need help with calculating goals

Ewa101975

hi there
I must have been eating quite a bit more, I am guesstimating around 2000-2500 calories per day, now cutting it down to 1470 calories per day (female, 5'7 and 192lbs) seems like quite a big change and I find myself hungry, I try to eat more protein and drink more water...but still working on it. Need more veggies, problem is I don't like very many veggies, love the fruit though...need motivating friends older than 30 please.

Cerakoala

Hello Nice to meet you. How much weight do you have MFP set to lose? If you have it at 1.5 or 2 lbs a week maybe that is to much for your current weight? Maybe try .5 a week or 1 lb a week at first. This will allow you to eat more calories and still lose weight at a healthy pace. Then when your body gets use to that amount you can always cut back more On weeks I feel hungry or deprived I do the same and change my goals for the week I am 30 if you would like to add me.

kristen6350

I think maybe your deficient may be too high. According to your profile you have about 30lbs you want to lose. That puts you into a safe 1lb a week loss. If you have your settings at 1.5 or 2, your deficient is too great. Fast isn't the way to do this, your feel like your starving yourself and quit.

Slowly swap out things you used to eat for healthy alternatives. You say you love fruit, so instead of snacking on a cookie, grab an apple. More filling, more fiber and nutrients. I know you say you don't like veggies, but do yourself a favor and try one new one a week. Go to the produce section, pick out something you've never had before, "Google" recipes for it, and make it. Before 2011 I never knew I liked Asparagus, Avocados, Artichokes, Brussel Sprouts & Spaghetti Squash. If your image of veggies is something out of the freezer or a can, re-invent your image. Growing up I was introduced to all these things but the way they were cooked I always thought they were gross. Heck, before 2011 my "go to meal" was frozen chicken nuggets and frozen french fries. A lot has changed since. Add friends who share their diaries. Ask them questions on how they cook things.

BTW, I'm 36 and you are more than welcome to add me. I'm a long time user of MFP and all the people I've met here have inspired me to change my ways and become a more healthy version of myself. (In 2011 I was 193 (highest), in the summer of 2012 I got to 143 (lowest). I'm making an attempt to get back to 155 after a bit of back sliding (some of my old habits took over). Today the scale said 158.4. I'm back on track! Good luck hun! You can so do this.

getalife9353

There are many ways to approach dietary changes. Since I am treating this as a lifestyle change the following is the approach that I took. Before even worrying about what to set my calorie goal at, I logged what I was eating for a week. I then looked at this history and decided what meal time (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks) that I was going to work on first. For me that was dinner. Once I got dinner under control, took about six weeks, I went to the next meat time, for me that would be breakfast. Once I get that firmly under control I will move on to lunch. As for figuring out the daily calorie goals, I figured my daily calorie goals that I would need when I reach my goal weight, subtracted 100 calories from that and use that as my calorie goal. This way I should be able to slide into maintenance with ease. This puts me at a higher loss rate to start with and it slowly declines as I approach my goal weight. As I get each meal time under control I am getting closer to the daily calorie goal that I set. I do not get too hung up on meeting my daily goals exactly. As long as I am getting closer to the goal, I am satisfied. Once I feel like I have all of my meals under control, I will reevaluate my meal times and make any other changes as I go. Right now it looks like I will probably have to add some calories back into my meals. Fortunately for me I like vegetables, so like suggested above try some new vegetables and experiment with how to prepare them. I like mostly plain old steamed vegetables, might sound boring to some people, but I love the taste of fresh vegetables steamed or raw. I personally can't stand most frozen or canned vegetables, they just don't have the taste of fresh.