How do you know how many calories you're having?

[guiltynetter]

Just started calorie counting, my fitness pal says I need 1200 a day, but Im struggling a bit to fit that in! I have done it and I lost 4lb last week but my tea in particular is always small and I often feel hungry afterwards. I follow some ladies on Instagram who seem the same size as me (often bigger sometimes) and they're having 1,700-1800 a day... How do i know how many to stick to or should I just trust in fitness pal? I don't do any exercise at the minute if that makes a difference.

Google TDEE calculator for a more accurate calorie number.

That's far too low. There's no point doing it because it's not sustainable. Your body will be thinking 'where is all the food!?' And will start clinging on to what it can.

Google 'TDEE calculator' online and work out what your body actually uses day to day.

It doesn't matter, because we are all different, but my TDEE just to maintain my body and weight day to day is 1864 kcals. So I made a calorie deficit of 200ish cals a day and still to under 1600.

I remember the days of MFP getting me to try and stick to 1200 and it was miserable. I was hungry all the time and as soon as I stopped I piled the weight back on. 1600 is just right for me. The weight loss will be slower, which is a good thing! I just want it to be sustainable, otherwise I'm wasting my time.

Also gyming a few times a week.

Thanks loads, I've done the calculator and it says to maintain (which obviously I don't want to do) is 1877, how do I know what to stick to to lose weight? I'd love to lose 2lb a week, I have around 4 stone to lose.

So you just need to reduce that amount by 500 calories a day to lose a lb a week or 1000 calories a day to lose 2lbs. Judging by your maintence calories I would assume you're already within a healthy weight range though.

Technically it's 3500 calories per pound, so you'd need to drop 7000 calories a week to lose 2lbs. Which means eating 7000 calories less, burning 7000 more or a combination of the two.

It's actually more complicated than that as our bodies process calories from different sources in different ways, but for pure calorie counting diets, that's basically it.
So eating 1200 a day and burning 300 through exercise would get you to a 1000 a day defect. Roughly.

It's not quite that black and white and that would be a miserable way to lose weight, IMO but that's the 'science' behind it.

Defect, not defect!

Calories are a red herring.

Has taken me a decade to realise that.

Watch Fat Fiction on Amazon Prime.

I don't count my calories at all. Am now lighter than I was at 15.

Intermittent Fasting + low carb. (Not Keto low, just low)

So if you minus the recommended 500 cals off your TDEE that leaves you with a daily 'allowance' of 1377. That'll be a loss of around 1 lb a week.

That sounds most achievable to me.

Like you said, trying to live off 1200 is miserable and very difficult.

Sustainability is key.

@JustMary

So you just need to reduce that amount by 500 calories a day to lose a lb a week or 1000 calories a day to lose 2lbs. Judging by your maintence calories I would assume you're already within a healthy weight range though.

I'm definitely not in a healthy weight range! I wish I was 😊

Gosh so for 2lb a week I'd have to go to 800 calories which is definitely not sustainable when I'm struggling on 1200 ha. Maybe I'll go back to slimming world 🙈

Please stop stressing calories.

Read about insulin resistance and if that sounds like you. X

Don't stress about it needing to be 2lb a week - go for 1 or even 0.5 and see what you are really losing week upon week, adjusting it as and when you need to. The calorie estimate isn't infallible. I set MFP up to lose 0.5 and consistently lost 1lb a week on average. I only felt hungry the first week or so after adjusting from some serious overeating.

Hi @guiltynetter

Use this website to get your maintenance calories. Then scroll down the page to 'macronutrients' and click on the 'cutting' tab. It then tells you how much you need to cut down to in order to lose weight.

For my size and activity levels I'm on 1988 a day and the weight is coming off.

Also I really recommend nutracheck app- I moved to it from MFP and find it LOADS easier. Its a couple of quid a month, I bought the yearly one for £25 as figured that was a month of SW fees.

I personally use www.fatsecret.com/, it has a huge base of products and premade dishes and the app works fine on my old Android.

It's hard to track the calories burnt so I watch the intake only and try to stay within my daily norm (don't trust the stuff they write about 2000 calories you need per day basing on your age, use formulas that take your weight, height and average activity under consideration).

I also try to watch proteins so that there would be enough and have motivational pics of a slimmer me printed and placed everywhere (it really works wonders when you see how you can be, so try something like PicsArt or Photodiva for that, too, if you struggle with motivation).

Don't be too obsessed with numbers though, it's easy to get symptoms of an eating disorder after using calorie calculators. Try to have a balance and do not cut your favorite food off completely, enjoy it within your norm instead. Losing weight should be comfortable, this is the main thing that I've learned so far.

The pp is right, you work out what you need to maintain then 500 calories under a day equals a pound a week weight loss and then 1000 under is two pounds a week. Your maintenance level does seem quite low though are you sure? Can you post height and weight?

I'm on a course run by our local dietitians. Even they have moved away from calorie counting & more to portion control, using hand sizes.

It's described well by the resources on Precision Nutrition's website.

Are you short? I'm 5'2" and my calories are low. I tend to do 1200 when I'm losing weight, at the moment I'm almost where I want to be so I'm probably doing about 1500 a day and losing very slow. However that is net, I almost always do a long walk so I can eat the extra calories I've earned. My maintenance calories would be 1700-1800.

I'm feeling a bit spacey today, I was hungry when I woke so have had a oat milk latte (I don't drink cows milk)

I've two boiled eggs, apple, banana and melon packed for my lunch and am planning on steak for dinner

I'm eating 2400 calories a day. I'm pregnant and over weight. My dietician said this is a suitable amount. I've lost weight and I'm in the second trimester. Once baby is here she has recommended lowering it by 200/300 per day to continue the weight loss. That's just me though, I'm 6ft and quite heavy

Sorry wrong thread!

@guiltynetter

Thanks loads, I've done the calculator and it says to maintain (which obviously I don't want to do) is 1877, how do I know what to stick to to lose weight? I'd love to lose 2lb a week, I have around 4 stone to lose.

A lb of fat is 3500 calories. So you’ll loose 1 lb a week by cutting down 500 cal per day, 2lb by cutting down 1000 cal per day. In theory!

@Bluntness100

The pp is right, you work out what you need to maintain then 500 calories under a day equals a pound a week weight loss and then 1000 under is two pounds a week. Your maintenance level does seem quite low though are you sure? Can you post height and weight?

5' 4" and 14 stone.

@guiltynetter can you download nutracheck? They go on height, weight and exercise level. They will work out your calories depending on how much you want to lose. You can also edit the calorie system by having easier days so it takes away calories on certain days and gives you more. Example, if you go out for dinner on a certain day. It's easy to log in the food you have eaten by a simple search or scanning the barcode.

I know i should be looking at it as a healthy lifestyle forever rather than a diet but I feel I can't really do that. 1lb a week isn't enough for me, it would mean not eating anything I enjoyed for close to a year and I'm not sure I have the willpower! Since I've started the 1200 calories (obviously I'm only on my second week) I'm grumpy and horrible all the time 🙈 but I'm hoping it'll get better and the thought of being able to buy nicer clothes and not feel so ginormous is spurring me on.

[quote overtherainbo]@guiltynetter can you download nutracheck? They go on height, weight and exercise level. They will work out your calories depending on how much you want to lose. You can also edit the calorie system by having easier days so it takes away calories on certain days and gives you more. Example, if you go out for dinner on a certain day. It's easy to log in the food you have eaten by a simple search or scanning the barcode. [/quote]
I will have a look now, thank you.