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Not enough calories??

qpmomma1
qpmomma1 Posts: 220 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am a 30F, 5'3" and weigh 169lbs. MFP says I should eat 1320 calories to lose 1lb a week. Is that too low? I have a desk job so my activity level is low.

Replies

  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    that depends.... if you are going to use MFP the way it is designed.. when you log exercise, you will eat those calories back (to a point) so essentially you could eat upwards of 1600-1900 per day.

  • Seems about right. If you hardly walk or stand during working hours you really don't need to eat so many calories. I have to reach 1300 calories a day and it is much harder than I thought it would be.
  • qpmomma1
    qpmomma1 Posts: 220 Member
    I was planning on logging and eating back exercise calories. I may start walking during my lunch breaks to get some movement in. Thanks for the feedback!
  • af_wife2004
    af_wife2004 Posts: 149 Member
    I like to use http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ to figure my calories and macros. The weight loss is a little slower but more even overall.
  • lcooper327
    lcooper327 Posts: 112 Member
    If you feel it is too low (I do) then eat more and see what happens. You may find you can eat 1500 a day and be more satisfied (and therefore less likely to quit) and still maintain a slow and steady loss.
  • Pipsg1rl
    Pipsg1rl Posts: 1,414 Member
    edited January 2015
    Hi, I'm 5'2 and started by trying to lose 2lb a week and it was at 1200. Then when I got to .5 a week it was in the 1300 range. I eat back calories when I work out. I've lost almost 20 pounds in a year doing it that way.

    ETA: I was 142, now 121-123 depending.
    I also work a desk job in an IT support role.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,439 MFP Moderator
    qpmomma1 wrote: »
    I was planning on logging and eating back exercise calories. I may start walking during my lunch breaks to get some movement in. Thanks for the feedback!

    If you use the calories burned calc, I would only eat 50% of them back. It can be high for some people. And honestly I would go further to say, if you are just walking, I would just add no more than 200 calories additional.
  • NikonPal
    NikonPal Posts: 1,346 Member
    Sounds about right..

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This discussion has been closed.