MFP help please, 1200kcal cannot be correct?

Bonny132

Guys where did I go wrong? Under my goal it states MFG gives me 1200 cals a day which will lead me to 1lbs loss per week.

I am 5'2 (Or 158 cm) 82.7kg with a sedentary job (I sit on my butt 8hrs a day) This puts my BMI as obese.

I exercise both cardio and weights and I eat my exercise calories as I am hungry!

Seriously, with the weight I got to loose, I would have expected to be able to eat more than 1200 calories and get a 1.5-2lbs loss? Instead of MFP setting it at 0.5kg or 1lbs? As I would not have to eat back all my exercise calories?

Can someone please advice on what I have ticked wrong in my goals/profile please? Thank you!

cwolfman13

to lose about 1 Lb per week requires a deficit from your maintenance of about 500 calories per day (or 3500 calories per week). If you put sedentary then MFP is estimating your maintenance without any exercise to be around 1,700 calories...which is probably about right. At your height, you're not going to have huge calorie requirements.

when you exercise, you cease to be sedentary right? so with MFP, you log that activity to account for that activity and you get more calories. just be careful as estimating calories out is tricky business and many people log highly inflated burns...be conservative and provide someway of dealing with estimation error...for many, this means eating back only some % of those calories...as arbitrary as that is.

lemurcat12

It just is a bummer to be short sometimes. That means it's estimating your maintenance at around 1700 when sedentary. I'm 5'3 and 125, and if I were sedentary my maintenance would be around 1550. You might lose a bit more, since most people aren't really sedentary if you walk a decent amount in daily life. Or you can go with the TDEE method rather than eating back calories -- that's what I did eventually, since I didn't want 1200 on rest days.

Bonny132

I use my Fitbit HR and I eat back my tracked exercises, not what it records throughout the whole day. So you're saying with a min of 20kgs or 50lbs left to loose I need to get used to 1200 cals a day or 1lbs a week? I had hoped for 1.5lbs at my current weight Ho Hum...

rockmama72

I am 5'6" and aim to lose about 30 more pounds. I work from home and am pretty lazy, so I selected sedentary. I put in 1.5 pounds a week and got 1200, but MFP says I can expect a 1.2 pound loss per week at 1200. So...

I use my Fitbit like crazy and eat all my extra calories if I feel like it!

EmmaFitzwilliam

I'm short (5'1.5") and sedentary and have the same challenge. MFP won't go below 1200 calories (which is a good thing) but it means your margin for deficit may be smaller than you would like. I *am* a little surprised that it set you at 1200 at ?190? pounds to start; it started me off at about 1450 calories when I started MFP (at 218 pounds). But I may have set my goal less aggressively; I don't recall.

The conventional wisdom is to eat back only 1/2 to 2/3 the exercise calories (to allow for optimistic calculations in *giving* them).

All I can say is learn to enjoy the best choices you can make for your calorie "buck". It *is* possible to eat at about 1300 calories (with exercise calories added back in) and be sated, but it takes some practice. Get enough fiber; get enough fat (for satiety).

peaceout_aly

Sounds about right! I'm 5' and sedentary, and my calorie allotment per day is 1,200. My maintenance is only slightly higher. You will adjust to the eating habits very easily! Try to focus on snacking on healthy foods throughout the day instead of large meals in order to keep hunger subdued.

ScreeField

You could consider easing into it. Do you know how many calories per day you ate before starting MFP? Just by decreasing from your starting point, you'll definitely be moving in the right direction.

One thought would be to start at 1,500 per day for a couple of weeks, drop to 1,400, then 1,300, until you reach a point where you are both losing weight and aren't feeling too deprived.

mrssabre113

I'm 5', had 26lbs to lose (current loss of 17lbs) when I have mine set to sedentary and it gives me 1200. I log my exercise but rarely eat any back. If you make healthy food choices, veggies fruit and good protein and control the amount of processed foods, 1200 really isn't too bad. I'll admit, the first 2 weeks was hard and I felt hungry all the time, but once I got used to it, I find it hard too eat too much more than 1200.

Bonny132

ScreeField wrote: »

You could consider easing into it. Do you know how many calories per day you ate before starting MFP? Just by decreasing from your starting point, you'll definitely be moving in the right direction.

One thought would be to start at 1,500 per day for a couple of weeks, drop to 1,400, then 1,300, until you reach a point where you are both losing weight and aren't feeling too deprived.

I got diagnosed recently with gluten intolerance. I ate insane amounts of food and drinks last year and could not keep anything down/in sorry TMI and I dropped loads (start weight 102kg) this year I regained 14kgs (30lbs) after my insides settled down, and I have already lost nearly 6kg of that or 13-14lbs. My Dr said that was normal as my body has not absorbed nutrients for such a long time.

I am now on a GF diet for life, as I am getting more and more intolerant. So whereas I could maintain and loose last year with no exercise and eat 24/7 (I was hungry/lethargic/vitamin deficient and more) this year is a different story

EmmaFitzwilliam

I am sad for you that you have a gluten intolerance - my housemate has the same challenge. The good news is that it makes it easier to eliminate some super-charged calorie "black holes" from your diet. I had to simply choose to not eat most grains; you will actually experience a benefit from not eating those foods.

My housemate started with a generally "paleo" approach (and has modified it to suit her needs) but there are pitfalls. It's easy (with any of the grains and/or carb limiting plans) to replace grains with fats.

That said, it can be done. You might want to start with a higher minimum and work down to 1200, but as you learn to be aware of whether you are *really* hungry, or if you are bored or thirsty, and as you learn to make satiety maximizing choices, it does get easier.

Bonny132

Thank you Emma for the advice. After spending years under the weather (2014 was just a particularly bad one) I am finding it hard to readjust. As gluten, wheat and mussels are off my menu. The last 5 years I did not gain any weight and could eat whatever... Now I am getting used to normality which means not only staying clear of my intolerances but also eating close to nothing... Such a change to my life.

Merkavar

Bonny132 wrote: »

I use my Fitbit HR and I eat back my tracked exercises, not what it records throughout the whole day. So you're saying with a min of 20kgs or 50lbs left to loose I need to get used to 1200 cals a day or 1lbs a week? I had hoped for 1.5lbs at my current weight Ho Hum...

Yeah 1200 is the lowest mfp will go, any lower and it starts being unhealthy or difficult to get adequate nutrition.

Like others said, work down to it or ease into it.

But you might get used to it after a few weeks.

Bonny132

Thanks all, guess I'll need to become a gym bunny or hope one morning by a miracle I wake up taller. And they say size does not matter, my calorie allowance tells me differently!

ElkeKNJ

I have about the same stats: extremely sedentary, exact same height, but 66 kg this morning, so overweight category. I think 1200 kcal is very hard to stick to, and so I keep falling off, though it is not even a 500 kcal deficit.
Yesterday I decided I will aim for 1450 kcals from now on, which will be my maintenance level when I reach my goal anyway. This will be a small deficit from my current weight, but 1. slow progress is better than no progress, which I keep ending up with now and 2. By the time I get to my goal weight, 1450 kcal might come naturally to me... (oh, and yesterday, I failed...)

tomatoey

I think you should consider giving yourself a bit more time to lose this weight.

You've got a lot of adjusting to do now that you have knowledge of your condition. It sounds like you're (quite naturally) unhappy about not being able to eat familiar foods. It's good though that it was figured out! and it sounds like your symptoms have improved.

The main thing with weight loss is sticking with your plan, consistency. If your plan leaves you TOO hungry and uncomfortable, that's going to set you up for bingeing, going off it, maybe losing confidence in your ability to achieve your goal.

Go for 0.5/lb week for now. Or track your ordinary diet, and cut say 200 from it. Add in a good pacey walk (40-60 minutes) after dinner on the days you don't do cardio, that will make up the difference.

oh_happy_day

Calorie allowances is seriously one of the first times I've been bummed about being short (5'2). I'm not hungry on my calorie allowance but nor does it leave any wiggle room for eating out, wine etc. Luckily I exercise heaps so that helps. I do have to be structured with my food intake - I meal plan and pre-log to make sure that I'm under my allowance while still meeting my macros and fueling my workouts.

Trishfitz78

I'm 5'2 and started this journey at 80kg. Booked a trainer twice a week and he put me on 1500 cals a day! I thought this was high but trusted him - he also gave me macros of 40 / 30 / 30.
I've logged consistently for 95 days now, train with trainer twice a week and run 35 mins twice a week (I also eat back some exercise cals) and I've lost just over 10kg! I couldn't survive on 1200, love my food too much!
Feel free to add as a friend, my diary is open.

thankyou4thevenom

I'm 5'2' as well. There's three reasons I'm not facing the same calorie goal as you.

I'm active so I get to eat those calories back.
I have a Fitbit. So it gives me my daily TDEE and I get to eat any extra with that. Despite you having a sedentary job you might be able to eat more than you think. Get yourself a pedometer (like Fitbit) and find out how active you really are.
I do a form of intermittent fasting called 5:2. So five days a week I eat to maintenance and two days a week I eat 500 cals. I chose busy days where I don't have a lot of time to eat so it's easy for me. It might work for you too.

Bonny132

I have gotten used to what I can and cannot eat gluten wise, eating out is a real struggle so I do not do it very often (Too many restaurants does not understand that once they contaminate GF food, it is no longer GF and I cannot eat it) so my symptoms are very much under control. I know I can never go back to my old eating habits, and I have reconciled myself to that fact. If anything last time I was accidently glutened, and spent the following 3 days ill served as a nice reminder of how much my body dislikes gluten, and how much my life in general has changed since my diagnosis.

I think my problem is more along what @oh_happy_day mentioned above, there is no leeway in my planning for anything. 1200 calories is quite hard to feel satisfied on, especially when I try to fit in some exercise too, as I want to not only tone up, but to build muscle (so I eat my exercise calories, as otherwise I do literally starve)

oh_happy_day

Bonny132 wrote: »

I have gotten used to what I can and cannot eat gluten wise, eating out is a real struggle so I do not do it very often (Too many restaurants does not understand that once they contaminate GF food, it is no longer GF and I cannot eat it) so my symptoms are very much under control. I know I can never go back to my old eating habits, and I have reconciled myself to that fact. If anything last time I was accidently glutened, and spent the following 3 days ill served as a nice reminder of how much my body dislikes gluten, and how much my life in general has changed since my diagnosis.

I think my problem is more along what @oh_happy_day mentioned above, there is no leeway in my planning for anything. 1200 calories is quite hard to feel satisfied on, especially when I try to fit in some exercise too, as I want to not only tone up, but to build muscle (so I eat my exercise calories, as otherwise I do literally starve)

You're welcome to add me to check out my diary. It does have gluten in it though.

I feel satisfied on my allowance. I find the exercise very helpful - gives me a few hundred extra calories, some of which I store up so that I can eat out etc.

Just be aware that you can't build muscle in a deficit. Don't let that stop you working out though - you can still get fitter/stronger and it will help retain lean muscle mass which you already have.

Bonny132

Thank you, I am aware I cannot build the muscles I want whilst in deficit, but I can strengthen what I have and make a good base for when the time comes. A few weeks back I could not even run, I am now at the end of my week 3 of the 5K runner programme. Little steps in the right direction I think, and I am getting quite good at converting "normal" food into what I can eat. My OH is frequently commenting that he cannot believe that GF food tastes this good (not sure what he was expecting to be honest lol)

lemurcat12

Bonny132 wrote: »

Thanks all, guess I'll need to become a gym bunny or hope one morning by a miracle I wake up taller. And they say size does not matter, my calorie allowance tells me differently!

I really enjoy exercise, but seriously that's a reason I exercise too -- the idea of having maintenance calories of 1500-1550 just doesn't work for me.

That said, you can do a LOT just with daily activity. Increase walking throughout the day and your maintenance calories go way up -- just experiment with different activity levels and see how it affects calories. Of course, with a desk job there are limits to how active one's daily life is, but during the warmer weather when I simply walk a lot more and back when I first started (in the winter) but was forcing myself to do everything possible by foot (and tracking with my Fitbit), I could see quite a difference.

cwolfman13

Bonny132 wrote: »

Thanks all, guess I'll need to become a gym bunny or hope one morning by a miracle I wake up taller. And they say size does not matter, my calorie allowance tells me differently!

it is a reasonably good reason to start exercising...the benefits of regular exercise go far beyond allowing you to eat more...but yeah...that's what initially got me off my *kitten*...it may sound like a lot but 1,800 calories for a male simply isn't and not something I wanted to live with...that was my target to lose about 1 Lb per week...I stuck with that for a few weeks without exercise and said feck it...I'm going for a run...voila...2200 calories...much better.

FunSizedKJ

How long have you tried eating at the 1200? It definitely takes a week or 2 for your body to get used to it. It's not a particularly terrible number, you have to just find the right foods that aren't as calorie dense so you can eat more volume of it.

Bonny132

FunSizedKJ wrote: »

How long have you tried eating at the 1200? It definitely takes a week or 2 for your body to get used to it. It's not a particularly terrible number, you have to just find the right foods that aren't as calorie dense so you can eat more volume of it.

Just about to finish week 3, I am not a volume eater btw and I hardly touch processed food (most processed gluten free food tastes awful, I tried at crumpet at lunch today, not doing that again in a hurry) I eat mainly meat/fish with veg, and carbs from rice-noodles, new potatoes or rice (very rarely GF pasta) and I treat myself to a GF roll (or slice of bread) or two at the weekends. I have never been much of a bread person.

FunSizedKJ

I understand what you're saying. But your initial question was if you put something wrong into the MFP goals because it seems low and you aren't satisfied on what the 1200 allows you, and you didn't. It's just that the food choices you are making aren't giving you as much bang for your buck as they could be (rice and noodles kill me, I love them, but they kill me). Especially if you're eating your calories back from exercising and are still hungry. That's why I suggested lower calorie food so that you will be able to eat a larger volume that will fill you up. That, in addition to maybe upping the amount of protein in the food you are eating. Playing around with the macros within the 1200 range can be a total game changer.

pointkoala

I'm pretty similar.... I have it set for 1.5lb/week and it gives me 1240 cals/day. I'm 5 feet tall. It is definitely hard sometimes. And some days, if you make one mistake, then you're over and not much you can do about it. BUT keep in mind that, even if you eat 100-200 over, you are still not at maintenance. So if you regularly do 1200/day and then, one day, you do 1400..... not a big deal.

It's difficult but I have gotten about 10 lbs lost in results so I guess it kinda works. I started in early July so it should be more than that but I didn't log for about two weeks during that time (coincidentally, I didn't lose any weight then). So back on it at the 1200 cals/day!

Bonny132

I am not hungry when I eat back my calories from the gym, I am however starving without them. As for rice and noodles, 33g (dry) rice noodles twice a week accounts for 200cals, my 1 GF roll on Sunday mornings another 200 cals, potatoes at the weekend, maybe another 200 on average, So over a week, 600 calories (If I have potatoes at the weekend I do not have rice that week)

My meals are mainly proteins with veg, not sure how I can add even more without going into seriously low carbs, I have proteins with every meal. Carbs makes me hungry/nibbly so I do not tend to eat much of those. I eat no diet products as I try to stay clear of sweeteners, the only diet product in my cupboards is slimline tonic for when I fancy a drink with friends at the weekend (I'll have some vodka or gin and slimline tonic) I average about 50g of cheese a week (my OH hates cheese) I don't eat cereals and hardly any processed GF food (pasta once every couple of months and one roll a week my attempts on making these myself have been an absolute disaster lol)

A typical day consists of:
Br: 2 home made crustless mini quishes (made with eggs, veg and meat) typically around 110-120cals each
lets round it to 250cals

Lunch: as the above with a green salad, or a chicken breast with a green salad, or prawns and avocado salad
lets round it to 250 cals

Snack before the gym: Quark with berries
another 250 calories

100ml milk throughout the day (skimmed) for my tea and coffee (40 cals but lets round up) 50 cals

Approx 2 liters of water during the day (I track my water on FitBit)
Now I am 800 out of 1200 calories, leaving me with 400 for dinner

Dinner: oily fish with steamed veg/meat or fish with steamed veg/smoked mackerel with new potatoes/beef stew with veg and rice noodles/ovenbaked chicken without skin/homemade chicken curry with 2 mini poppudoms.

My issue with the above is that there is no room for error, anything unplanned and I am over my limit, and when I come back from the gym I am really hungry so I end up having another portion of quark with berries or rice cakes with ham or humous etc I also snack on carrot batons/mangetout etc and salsa during the day (hence not too worried about rounding up my calories)

If anyone can improve on the above, please do feel free to give me any pointers you might have, and thank you for all the advice given above already.