Do I really need to eat only 1200 calories?

jennyonthespot

RenaTX wrote: »

TeaBea wrote: »

bwilliams66 wrote: »

When MFP says "sedentary" that's what they mean- no movement - and most people aren't completely sedentary. One thing that motivated me was getting a fitbit-even on days when all I do is walk 5k steps, I still get extra calories from the fitbit adjustment- and 5k steps really isn't much at all - I broke my foot in February, and really couldn't do much, but every little bit helped. Also, use the mapmyride, mapmywalk or mapmyhike apps- they work pretty well and help to track calories burned, and you can input the information or sync it automatically.

Sedentary isn't zero steps (that's BMR).

http://www.fitnessforweightloss.com/rate-your-activity-level-based-on-steps-per-day/

^^ This is what I thought LOL.
The example MFP gives for sedentary is if you have a desk job. It doesn't say "if you lay in bed all day".

BMR is the amount of calories your body uses for basic functions. Even if you're sedentary, I hope you do more than just digest food and pump blood. :-)

RenaTX

Oh a few good posts to read if you have the time. They really help.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

jkal1979

mewilliams11 wrote: »

I just started MFP today & when I entered in all my info, it said that my daily calorie goal is 1200. I am a female who weighs 216, I'm 5'5", I'm 37 yo, & I selected sedentary as my daily activity level. I plan to exercise 5 days week/30 minutes a day. Isn't 1200 calories too low to start out with considering how much weight I want to lose? (My goal weight is 135). I know that as you lose weight that your daily calories should decrease to continue loosing, but I also thought you shouldn't eat below 1200 call/day. Am I missing something or is this calorie goal accurate for me? Thanks!

You can try 1200 for a little bit and if you don't feel like it is sustainable for you then you can adjust your weekly weight loss goal for more calories. I'm a 5'5 35 year old female who weighs 190 and I get 1460 calories to lose 1 pound a week. My activity is set to sedentary as well. I would rather have more calories with a slower rate of loss because it is easier for me to stick to.

kathy9083

When I initially started my diet, I ate only 1200 calories a day and exercised 5-6 times a week for 60 mins (+ 30 mins of weight training 3 times a week). I found that eating that amount of calories was way too low for me (5'5 female, 219 pounds). I'm now eating around 1500 calories every day and I feel like I have so much more energy than I did when I was eating only 1200. So the answer is no, you don't have to eat only 1200 calories to lose weight.

ncfitbit

Here are some more good links, when you have time. I remember being really confused by all the acronyms people throw around and it's really useful to understand them.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

Maybe someone already linked this TDEE calculator, but here's the one I use:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

An awesome success story that helped me change the way I thought about losing weight:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1454303/2-years-of-maintenance-130-pounds-lost/p1

Good luck!

Francl27

I'm 37, 5'5", 133-135 pounds, and I ate between 1650 and 1800 to lose 80 pounds.

Mr_Knight

jennyonthespot wrote: »

No!! I pulled up an online calculator. http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

Your BMR is 1,666.

No, it's not.

You cannot use online calculators naively like that for obese people - you will get wildly inflated BMR numbers.

yarwell

mewilliams11 wrote: »

I just started MFP today & when I entered in all my info, it said that my daily calorie goal is 1200. I am a female who weighs 216, I'm 5'5", I'm 37 yo, & I selected sedentary as my daily activity level. I plan to exercise 5 days week/30 minutes a day. Isn't 1200 calories too low to start out with considering how much weight I want to lose? (My goal weight is 135).

So you need to lose 81 lbs or 283,500 calories from your fat reserves. At your level of obesity your intake can initially be as low as is healthy and you can stick to, so 1200 is as good a number as any.

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html says :-

mccindy72

Lots of information getting thrown at you here. Stick with the links - they are all good ones, take the time to read them. Here's one more, read the first post in this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

lemurcat12

yarwell wrote: »

mewilliams11 wrote: »

I just started MFP today & when I entered in all my info, it said that my daily calorie goal is 1200. I am a female who weighs 216, I'm 5'5", I'm 37 yo, & I selected sedentary as my daily activity level. I plan to exercise 5 days week/30 minutes a day. Isn't 1200 calories too low to start out with considering how much weight I want to lose? (My goal weight is 135).

So you need to lose 81 lbs or 283,500 calories from your fat reserves. At your level of obesity your intake can initially be as low as is healthy and you can stick to, so 1200 is as good a number as any.

https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/index.html says :-

I used the same calculator but added in her exercise and got 1480 and 2050 for maintenance.

mewilliams11

Wow, I am so overwhelmed by all the great advice, forum links, well wishes, & the willingness of everyone to be so helpful. You guys rock!! It's going to take me a while to read through all the links provided, but I'm excited about doing so because knowledge is definitely power!