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How accurate are calorie calculators

  • 17-11-2010 8:54pm
    #1
    Change of diet
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3 ✭


    I'm just wondering if anybody has used the calorie calculators on the internet? It's just that i'm finding them very confusing as some say I need to eat 2,300 calories a day, whereas another one is saying I need to eat 2,700 calories a day. Some even say that I need to eat in excess of 3,000 calories a day given my age.

    Are any of these calculators actually accurate, even when you specify things like your weight / height / age / activity level etc.


Comments

  • #2
    rocky
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,977 ✭✭✭rocky


    They are a starting point to give you an idea.

    It's up to you then to refine it. Start say with 2500 kcalories, eat that each day for a week and check the weight difference if any.

    What are your goals?

    For example I'm tracking using www.fitday.com. Given my rate of fat loss and my intake of around 2000kcals, I'm estimating my maintenance at 2600-2700kcals.


  • #3
    El_Dangeroso
    Users Awaiting Email Confirmation Posts: 5,620 ✭✭✭El_Dangeroso


    They are probably inaccurate to up to 25%, most food labeling is. There are just too many variables that affect the availability of calories, how much the food is cooked, freshness, variability of fat percentage in meat etc.

    Having said that it is probably a good enough guess for losing weight, though I would always go with food quality over calories. Some calorific foods like coconut oil or oily fish are far more filling than an equivalent amount of cals from bread for example.


  • #4
    EileenG
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,775 ✭✭✭EileenG


    Generally, they are not. They start with a general guess, and they always err on the side of too many calories. Scared of getting into trouble if someone starves, I guess. I found that Fitday, for instance, is only accurate for me if I enter myself as bedbound, and then add my normal activities in on top.


  • #5
    Mellor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 39,900 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    They are clearly just a guide.

    How could they be anything else. They contain generally 3 or 4 activity levels, and from one to the next, daily cals might jump 400 or so, but the reality is, most of us are going to be somewhere between those values. Plus, what you call an active day, might be very active for somebody else. Ditto for activity and sedantry, its too subjective


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