Calorie requirements/calculators are they believable?

[OkayIMThatGuy]

Whenever I go onto a calorie calc to find my maintinance they normally give me a number that seems low and was wndering if there is any semi accurate way to find it without trial and error over weeks normally i get a number between 1700-2100 to lose weight but I am 6,2 male and weigh 181 which is why i believe it is low also any estimates to what my actual maintinance is for my size would be great

[dgrierms]

Check the stickies at the top of the forum. There is a thread dedicated to calculating macros and calories.

I've used online calculators before and they have been accurate. Not sure which one you are using though.

[OkayIMThatGuy]

Check the stickies at the top of the forum. There is a thread dedicated to calculating macros and calories.

I've used online calculators before and they have been accurate. Not sure which one you are using though.

ive used many different ones most of them the same other than one that gave me 2600 for maintinance some gave me 3000-3200 idk which to follow

[sdunn96]

I use iifym.com
ANd I view it as a ball park number....so to get me in the area of where I need to be for my goals.

Then go about 2 - 3 weeks, and assess where I am.
re-evaluate the numbers then if need be.

[OkayIMThatGuy]

I use iifym.com
ANd I view it as a ball park number....so to get me in the area of where I need to be for my goals.

Then go about 2 - 3 weeks, and assess where I am.
re-evaluate the numbers then if need be.

thanks for the reply i didnt know there was a site like this

[rossatearep]

No. They suck.

I'm 58.7kg and I do she'd loads of exercise and have a naturally high metabolism. Most calculators stick me in 1600-1800 calorie range. That's lower than your RDA!
Base your consumption on what you need. If your aim is to out weight on - eat a shed load and see if your weight goes up. I probably eat 3000 calories plus a day and my weight has sort of flat lined lately...

[dgillead]

No. They suck.

I'm 58.7kg and I do she'd loads of exercise and have a naturally high metabolism. Most calculators stick me in 1600-1800 calorie range. That's lower than your RDA!
Base your consumption on what you need. If your aim is to out weight on - eat a shed load and see if your weight goes up. I probably eat 3000 calories plus a day and my weight has sort of flat lined lately...

They don't suck, you just don't use them correctly.

They are a rough guide, not exact numbers. I mean it even says so at the bottom of the IIFYM calculator.

"Please remember that these numbers are a guide, and are based on formulas. The IIFYM Macro calculator cannot account for metabolism health or damage, so some modifications may need to be made. After following these IIFYM Macro Calculator macros consistently for 4 weeks you should notice a change in weight of physical appearance. If you do not notice any changes, your total calories may be too high, or in some cases too low, and will need to be adjusted accordingly."

[AlwaysTryin]

No. They suck.

I'm 58.7kg and I do she'd loads of exercise and have a naturally high metabolism. Most calculators stick me in 1600-1800 calorie range. That's lower than your RDA!
Base your consumption on what you need. If your aim is to out weight on - eat a shed load and see if your weight goes up. I probably eat 3000 calories plus a day and my weight has sort of flat lined lately...

Bieber?

[Kamikapse]

They are a decent starting point... after that you can easily adjust your intake by monitoring how much weight you gain in a month and calculate your actual surplus from that.

Most calculators stick me in 1600-1800 calorie range

For BMR maybe, but TDEE should be above 2100 depending on your exercise/activity level.

[sdunn96]

thanks for the reply i didnt know there was a site like this

Welcome.

[sdunn96]

No. They suck.

I'm 58.7kg and I do she'd loads of exercise and have a naturally high metabolism. Most calculators stick me in 1600-1800 calorie range. That's lower than your RDA!
Base your consumption on what you need. If your aim is to out weight on - eat a shed load and see if your weight goes up. I probably eat 3000 calories plus a day and my weight has sort of flat lined lately...

You are 17....wait about 10 more years and then use them.
They may be more accurate then.

Right now for you, if you are serious.
Don't worry about the calculators and just eat.

And if I use IIFYM for you, and give you 7% BF
Your TDEE is ~2500
Which is prolly still very low for you....

So right now, you have a furnace for a metabolism. Enjoy it.
I used to be the same way.....
Then I hit about 26, and started to notice my metabolism drop.
By the time I hit 30, it was very noticeable.

So give it time.....enjoy where you are now.....and eat all you can.

[naturalguy]

I've been saying it a long time now, cookie cutter formulas are not accurate, they don't take into account individual variables

[sdunn96]

I've been saying it a long time now, cookie cutter formulas are not accurate, they don't take into account individual variables

Agreed.
But as mentioned by others and myself.
They give you an idea of where to start.
Which is what I think most people need, especially those who don't live, eat and breathe nutrition articles and studies.

[jeserfen]

this one has been pretty accurate for me in the past http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
used it as a starting point and dropped 20 lbs

[ironwill2008]

Whenever I go onto a calorie calc to find my maintinance they normally give me a number that seems low and was wndering if there is any semi accurate way to find it without trial and error over weeks normally i get a number between 1700-2100 to lose weight but I am 6,2 male and weigh 181 which is why i believe it is low also any estimates to what my actual maintinance is for my size would be great

Not sure why anyone would expect some formula taken off the interwebz to be dead-accurate. All of them can only provide a ballpark number to use as a baseline-- a starting point. It's then up to the trainee to do the work, and then evaluate after a period of compliance.


Pick one of the formulas, run your numbers, figure your daily calorie/macro intake from it, then weigh/measure/track your food consistently for 3-4 weeks. At that time, adjust your calorie intake up or down depending on where you need to go from there.

[kenny85]

ive used many different ones most of them the same other than one that gave me 2600 for maintinance some gave me 3000-3200 idk which to follow

What you could do is use 4 or 5 different calculators and take the average

[plateau_max]

What makes them inaccurate is the fact that BMR is extremely difficult to determine using simple forumulas. Everyone's BMR is different based on a wide variety of things from genetics, hormones levels, nutrition intake (like how much of what you eat, not just macros), age, ethnic background, and so on. The only way to really get close is to use some sort of device like a douglass bag or that bodygem breathalizer thing that measures VO2.

The only way to really find out is by personal experimentation. Watch your calories in vs calories out very closely and adjust every couple of weeks based on your results. Many use the calculators to give them a start point for their experimenting.

[Bema]

What you could do is use 4 or 5 different calculators and take the average

This is what I do, and suggest.

Even then it comes with a warning that you have to then follow your weight for (I'd say) atleast two weeks to ensure you're loosing/maintaining/gaining as you expected. Although disclaimer: don't check it daily. Stick to once or twice a week.

Monitoring and predicting your TDEE becomes (slightly) easier the longer you do it. As sdunn96 mentioned - your metabolism will change as you age (and at 17 it can actually be a little tricky to keep track of), but if you stick with the fact that this isn't a sprint and two weeks out of your life isn't a huge amount of time to wait to test results you'll do fine.

[IronAgony]

Not sure why anyone would expect some formula taken off the interwebz to be dead-accurate. All of them can only provide a ballpark number to use as a baseline-- a starting point. It's then up to the trainee to do the work, and then evaluate after a period of compliance.


Pick one of the formulas, run your numbers, figure your daily calorie/macro intake from it, then weigh/measure/track your food consistently for 3-4 weeks. At that time, adjust your calorie intake up or down depending on where you need to go from there.

This x2