How Many Calories??

deanie

deanie

Cathlete
I posted this on the open discussion forum, hoping maybe someone here knows?
TIA

Hi all

I started tracking my calories at Fitday last week. According to fitday, someone my age (43) and weight 122 and height 5'3" and activity level/workouts should be eating:
2531 calories on weight days
3001 calories on cardio days
they both seem VERY high!
I was eating about 1700ish each day, and I am a little hungry so I was going to bump it up to 2000. but 2531??:eek::eek:!!! That seems so much.
Let me just add- , I am a size 0 or 2 petite, and I am not looking to lose weight. I also agree with the food ratios they gave me of:
carbs 45-65%
protein 10-35%
fat 20-35%
which I am within on a daily basis.
.

Does any one have any experience with fitday? Do those calories it is recommending seem really out of whack??? or is it just me? I've never counted calories before, I've never been overweight, just tried to eat right. I chose fitday over Cathe's nutrition report card because its free and $$ is tight.
__________________
 
I'm not familiar with Fitday, but I'm 5'9 and 128 lbs and exercise about 2-3 hours a day and I eat 2500 calories on a low activity day, so to me those ratios do seem a bit high for someone petite like you. I would say 2000 seems more accurate, maybe 2200 on higher cardio days. Really though, equations are good estimates, but the best way to know for sure is to just keep trying new things and seeing how your body responds. If you are in tune with your body, you will know if you are getting too many calories or too many. You said you feel hungry which probably means you are either, a.) in need of more calories or b.) in need of more nutrient rich food instead of processed food to meet your nutrient needs. But without knowing how you eat, I can't say for sure. I know my body needs lots of healthy carbs and lots of fibrous veggies. My body does not do well with alot of protein or a lot of fruit. But what works for me, might not work for you, because every body is differnt.
Hope that helps.
 
everyone has different calorie needs based on their own metabolism and activity level. the guides are just generic and are often overstated. you will need to find the level of calories that works for you. Do this by tracking your calories and your weight and see how different level of calories impact your results.
 
DeanaMax said:
everyone has different calorie needs based on their own metabolism and activity level. the guides are just generic and are often overstated. you will need to find the level of calories that works for you. Do this by tracking your calories and your weight and see how different level of calories impact your results.
Click to expand...

Ditto to DeanaMax. I have used FitDay.com and I find their #'s are higher than I would use. Even though it is more time consuming, the best way is to track your calories and weight for a week and see how it changes. Then adjust for active days, rest days, etc...

Davina
 
Deanie,

I started logging my foods on fitday also, but what part of the site tells you what your calorie intake/ratio should be? I couldn't find it. I'm 5'7, 150, 42
 
Hi! Ive never tried fitday but I do use another food tracking website...myfitnesspal.com...ive had success with it so far!

Good Luck!:)
 
I need to loose 80 pounds and am trying to figure what my calorie intake should be. Can someone help me figure this out?
 
deanie said:
I posted this on the open discussion forum, hoping maybe someone here knows?
TIA

Hi all

I started tracking my calories at Fitday last week. According to fitday, someone my age (43) and weight 122 and height 5'3" and activity level/workouts should be eating:
2531 calories on weight days
3001 calories on cardio days
they both seem VERY high!
I was eating about 1700ish each day, and I am a little hungry so I was going to bump it up to 2000. but 2531??:eek::eek:!!! That seems so much.
Let me just add- , I am a size 0 or 2 petite, and I am not looking to lose weight. I also agree with the food ratios they gave me of:
carbs 45-65%
protein 10-35%
fat 20-35%
which I am within on a daily basis.
.

Does any one have any experience with fitday? Do those calories it is recommending seem really out of whack??? or is it just me? I've never counted calories before, I've never been overweight, just tried to eat right. I chose fitday over Cathe's nutrition report card because its free and $$ is tight.
__________________
Click to expand...
wow, I dint know that you can do all that online... Oh sorry my name is Diana new on the cathe nation. I am from Hawaii, and trying to improve on my eating habbist, I am 45 yrs 5 2" and weight 108lb I workout just about every day of the week leaving 2 days off
my goals are to gain weight but on muscle mass. to all of you thank you for sharing!!!
 
AaW said:
I need to loose 80 pounds and am trying to figure what my calorie intake should be. Can someone help me figure this out?
Click to expand...


Google Calorie Caculater...ther are serveral websites that have them. The website i mentioned earlier also has a calorie calculater.

good luck! :)
 
Here's an equation to figure it out, if you feel like doing that kind of stuff. : ) Of course, it's not exact science, but it's a good guess at your BMR. It takes into account the amount of lean/non-lean mass you have, so it can be more accurate than other methods that don't. It's from Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. You have to know your body fat %, though.

BMR (basal metabolic rate)= 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

Example:
You weigh 172 lbs (78 kilos), your body fat is 14% (24.1 lbs fat, 147.9 lbs lean)
Your lean mass of 147.9 lbs = 67.2 kilos
Your BMR then = 370 + (21.6 X 67.2) = 1821 calories

You also have to take into account your TDEE
To determine TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) from BMR, multiply BMR by the activity factor:
Continuing with the previous example:
Your BMR is 1821
Your activity level is moderately active (you work out 3-4 times per week), so activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1821 = 2822 calories to maintain your weight

Here are the activity factors:
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2 X day training, marathon, football camp, contest, etc.)
 
I'm new to Cathe's website as well, and have been using the workout manager. What about her Nutrition program? It seems to be very thorough and would help anyone counting calories. I haven't purchase the program yet, but was wondering how people feel about it before it purchase it.

Thanks.
 
Hi Workoutholic,

the calculation for my calorie intake is about 2100 (can't remember the exact number which is at home).

I've been eating about 1400 -1500 or 1800 calories at the most. Have I ruined my metabolism? Should I up my calorie intake to that 2100 number for a while so I have a normal metabolism and then take it down to about 300 - 500 caloric deficit? How should I proceed?

Please help :(

Thanks,
TG
 
Eat more....weigh less

I spent years eating ~1500kc/day.
I'm 5'8" tall
I have 135" of lean body mass
I do strength training 3-4 days a week
I do cardio training 4-3 days a week

5 weeks ago I starting GRADUALLY increasing my calories.
I'm now at between 1800-2200kc/d

I feel SO MUCH BETTER....
My workouts are more focused and I can LAST to the end of Cathe without dying.
My pants are getting looser
My arms are gaining so much definition.

AND.....all of my 'hypothyroid' symptoms are GONE.

I didn't know that the symptoms of STARVATION are pretty much the same as those of hypothyroidism. (My thyroid tests are normal....)

I simply wasn't eating enough calories (not talking junk here, talking clean vegetarian foods)

There is a HUGE difference between a PIG OUT and eating high calorie, nutrient rich foods.

I love it!!!

(thanks for the post....I think more women should realize that to make muscles you need calories.....I read this week somewhere that it takes ~2700 calories to make one pound of muscle. ....I hope I quoted right...I loaned the book "New rules for lifting" to my boss, so can't get the exact number.)

Bon Appetite`
 
Man, this seems to be a confusing subject for everyone. I recently started using livestrong.com's the daily plate to track my calories because I just really didn't know if I was over-eating or not.

Jodelle had given me a formula to calculate my base calorie intake, and it seems to jive with the calculation at livestrong. So, it says that for me to lose 1 pound per week (which weight loss is not my goal: fat loss is), I should eat around 1716 cals per day. I see alot of confusion in their forums as to what that means: that your NET calories (after working out) should equal the total calculated for you, or is that the total for the whole day, no matter what.

Folks on that site seem to say that you should eat back the calories you burn so that your NET calories are equal to whatever your total should be because the deficit to lose weight is already calculated into the equation.

Some days I struggle to even get to 1716 calories, and that is BEFORE my workout, which usually takes off quite a bit. If I tried to eat those calories back, I'd be eating all day, and feel like a pig. I don't eat as much as I thought (most of the time). I don't feel weak or tired, and if I get hungry I make sure to eat.

So what ARE you supposed to do?? I know you have to fuel the body to grow muscle and have energy. I don't want to have too large a deficit and undo the hard work I do each day. I'm trying to build my muscle, not lose it.


I think we all need some HELP :confused:
 
LastTango...you ask the BEST questions!! I'll try to make sense as I do my best to answer. Fyi, and for the record, I am not a certified nutritionist, but I do feel confident as a qualified nutritionist and as a certified personal trainer who works up meals plans based on each of my clients individual caloric needs. That being said, remember that when you worked the formula, it gives you your maintenance level for your activity plus your body shape size, and age, then you eat 300-500 below that to lose. So it's already factored in your exercise, therefore if you eat back the calories you burned you would just be back to the maintenance level, and maintain the weight you are at, not gaining but not losing. Whereas if you eat at the 300-500 below your maintenance level you will be losing, because diet and exercise combined make a great team for weight loss....does that make sense?
I hope so!:O)

Here's a website that makes some sense about it too (just in case I didn't)

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-c...ct-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php
 
Jodelle,

I think you are right. You shouldn't eat back those calories you burn; that would be counter-productive to the goal of weight/fat loss. Calorie intake varies from day to day, so exercise is just a bonus to help make up for any slip-ups during the week.

I guess as long as you feel good, and not weak or tired, then you are getting the calories you need.

Thanks for the info.
 
You got it...it's all about listening to your body. If you are constantly hungry then obviously your body is telling you it needs more nutrition. If you are feeling good, eating consistenly healthy foods and have good energy, obviously your body is saying you are on track! The body has ways of telling us what it needs and doesn't need, if we will only listen.
 
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