Newbie...help with numbers, please...
alskarani
Posts: 83
I'm a newbie here, and don't understand how to know how many calories to eat...MFP tells me to eat 1200 calories a day, but isn't that pretty low? Isn't normal much higher than that? I'm 5'11"...
Thanks for your responses!
Thanks for your responses!
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Replies
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I'm very confused because I've been eating at 1000 calories a day, and haven't been losing. I don't know if I'm just not eating the right stuff? It's pretty discouraging, though! I need help!0
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How much do you weight? How high did you set your weekly loss goal? Do you weight all your food on a scale?0
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I weigh 186. I set my goal as 2 lbs per week. I want to be 145. I do weigh my food on a scale. Honestly, I've been afraid to eat more than 1000 calories, but it hasn't really been working for me. In the past 2.5 months, I've probably only lost 15 lbs. I don't understand why I'm not losing more? That's why I joined here, to try to figure that out!0
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I guess 2 lbs per week is far too agressive. You don't have much to lose so set it to 1/2 to 1lbs per week. And seriously, get your expectations straight: how long did it take to gain this excess weight? 15 lbs in 2.5 months sounds more like a cash diet, which is not sustainable. Thus eat properly. Your base metabolic rate, thus the energy your body needs just to function if you were in a coma is already at 1600-something. You should not be eating much below this, if at all. If you eat around 1690 or so you should still lose over 2 pounds per month.0
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How do you know base metabolic rate? I haven't lost an ounce in the past 5 days, so I'm concerned that 1000 calories is already more than I'm burning. I don't understand where the 1600 figure is coming from?
186 to 145 feels like a lot to lose! 41 pounds! I can't even really imagine 145. I just want to get there as fast as possible!0 -
At your height and current weight, it doesn't seem logical to try to lose 2 lbs/week. It is easier to lose when you have lots to, but as you get closer to your healthy range it gets harder. You should calculate your BMR and TDEE and find a caloric range based on those numbers. Here's a link to calculate them:
http://iifym.com/bmr-calculator/
http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/0 -
Your goal weight loss is excessive ...should be 1lb max per week
You're not giving it enough time, weight loss isn't linear
You aren't logging properly, I would almost bet on that ...so you are eating more than you think
Focus on weighing and logging accurately
Log exercise and eat back half
Open your diary for specific advice0 -
She's lost 15 pounds in 2 months, I don't think she's having an issue with over estimating her food logging, especially when she's only trying for 1000 cals a day.0
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MysticRealm wrote: »She's lost 15 pounds in 2 months, I don't think she's having an issue with over estimating her food logging, especially when she's only trying for 1000 cals a day.
Missed that post ..bloody MFP lag ...I only saw no loss in 5 days
So eating 1000 cals a day is stupidly low
Lower your target to 1lb a week and eat more
Weight loss isn't linear
Lift heavy things and put them down again
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I need to lose 65lbs and im on 1200 a day, 1000 calories is far too low, you should definitely be eating more. What i do to lose weight is eat my 1200 calorie allowance and then eat back my exercise calories, so if i burn 300 going for a jog, that means i have 300 extra calories that i can eat
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Ok, I tried to calculate my BMR, but I don't know my body fat percentage, and don't know how I can find that out. I'm not a member of a gym...
I gained 0.2 lb since yesterday, and that is kind of upsetting for me! And it's not a TOM issue! What the heck is going on?0 -
There are different methods of calculating it. Use a method that does not use body fat. Use this: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ and skip step 7-10. Your BMI will show below. Btw, a 20% calorie reduction might be too low for your weight and how little you want to lose.0
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Ok, I tried to calculate my BMR, but I don't know my body fat percentage, and don't know how I can find that out. I'm not a member of a gym...
I gained 0.2 lb since yesterday, and that is kind of upsetting for me! And it's not a TOM issue! What the heck is going on?
Repeat after me.
WEIGHT LOSS IS NOT LINEAR.
It WILL go up some days, it WILL go down some days.
If you're going to freak out over day to day fluctuations in weight (which can be cause by many things) then only weigh once a week. Even then, weigh-in to weigh-in differences are immaterial as long as the overall, long-term trend is down.0 -
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1672
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) : 2299
Daily calories based on goal in step 6: 1839
But then why am I gaining on 1000 a day? With light exercise? I'm really scared to eat 1800 calories in a day! (This is 20% reduction). It seems so high! Why would MFP have me at 1200 if that weren't what I should do?0 -
0.2 pounds is NOT a gain.0
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Going by BMI, a healthy weight for your height is 135 - 175.alskarani wrote:5'11", I weigh 186. I set my goal as 2 lbs per week. I want to be 145. I do weigh my food on a scale. Honestly, I've been afraid to eat more than 1000 calories, but it hasn't really been working for me. In the past 2.5 months, I've probably only lost 15 lbs. I don't understand why I'm not losing more?
So you're already really close to a healthy weight. That's why you're losing slowly.
It's not reasonable for you to expect to lose 2 lb a week. 0.5 lb per week could be doable.
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That's not healthy, not sustainable, and since you say you're "afraid to eat more than 1000 calories" I'd strongly suggest you talk with your doctor & get a referral to a counselor who can help you straighten out this disordered thinking.I just want to get there as fast as possible!
You could also look into increasing your weightlifting so that you'll get toned & strong & look amazing. You'll lose inches, even if you don't lose pounds.
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According to this calculator, which shows BMI, maintenance calories, and servings of food groups, at 186 your BMI is 26 and being inactive you should have just over 1800 cal/day.
At 155, it's 21.7 and you'd need 1680 to maintain that weight.
To lose 0.5 lb per week, cut 250 cal/day, or 1430.
Ignore exercise calories. (Exercise, because it's good for you, but don't eat them back.)
Don't go below 1200 actual (not net) calories unless your doctor says it's OK. You're far too tall for that to be a healthy calorie level for you.
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Probably you're not eating as little as you think. If you were, you'd be losing weight like crazy, unhealthfully fast, probably feeling sluggish, ill, tired... in short, it's not a good idea.
I'm about 5'10", depending on when I'm measured, and my calorie goal is 1400.
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Here's a newbie help post with links to lots of helpful info, including sexypants (go read it, then come back here), realistic goal setting (weight, calories, macros), accurate logging, motivation/encouragement...
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For BMR, on the blue bar at the top of the page click on "apps", then on the bar under that click on "BMR".I tried to calculate my BMR, but I don't know my body fat percentage, and don't know how I can find that out
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator
Here's a body fat calculator; it uses several body measurements. That's not related to BMR.
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This is false. I've been eating several hundred calories below my BMR for over a year (well, except for a few days) and I'm fine. My doctors are happy with my health & progress. And I generally don't eat back my exercise calories. (On average, maybe 1/3 of the time, and then only a couple hundred, and I'm trying to cut back on both of those.)Your base metabolic rate, thus the energy your body needs just to function if you were in a coma is already at 1600-something. You should not be eating much below this, if at all.
My dietician & doctor (endocrinologist in charge of the weight loss clinic at the hospital) said not to.
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OP you sound similar stats to me, I am 6'0" so an inch taller than you, although I only aim to get down to around 153.
I was 187 lbs when I started MFP and set my goal at 1.5 pounds a week and that gave me a calorie goal of 1340 a day. I never ate below 1250 and it has worked for me so far. You may be eating too little. , I am now 171 lbs and MFP updated my calorie goal to 1280. I have still somehow lost an average of 2.5lbs a week. And although people will probably say that's too aggressive, I'm sticking to my calorie goal and I'm not going to complain about it if I get where I want to be quicker as long as I'm careful when I need to start maintaining instead of losing. What I will say though is that rightly or wrongly, I do weigh everyday and my weight has spiked up and down all they way through so I wouldn't be worried about 0.2lbs gain. Sometimes I wake up exactly the same as the day before, sometimes I drop 1.5lbs over night. Just this week I was the same weight for 8 days in a row and then suddenly dropped 2 lbs. You really don't need to panick over the fluctuations. At the end of the day, you have lost 15 lbs, which is great, just keep going , maybe up your calories a bit , you'll get there!0 -
1 - Ignore exercise calories / TDEE / net calories.alskarani wrote:Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1672
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE): 2299
Daily calories based on goal in step 6: 1839
But then why am I gaining on 1000 a day? With light exercise? I'm really scared to eat 1800 calories in a day! (This is 20% reduction). It seems so high! Why would MFP have me at 1200 if that weren't what I should do?
2 - You're probably not eating 1000 calories per day. Go read sexypants, read the links about accurate weighing/logging of food. If you open your diary, we could probably point out places where you could improve or tighten up your logging, measurements, data choices, etc.
3 - MFP is only a calculator. It works on the info you've given it. If you've asked it to tell you how little to eat to lose 2 lb per week, that's what it will do, but it won't tell you less than 1200.
4 - 0.2 lb is not a gain, it's a fluctuation. If you drink a bottle of water, you've gained 1 lb. If you pee, you've probably lost 0.5 lb. Have dinner, you're probably up at least a pound. Since you're freaked out by minor daily fluctuations, only weigh yourself once a week. Write it on the calendar so you can look back several weeks to see the trend.
5 - Go see a counselor. You're freaking out over minor things, you're scared to eat a normal amount of food. Even on the days I've gone 1000 over my calories & not exercised, the 5-week projection says I'd maintain weight. Not gain, maintain. Just a pause in reaching my goal, not a step back.0 -
1200 calories is the lowest you should ever go given your stats. As MKEgal calculated for you, you should aim for 1430, and if you feel too full eating that much then you can lower slowly.
However, based on how you are describing your problem, it sounds to me like you are not looking at your wight loss from a healthy perspective. You panic over 0.2, and that is a bad sign.
When I joined, I too was concerned that 1200 might be too low, but then I read some more and some amazing people here explained to me how weight loss works and what is healthy for me and I am now comfortable eating 1240 (which will give me a weight loss of 0.5 per week). And if I want to eat more, I just exercise what I ate. Simple and no headaches.
The more you stress yourself the harder it will be to lose weight right now. Also, are you logging your drinks as well (aside from water)?
Come on, take a deep breath and relax. We will sort this out! Good job for reaching our for help.0 -
"According to this calculator, which shows BMI, maintenance calories, and servings of food groups, at 186 your BMI is 26 and being inactive you should have just over 1800 cal/day.
At 155, it's 21.7 and you'd need 1680 to maintain that weight.
To lose 0.5 lb per week, cut 250 cal/day, or 1430."
I don't understand this...I should cut 250 cal/day, how does this leave me with 1430? I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just confused...
"Come on, take a deep breath and relax. We will sort this out! Good job for reaching our for help."
You don't know how comforting this was! I am stressed about this. I've never lost weight at a pace, only very quickly (both times around 40lbs in 4 months). I don't know how to do it any other way, and am afraid I can't! It's tempting to just go really low calorie, and get down to where I'm comfortable. Is there another way, really?!
I just started logging here. I can open up my diary, but it's new as of today. Before, I was calculating through a lot of googling! But I eat the same breakfast everyday, weighed out on a scale, and often the same lunch. So I think my calculations are pretty good?0 -
Also, I'm wondering how to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients and protein and things like that...last time I lost weight, I also lost my period, and it's started to do funny things again. I'm also losing hair. I want to be better about eating what I need to! How do I know what I should aim for?0
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Any responses?0
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Alskarani,
1,000 calories is fairly low. I know it sounds weird, but you need to eat to keep your body running properly. Try to focus less on how many calories and more about what you need nutritionally. Also, make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses of real water. If possible quit "fake" sugars as they seem to create more troubles than they solve.
Increased weight, funny periods, losing hair are all possible signs of a thyroid disorder. I am not a doctor, but those same symptoms got me a diagnosis with blood work of hashimoto's thyroditis. In short, my antibodies attack my thyroid. This is bad because your thyroid controls a lot of functions in the body including your metabolism. If you haven't seen a doctor it might be worth the trip. Any hormonal imbalance can make losing weight really difficult, and many conditions are treatable.
I hope this helps.
Renee0 -
I don't have any thyroid issues, I had that checked. I think the symptoms are from not eating enough, which I'm trying to address. This happened once before, and that was to blame. But I'm still unclear (sorry!) whether is should aim for 1200 or higher, and how to make sure/track what nutrients I need. I might be missing something, but I'm confused. Again, sorry!0
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Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 1672
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) : 2299
Daily calories based on goal in step 6: 1839
But then why am I gaining on 1000 a day? With light exercise? I'm really scared to eat 1800 calories in a day! (This is 20% reduction). It seems so high! Why would MFP have me at 1200 if that weren't what I should do?
Your body need food for fuel. 1000 calories isn't enough and if you are exercising you ate burning muscle not fat. Your body naturally stores fat when it thinks you ate starving it at. And you are. So eat adequately, and eat at minimum 14000 calories a day.
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I'm not trying to argue that 1000 is what I should be doing, but I'm confused about where 1400 comes from, and I don't understand how to make sure to get enough nutrients and protein and such. How is that calculated?0
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I'm not trying to argue that 1000 is what I should be doing, but I'm confused about where 1400 comes from, and I don't understand how to make sure to get enough nutrients and protein and such. How is that calculated?
I assume MKEgal has selected 1400 cals because she feels comfortable with that number and hasn't lost her hair or period. Okay ignore the smart alecky comment. The point is there could be a tendency to want to lose as fast as possible, but you do have to listen to your body
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On the average, a woman needs 1200 for doing absolutely nothing. So eating below that tells your body you're starving and it will not release anything so you don't lose. When you log your food, it will show you your carbs, fat, protein, sodium and sugar and you can see if you are getting enough of them. If you go to reports, you an see how you are doing on fiber, iron, vitamins A & C, calcium and iron. If you aren't getting enough, then you can choose foods that will help you get there. I am not as tall as you but when I was in weight loss mode, I don't think I ever got less that 1700 calories a day. Hope this helps a little.0
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So there are all these sites where you can calculate your daily intake, but using plain MFP method works just as well, and that's where your 1800 cals for 0.5 lb per week came from. You could also do 1600 for 1 lb per week - just plug your stats into MFP.
If you want to go lower, yeah you can. But note that daily calories for one person may not be enough for the other, just depending on your daily lifestyle/activity. If you're starting to show symptoms of being undernourished, time to add one or two hundred calories
How to setup protein etc: 40/30/30 is a Common macro split I hear. This means 40% of your daily calories come from carbs, 30 protein and 30 fat. You have account settings where you can specify this. As far as other nutrients, eat lots of fruit and vegetables - done. What to eat specifically? That's all you, buddy0 -
Thanks for your feedback! I reset my goal to do one pound per week. My new goal is 1,590. I would like to change macros to 40/30/30, but not sure how to do that? I checked under settings, couldn't find it. (I'm on my phone, which makes it a bit difficult.)
Honestly, eating more is going to be really hard for me. I've eaten 1,088 calories today, and mentally it's hard to think about eating more! But I really want to do this!
I've set my diary as public, and think I'll start another thread asking for friends who will help me stay accountable and on track.
Again, thanks for your feedback and help.0
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