Reevaluating Calorie Intake

rachelbouc
rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
First off, I'm losing weight just fine. My main worry here is that MFP may have my calories too low. Here's my info:
I'm 24 years old weighing at 188 currently (at the very start of my journey I was 292!) and 5'2". I work in sales so I'm constantly on my feet and with other activity, I aim for 30 minutes at least three times a week and a nice bike ride for about 2 hours on Sundays. On these Sundays I almost always eat about half of the calories I've burned.
The reason why I'm asking is that I don't always track 100% of my food intake. Maybe like 100-200 calories on my lazy tracking days yet I still lose weight.
MFP has me set at 1200 (it was a tad higher but I messed with it and can't make it go back). Another calculator says 1267 with the activity level being "somewhat active" just in case.
Which should I go with? And what should my activity level really be if I tracked 100% accurately?
Honestly I think my thinking is a little messed up with being on Weight Watchers for so long. Having to track and weigh everything has been a little hard adjusting to. So has no unlimited fruits (which is what got me in trouble).
Thanks for any feed back!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - looking at your diary it looks like you are eating back half of exercise calories. If you wanted to, you could transition to eating 100% back and see if you continue to lose weight. I would also suggest answering stef's questions...
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.
    My weekly goal is 2 pounds and I usually hit about 1.5 lbs which I think is fine. I have my activity set at lightly active.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.
    My weekly goal is 2 pounds and I usually hit about 1.5 lbs which I think is fine. I have my activity set at lightly active.

    if you are not hungry all the time, and you are losing weight steadily, then why change anything??
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.
    My weekly goal is 2 pounds and I usually hit about 1.5 lbs which I think is fine. I have my activity set at lightly active.

    if you are not hungry all the time, and you are losing weight steadily, then why change anything??

    x2
  • rachelbouc
    rachelbouc Posts: 65 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.
    My weekly goal is 2 pounds and I usually hit about 1.5 lbs which I think is fine. I have my activity set at lightly active.

    if you are not hungry all the time, and you are losing weight steadily, then why change anything??

    Since I'm basically fudging an extra 100-200 calories into my day without tracking and still losing weight, I think it could possibly help me put those current magically disappearing calories into my diary instead of just letting them float around. I'm afraid that this 90% tracking that I'm doing will eventually have an effect on my weight loss. Maybe not now, but perhaps down the road a little. If I can curb this habit now it will be a lot better then. Or should I continue on with my current calories and just try and force myself to track those floating calories and see where I end up.
    These floating calories are usually, I believe, leftover evidence from my binge days. I've managed to control it some. So maybe this is a deeper issue than just calories.
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I would track everything you eat. You're doing awesome, so you're in a good spot. Track what you eat, and if you can eat more and still lose your 1-2 lbs/week, then eat more. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to make good progress towards your goal. If you are trying to lose weight, eat so you drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1400 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for 2 weeks. If you lose 1-2 lbs/week, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few cycles, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    rachelbouc wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    What is your weekly weight loss goal? 2lbs still? You have your goal weight set at 168? based on the 20lbs to go...

    what is your activity level set at? if you are on your feet all day then it should be at least lightly active.
    My weekly goal is 2 pounds and I usually hit about 1.5 lbs which I think is fine. I have my activity set at lightly active.

    if you are not hungry all the time, and you are losing weight steadily, then why change anything??

    Since I'm basically fudging an extra 100-200 calories into my day without tracking and still losing weight, I think it could possibly help me put those current magically disappearing calories into my diary instead of just letting them float around. I'm afraid that this 90% tracking that I'm doing will eventually have an effect on my weight loss. Maybe not now, but perhaps down the road a little. If I can curb this habit now it will be a lot better then. Or should I continue on with my current calories and just try and force myself to track those floating calories and see where I end up.
    These floating calories are usually, I believe, leftover evidence from my binge days. I've managed to control it some. So maybe this is a deeper issue than just calories.

    I would say go ahead and track them but don't start eating less because of it. As you get thinner, you will have to tighten up on measuring and tracking but it sounds like you are already aware of that so you are in a good spot. It is very common/normal to have to change tactics, by which I mean be more exact with things, when you get closer to goal. That's because there is a diminishing margin of error by that point. But I wouldn't rush that point as long as you are continuing to have good results right now.
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