I understand how it works, but have no clue how to āACTUALLYā calculate mine. Before anyone says to āgo online their are calculatorāsā, yes their are there but itās telling me to eat 3,000-4,000 calories a day (through multiple sites, known calculations etc.) Now I have started keeping track of my calorie intake include macros and I know good and well if I ate that many calories Iād be gaining a significant amount of weight. So if someone could point me in the direction of actual way to calculate that, that would be awesome.
Confused about the whole calorie deficit thing. (Please read before commenting)š
- Thread starter barwi
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diannalynn67
New member
@barwi If you're being told to eat 3-4000 calories a day, you're either over 400 pounds or lieing to your calculator about how active you are. A 3500 calorie deficit will lose one pound over any given time period. If you're 120 pounds or 400 pounds, this is true. Eat right and do cardio. The next day, do more cardio. It works. You just have to keep working on it.
@diannalynn67 Nah, you don't need to be 400 pounds or lie to have a 3,000+ calorie TDEE.
For example, a 250 lb man who is moderately active (3-5 workouts/week, pretty typical for people working on losing weight) would have an estimated 3,343 calorie TDEE and would lose weight on 3,000. If someone is bigger and has a job that keeps them on their feet, it could easily be more.
For example, a 250 lb man who is moderately active (3-5 workouts/week, pretty typical for people working on losing weight) would have an estimated 3,343 calorie TDEE and would lose weight on 3,000. If someone is bigger and has a job that keeps them on their feet, it could easily be more.
godislovely85
New member
godheartsus
New member
@diannalynn67 I weigh 251, workout 4-5 days a week, and have a physical job.
The calorie deficit calculator told me to eat 2000-2500 calories a day to maintain/lose 1lb a week.
I went from eating 1000-1500 to what the calculator recommended and I kid you not, I started losing. How? No clue lol.
If you donāt mind me asking, whatās your build?
Side note, if you start watching your carbs, a friend told me that to maintain your weight, one carb per pound of your body weight is enough to maintain it.
To lose weight, you must lower your carb intake to less than what you weigh. It worked for me, maybe it can for you too?
Good luck, hope you find your answers!
The calorie deficit calculator told me to eat 2000-2500 calories a day to maintain/lose 1lb a week.
I went from eating 1000-1500 to what the calculator recommended and I kid you not, I started losing. How? No clue lol.
If you donāt mind me asking, whatās your build?
Side note, if you start watching your carbs, a friend told me that to maintain your weight, one carb per pound of your body weight is enough to maintain it.
To lose weight, you must lower your carb intake to less than what you weigh. It worked for me, maybe it can for you too?
Good luck, hope you find your answers!
@godheartsus The reason you lost weight by eating more is metabolism. When you eat too little, your metabolism slows down - it tries to conserve energy. Your digestion slows, your blood pressure becomes too low, your heart rate drops. You might feel tired and light headed. When you eat more, your metabolism increases. It's like comparing a small fire to a raging bonfire. You throw a log on the small one, it takes a long time for it to burn; whereas when you thrown it on the raging bonfire, it burns quickly and it's a hot fire.
@maurie I love this comment and is exactly what Iām needing and looking for but itās about finding the balance. I feel like Iāve been overeating which is my recommendation from the apps, so I did the opposite and ate less calories but nothing changes. Itās like Iām stuck, no matter the exercise no matter the food.
@barwi This is exactly what makes it hard to lose weight. Finding that balance is hard. It might be useful to connect with a dietitian - they know a lot about nutrition and metabolism.
Another possibility is the idea that each person has an ideal weight where their body functions best. If you are at this weight, it might be better to focus on finding loving ways to accept your weight. All bodies are beautiful, and if you radiate that beauty from within, you will be irresistible.
Another possibility is the idea that each person has an ideal weight where their body functions best. If you are at this weight, it might be better to focus on finding loving ways to accept your weight. All bodies are beautiful, and if you radiate that beauty from within, you will be irresistible.
@maurie At 320 I donāt love my body at all. Since I was 11 Iāve just grown and ate without concern for my life or health. Iām 21 now and Iām trying to turn my life around, I wake every morning feeling horrible. My body fat percentage is like %47 Iām trying my hardest. Got a dna test to try and see what helps and what doesnāt. Wish me luck
@godheartsus I weigh 320, workout 6 days a week, and also have a physical job.
Your recommendation from you app makes since, in that you actually pulled results. Problem is Iāve been eating the amount of calories for years on a daily basis, that is WHY Iām overweight in the first place. While I am 320 I donāt feel like it nor do I look like it. I do look overweight (Iād say I physically look 270-280) ive been working out for a month and a half and have no problems completing workouts anyone else would.
Your recommendation from you app makes since, in that you actually pulled results. Problem is Iāve been eating the amount of calories for years on a daily basis, that is WHY Iām overweight in the first place. While I am 320 I donāt feel like it nor do I look like it. I do look overweight (Iād say I physically look 270-280) ive been working out for a month and a half and have no problems completing workouts anyone else would.
godheartsus
New member
@barwi Yeah I would def try lowering them from what the calculator is telling you.
If youāre 320 and the calculator is telling you to eat 3200-4000 calories, go lower to around 2000-2500 and see if anything changes.
Also try intermittent fasting, it helped me a lot. I had a hard time not eating later in the evenings, so I started eating at 12:30 in the afternoon to about 8:00 that night, and the numbers dropped.
Currently in a plateau at the moment, so Iām upping my carbs to see if that helps.
If youāre 320 and the calculator is telling you to eat 3200-4000 calories, go lower to around 2000-2500 and see if anything changes.
Also try intermittent fasting, it helped me a lot. I had a hard time not eating later in the evenings, so I started eating at 12:30 in the afternoon to about 8:00 that night, and the numbers dropped.
Currently in a plateau at the moment, so Iām upping my carbs to see if that helps.
@diannalynn67 Iām 21 yrs old and 320 ibs. I do a lot of lifting at my job, and workout a lot. Problem is everything I eat basically stays with me which is super hard for me to burn off. I have dna results which tell me itās more difficult to get rid of a pound that Iāve gained, every app tells me a ridiculous amount of calories and knowing good and well Iāve already been eating around that amount to get to where I am now is not very helpful. Iām completely truthful in all my inputs with each app.
diannalynn67
New member
@barwi Iād echo what was said above in regard to the number you got. The calculators usually include a multiplier for activity - donāt think how much do you work out, how active are you daily? Unless youāre in construction or something extremely active, use the lowest multiplier and youāll probably be much close to your estimate.
Then I would use several calculators and pick a number thatās somewhere around the average of all of them.
Thatās your starting point. From there, track your calories as you have been and hit that target. Take an average of your weight one week and compare it to the average the next week, or use an app like Happy Scale to see a moving average of your weight. If you have gone up, itās a surplus, down is a deficit, and stayed roughly the same maintenence. From there, adjust your calories by 1-200 and continue tracking and monitoring. If you are in a deficit, look for a rate of weight loss of about 1 lb per week. Adjust calories on a weekly basis to stay at that rate.
The bottom line is that there is no accurate calculation to start you on - itās a process. The good news is that once you do it consistently for a while, it becomes easier to figure out how much to add or subtract to manipulate your weight, and you can do it intuitively rather than tracking religiously.
Then I would use several calculators and pick a number thatās somewhere around the average of all of them.
Thatās your starting point. From there, track your calories as you have been and hit that target. Take an average of your weight one week and compare it to the average the next week, or use an app like Happy Scale to see a moving average of your weight. If you have gone up, itās a surplus, down is a deficit, and stayed roughly the same maintenence. From there, adjust your calories by 1-200 and continue tracking and monitoring. If you are in a deficit, look for a rate of weight loss of about 1 lb per week. Adjust calories on a weekly basis to stay at that rate.
The bottom line is that there is no accurate calculation to start you on - itās a process. The good news is that once you do it consistently for a while, it becomes easier to figure out how much to add or subtract to manipulate your weight, and you can do it intuitively rather than tracking religiously.
@barwi
- Take a guess. If think 3,000-4,000 is too much, try 2,700. (Or whatever number makes sense to you.)
- Eat that for two weeks.
- If your weight stays the same, you were correct. If you lose a pound or two, you're probably at a good number for weight loss. If you gain weight the number was too high. If you feel hungry and tired all the time the number was too low.
@barwi I struggled with online TDEE calculators too. I now use this online Google sheets TDEE calculator which has helped me better calculate my TDEE based on regular inputs of calories in and weight. It has spaces for daily, but it will still calculate if you miss days/canāt do daily. The online calculators had me at 300 calories off from this calculator, which made a big difference to the sustainability of my diet. (I take my weight every morning after going to the bathroom, before eating to be consistent and not have to second guess fluctuations.)
As for macros, I used Cheat Day Design. I find that focusing on the protein macro alone generally allows me to meet my other macros inadvertently.
As for macros, I used Cheat Day Design. I find that focusing on the protein macro alone generally allows me to meet my other macros inadvertently.
troller_dog
New member
@barwi I put a lot of trust in myfitnesspal.com and it worked for
Me to lose 120 lbsā¦when you register
You put in your age, current weight (be honest! Please), and height and it will give you your ācalorie goalā. If you have a Fitbit and or otherwise ālogā workouts (calorie burn) it will then āgive youā more calories to eatā¦I personally never āate backā my calories though as I never seen a need NOR an āurgeā to eat back my calories.
Once you start watching what you eat(youāll feel guilty logging that 130 calories candy bar for sure! I know I did lol)
It promotes healthy eating for sureā¦I also used a digital kitchen scale to accurately log all my āportionsā since I found very quicklyā¦my daily ācereal bowlā was more closer to 2-3 SERVINGSā¦
Me to lose 120 lbsā¦when you register
You put in your age, current weight (be honest! Please), and height and it will give you your ācalorie goalā. If you have a Fitbit and or otherwise ālogā workouts (calorie burn) it will then āgive youā more calories to eatā¦I personally never āate backā my calories though as I never seen a need NOR an āurgeā to eat back my calories.
Once you start watching what you eat(youāll feel guilty logging that 130 calories candy bar for sure! I know I did lol)
It promotes healthy eating for sureā¦I also used a digital kitchen scale to accurately log all my āportionsā since I found very quicklyā¦my daily ācereal bowlā was more closer to 2-3 SERVINGSā¦
@troller_dog Told me 3,600 caloriesā¦