really want to be helped

[misula]

yes I am very thankfull for his answers 

[misula]

yes I have aaaaaal the myprotein nut butters - almond, casher, triple nut 😄 and I also make my own peanut butter at home 😄 ❤️ I count macros maybe 5years but I am not strict even with the 2000kcal..yesterday I had 1680 (108protein 192carbs 51fat..) and the biggest meal 1-2hour before sleeping 57carbs, 24fat, 44protein..) all wrong I would say 😄

[Dominique]

In your situation, I would stop logging my intake (after 5 years of logging, you most likely have a pretty good idea of what’s going through your mouth) and focus on monitoring the scale to make sure I’m gaining at a steady pace (e.g. 0.25-0.30 kg per week in average). You didn’t mention what your average step count is. I suspect it’s quite high and you could afford to reduce it while still being active enough for your own good.

[misula]

Yes i did mention 🙈 i just walk (very slow pace), not exercise ať all

[misula]

EVery time i redukce my steps it ends up with binges 😭 yesterday 5k kcal today almost 9 😩😩 what should i do? Please

[Dominique]

@misula : if you’re averaging 25-27k steps per day, it’s unusually high, and certainly a lot higher than necessary for your health. If the main purpose of this high stepping is to prevent you from binging, maybe you should look for new hobbies / meaningful ways to spend your free time. Anyway, I maintain 38 kg is not a healthy weight for an adult woman of your height. You should definitely put on some extra weight, though preferably in a controlled manner rather than through wild binging episodes.

[misula]

Everytime i am home i am thinking about food - what when how much..do you think i should go to the gym (strenght trainhing)if i want gain in a “healthy” way?

[Dominique]

I think your obsession with food / tendency to binge is symptomatic of the fact you are not eating enough and are too thin for your own good. It’s your body’s way to signal you should give it more food. You need to accept you could easily be at least 10 kg heavier without having to feel you’re fat. Once you’ve accepted that, you should have a plan to get there in a controlled way, so as to make sure a large portion of the weight gain will come from lean mass (though it’s OK for you to also gain fat, given you likely have very little of it right now). You could start gaining at 1 kg per month for 4 months, then pause and let your body get used to the new weight for a while. Adding resistance training to your routine would also be a good idea. Do you have a friend who could be your gym buddy?

[misula]

yes you are right...I am obsesed with gaining in a "healthy" way, with food and exercise - walkking. 

its also unimaginable for me to have even 5kg more..

no i no have nobody..but i did my training course 2-3years ago and i am personal trainer :DD so I know the technique etc..but i dont feel good in the gym now bcs everyone is staring at me what i am doing there when i am "so skinny" ... maybe its just my head telling me that they are staring at me :D..but sometimes they come to me and ask how old i am or how much i weight and that i should eat...hate it 🙂

[misula]

Hi, look today i didnt go for any extra walk and just 1600kcal 🙈

[Dominique]

Were you able to eat 2000 calories? This is what it would take you (assuming you can consistently do it for several weeks/months) to gain weight and get closer to the normal weight range. 

[robocat]

I'm 5'5" and about 200lbs. Apparently I burn about 1600 just by existing. But on my most active days I burn about 4000 total. Sometimes I get close to 5000 depending on what all I do. Usually just around 3000 calories though. I think fitbit might be overestimating the amount of calories burned by quite a bit lol.

I'm in ok shape. I just really like sports. Play a lot of hockey and like Dance Dance Revolution type of games lol. Sometimes trampoline dodgeball, do some walking for pokemon go, and I got tricked into doing a 5k before by someone telling me it was an obstacle course (which is the sort of thing I like).

Though, I haven't been doing much these past couple of months because my doctor told me I should rest to let some muscles and bones heal...so I've only been burning about 2000 to 2500.

I find that slower pace things don't really seem to burn calories according to fitbit, but going dancing or playing sports seems to have higher calorie burn estimates. Though idk how accurate those estimates are. Though I do notice that running and hockey make me way more ravenous than any other activity, and when I do both in one day I eat about $50 worth of tacos lol.

I don't really have a lot of restraint when doing things I like, so I tend to do them for at least a couple hours at a time, which might be why the numbers seem so big. I guess if fitbit overestimates calorie burn by even 1 cal per minute, then if you're active for hours it multiplies pretty fast.

[Dominique]

@robocat : it’s great you are very active and in good shape. I assume you are on the younger side, which is why you feel unstoppable. However, even though you wrote in another post that "losing weight isn't a priority to you", you may want to consider losing some. Carrying extra weight has effects that accumulate over time. Things like bad joints, high blood pressure, diabetes can take decades to develop. 

[robocat]

Well, if it makes you feel better, my weight can fluctuate 7lbs in one day and I tend to round up to the next 0 when it comes to reporting my weight. It's something I got into the habit of when I was younger because I found people's reactions amusing.

I'm 30, so I am not sure whether you would think that's young. Sometimes people even only a year younger than me think it's "old" lol, but people older always think it's young. And thanks for thinking I'm good shape, lol. I'm really not. Not like I used to be. I just like to do things.

My blood pressure is good and if I weren't taking medication that has the side effect of raising it and my pulse (fitbit says that's 60 btw), it would probably be even lower. My cholesterol says I have negative risk of coronary heart disease. My blood sugar is good according to the doctor. I was concerned about diabetes already since my mother had gestational diabetes when she had me, which is part of why I insisted the doctor look at it, but none of the doctors seemed concerned about it.

I know I weigh too much for my joints. Well, I know it theoretically. My knees seem fine. I injured my ankles years ago playing soccer, but they're fine as long as I wear good shoes if I happen to play soccer again. I don't remember which shoulder I dislocated or which wrist is injured...but I don't do one handed cartwheels anymore or get super gung ho about weight lifting like I used to, so it's not an issue. 

I'm not eating at restaurants as often now so I'll probably lose weight incidentally. Weight will probably stabilize around 180ish. I got an office job a year and a half ago and started eating out almost every meal so I guess I got a bit lazy.

Thanks, for the tips though.