Need opinions on calories per day?

NerdyHoux

Hi there! I'm sorry I didn't use the introduce yourself but I've been all over the Internet for help and haven't been able to find any.

I started in May using MFP every day, at 1200 calories. I also use a Fitbit. Did alright, and have lost 20 lbs in two months, however it's now slowed. So I decided to try IIFYM.

Doing so, I upped my calories to about 1600. Typically, my Fitbit says I burn around 2700 calories a day on a work day (I have a standing/moving job and then exercise each evening) and around 2300 on a non-work day.

Am I eating about right, calorie-wise? I'm trying to lose 2 lbs a week.

Also, for those people doing IIFYM, how are your losses of you are just starting out and don't weight lift?

shadow2soul

How much do you have to lose?

10 lbs in 2 months is more than 2 lbs per week. It's not to surprising that your weight loss has slowed a bit.

Another thing to remember is weight loss isn't linear. Some weeks you will lose only a little, some a large chunk, some none at all and there will even be times you might see a slight gain.

NerdyHoux

I have another 54 pounds to lose. I just want consistent losses. I know that there are certain times where gains happen, but outside of those, I just want to be able to keep on the downward path.

sugaraddict4321

Have you plugged your numbers in to Scooby to see what you get? Maybe 2 pounds per week is too aggressive now that you've lost 20. Also which FitBit are you using? If you're using a bracelet it could be over-estimating your burns just because you use your hands a lot. Someone else on the boards recommended to wear on your non-dominant wrist but set it as if it's on your dominant. That helps cut some of the "wrong" numbers down.

NerdyHoux

I have the One and I keep it in the pocket of any trousers/shorts I'm wearing. I'll give a look at this Scooby you mentioned.

editorgrrl

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—way more accurate than any online calculator.

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Set your goal to .5 lb. for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal & follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

callsitlikeiseeit

if you werent losing weight at 1200 (which would likely be impossible, you were eating more than you think you were), what makes you think eating MORE would cause weight loss?

also, the closer you get to your goal, the slower the weight comes off.

weight your food. not with measuring cups, with a food scale.

shadow2soul

NerdyHoux wrote: »

I have another 54 pounds to lose. I just want consistent losses. I know that there are certain times where gains happen, but outside of those, I just want to be able to keep on the downward path.

Are you watching the overall trend?
I mean so you lost 20 lbs in 2 months. I'm going to guess that it was about 9 weeks. So that's an average of about 2.2 lbs per week.
If you lose say 6 lbs over the next 4 weeks, your average will be 2 lbs per week.
Seriously though, some weeks will show little to no loss and then other weeks will show a big drop. When you average it out though it should hopefully come out to be the amount of loss per week you were aiming for.

kathiakara

A few years ago when I lost some weight I hit a plateau but after about a month the lbs just melted off. Hang in there!

strong_curves

NerdyHoux wrote: »

I have another 54 pounds to lose. I just want consistent losses. I know that there are certain times where gains happen, but outside of those, I just want to be able to keep on the downward path.

Weight loss doesn't work that way, it's not always linear. The smaller you get the more accurate you need to be with your logging. If you aren't using a scale to weigh/measure your foods/drinks then I suggest you start now.

editorgrrl

KisforKrista wrote: »

She didn't say she wasn't losing, she said it slowed down.

The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. A safe, sustainable loss is .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight.

And the smaller you get, the smaller the margin of error. So it's important to log everything you eat & drink even more accurately & even more honestly.

brianpperkins

A "Dr" that is illegible in typed form ... amazing.

StaciMarie1974

1600 intake per day seems more reasonable than 1200. And more like something you can do long term. If you're burning 2300-2700 per day (based on Fitbit stats) then you're on course to lose 2 pounds per week, approximately. (700 deficit on off days, 1100 on work days.)

NerdyHoux

Thanks, Staci!

This seems to be the most relevant answer to what I asked. I was thinking of perhaps staggering my calories based on work/non-work days to reflect roughly a 1000 cal. deficit each time.

Sued0nim

With a burn of 2700, 1600 is fine

If you synch your fitbit to MFP you can log your food and weight on here and it all synchs up together so you know exactly how many calories you have to eat ...not MFP excludes exercise so your calories will seem different but will work out based on fitbit adjustments if your goals are set the same

Best tip I can give is log in to trendweight.com and your fitbit will automatically synch your weights over so you can watch the trend line over time rather than worry about weekly fluctuations which you know logically mean nothing, but buying into that means nothing until you watch the trend line over months