Calculating Calorie Intake

I’m a 200 lb 30 year old man, and I exercise at least 30 minutes a day with a variation of sprinting, tabatas, plyo and weight training. My goal is to drop 10-15 more pounds of fat.

I’m having a hard time finding the most accurate method of determining the amount of calories I need to eat to lose and maintain weight. I love the DB tools, but comparing the numbers with other calculators and formulas, I get hugely varying answers.

For example, one source said I needed to eat 2800 calories per day to maintain weight; another said 3091. This sounds like a huge amount of food that should lead to weight gain. The calculators also said that I should eat 2226, 2591 or even 2740 per day to lose weight.

Anybody have any insight into what the most accurate method is?

I’ve been having the same problem. Based on a sedentery lifestyle I have read that I burn anywhere between 1500 and 1900 calories a day. Given that i want to lose weight that is a huge difference and can affect my weight loss greatly. I’ve decided to use this method.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris-Benedict_eq…

And just to be on the safe side I usually assume that I’ve underestimated my calorie intake by roughly 100 calories and that my exercise calorie burn has been overestimated by at least 100 calories.

i hope this helps you!

I go to a gym that offers RMR testing. My gym charged me around $100 to do it, and it’s pretty darn accurate. The money was well worth it to me because my RMR is A LOT lower than every calculator thought it was.

Asya- what was the RMR your gym gave you and what did you get from the internet before you added activity level. I have read many times that general RMR calculators are within 97% accurate, so I’m curious to your results. -EK

The sorry truth is that there IS no “accurate method” except trial and error.

All of the various calculators use formulas that were developed based on averages. And that’s fine, but no one is an average. Some people will need more, some less. However, it IS a starting point. (it can be inaccurate for very obese people, suggesting too many calories, but I’m talking 300 lbs)

Daily Burn’s calculator uses a very widely accepted formula. There’s nothing wrong with it. Start with its suggested intake. Eat at that level for at least two weeks (this is important – in any given week, hormonal changes, water intake, etc can swing your weight up and down interdependently of your fat stores). Assess your progress. If you lost 1-2 pounds, keep it up. If you gained weight, drop 500 calories. If you lost more than 2 pounds, add 500 calories. Then re-assess two weeks later.

And if you do find a number that works, remember that it will slowly go down as you lose weight so continue to reassess every few months.

As for the suggested calories, 2200-2500 actually sounds about right. Howver, make sure you log EVERYTHING. People who get disappointed by results often forget to count the cream in their coffee and the butter on their toast. They “guesstimate” the dressing on their salad or how much oatmeal or peanut butter they are eating for breakfast.

And for things that settle or pack down, (flour, oatmeal, peanut butter, etc), measuring by weight is far more accurate than by volume. A kitchen scale is the best investment you can make (you can often find digital ones for about $20)

I tend to disagree. If you are honest and log accurately, MOST BMR calculators fall within what I would consider accurate. The reason they seem inaccurate for obese people is because anyone who is clinically obese shouldn’t use their actual weight when calculating BMR. They should use their adjusted BW, same as if their pharmacist is dosing meds. It takes into account the extremes of obesity and adjust accordingly. -EK

Hey Eric,

I recall seeing you on TDP?

My RMR measured at 1182, i’m 5-7 around 168 lbs 28 yo female.

Yeah, I’m there too. 1182? Really? This was done through indirect calorimetry, right (you fasted for 12 hours, had to lay down with that bag-thingy over your head, and it took like half a day?) That seems low. I mean REALLY low, given the number of calories the human body requires for basic metabolic function. Using the numbers you gave, I came up with1525 kcals. I’m not at all implying that the 1525 is correct and the 1182 is not, but something seems not quite right there. -EK

Indirect calorimetry, or a variation of it. I wore a mask, fasted, and it took about an hour. The company that provided the software/machine was New Leaf Fitness (http://www.newleaffitness.com/redirect/NewLeaf_…). The person who did the test (a ‘metabolic specialist’) said that my rmr was was really low for someone my age.

He was right. It is. -EK

I’ve been trying to lift more, to build up some muscle and hopefully boost that number. It doesn’t help that I work in a cube.

Oh, and she :)

Lol sorry ok she. Re. You- over 20% below predicted we advise seeing your physician just as a precaution. Have you done that? -EK

No, I haven’t. Honestly didn’t even think about it. My guess would be thyroid, but I get that tested 1x year and it’s always fine.

Thanks everyone. Since I don’t have access to RMR testing, I’m going to take dianebl’s advice of the two week trial and reassessment period based on Daily Burn’s numbers. I think what’s throwing me off is the fact that the US nutritional info label always bases things off a 2,000 calorie diet, which to me means that the average person needs to eat 2,000 calories a day to maintain. Not sure why… the US government is typically wrong about its nutritional guidelines.

For today:

9 egg whites + half chicken, grilled, skinless + 1 liter whole milk + 1 tomato + 1 cucumber + 1 carrot + 1 cup lettuce + 1 tablespoon olive oil = 1070 Kcal (pure) + 139 g protein + 49.83 g fat + 81.51 g carbs (approximately, indeed).

I think it’s good for now :), but might need more protein + lower fat later.

I’m 5’11" (180 cm) + 213.4 lb (96.8 kg) + 26 yo. Goal is losing fat before gaining more muscles, and weight is not my main goal.

No carbs? -EK

Sorry, carbs are 81.51 g