Who eats over 1500 and manages to lose ?

megisabel

I've been reading a lot about 1200 being too low and it's best to find the highest calories that you can lose on so that there is room for manoeuvre down as you lose ?

Is anyone else doing it this way X

puffbrat

That is how MFP is set up to work. I am 5'6", currently weigh 177, eat 1690 calories per day, and have been steadily losing weight every week for the last two months.

How many calories does MFP tell you to eat each day when you enter your stats and the amount of weight you want to lose each week?

Remoth

Depends on you. I eat up to 2000 a day and I lose, but that's because I'm big enough that my deficit is still 1500. What does mfp tell you?

nutmegoreo

I am eating 1700/ day at 5'2" and 42, I'm down 45lb so far. I am losing about 1.5lb/week on average. I am enjoying this much more than when I was doing 1200.

oolou

I aim to eat 1500 a day and often go over that. But I also aim to do an hour's worth of light to moderate cardio every day so the net calorie intake is lower than 1500. Basically I exercise so I can eat more ^^ If I ate 1200 calories or less each day for longer than a few days in a row, I'd be hungry and moody.

I'm 5ft 4", 46 yrs and 171.5 pounds currently. I'm losing at a rate of a pound a week (although it's not coming off in a nice linear fashion of course, I tend to stall at a weight and then woosh off a couple pounds in one go).

HutchA12

Eating at 1200 is the min. I see a lot of new people come in say they are at 1200 bit really at their size could eat much more and have more stable sucess. Be honest with your numbers and goals then MFP will tell you what to do. Just be sure to update your current weight in the calc so it drops your numbers as you drop.

Also be prepared to lower your weekly goal as you approach a healthy weight. 2# per week isn't easy to maintain forever.

Robo_mooh

MFP gives me 1500 cals to eat, for a deficit of 1lb a week. On average I burn 500 calories a day, so I actually eat around 2000 calories to maintain a net of 1500.

I'm losing weight

Lourdesong

1500 is the low end of my calorie range, I really struggled whenever I've attempted to eat less than 1500. I typically eat anywhere between 1500-1700. Last month however I ate 1900 on average and still lost 4.5 lbs somehow.

I weigh 156 now, I began at 287.

I also do 10k+ steps a day, so that helps me be able to eat more than I otherwise would, as well.

emmycantbemeeko

Yes, most people here are eating more than 1200 calories a day and still losing. 1200 is very hard to maintain for long and few people who aren't very short and very sedentary actually need to eat that little to see steady weight loss.

scolaris

I base what I eat every day on what my Fitbit HR is telling me I am burning. It has been very accurate so far. I aim for no more than a 500 per day deficit. If I have done really big workouts during the week and have a bigger weekly deficit than 3500 I eat some of those calories back on Saturday. Being very moderate really keeps me on track. I average 1 lb per week when I do this, but it isn't exactly the same week to week. It never is. I am not just trying to fit in 'z-size jeans by y/x date.' No. I am retooling my entire health. Fat loss is just one of many other goals. Running big deficits would defeat those purposes. I like to hike & get outdoors so i often eat 1800-2000 calories.

Linzon

With exercise I was losing 1lb/week at 1600-2000 calories/day. I'm 5'4" and down to my last 10 or so pounds.

dubird

Lost 50lbs starting about 1800 a day. My maintenance is around 1600. Lowest I ever needed to get down to was 1450, and that was for the last 10lbs.

hellonew2015

That would be me - 5' 1" and sedentary - Just 1200

evileen99

I'm active, so there are days I can eat 2400 and still have a deficit. It's true; you don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.

cavia

When I was losing I was eating 1725ish calories/day for 1lb/week loss. After several bulk/cut cycles, I can now diet on ~2200calories. Muscle is my friend.

JoJean12

I can not lose eating 1500 a day.My sister tried that too and couldn't lose. I got in trouble eating 2000 calories a day and to me that amount seems like excess.so my range is 1200 to lose,1500 to maintain

VintageFeline

I started at 1560 I think (net), 5'5, 220lbs. Eating most of my exercise calories.

Now I net 1300-1400 at 179lbs but the lower end is really just an easier way for me to compensate for calorie burn inaccuracies and logging discrepancies. It is probably more like 1400 net in reality which is perfect for my 1lb per week loss. I eat more like 1800-1900 gross.

As someone else said, this isn't about getting the weight off as fast as possible, it's a total overhaul. I workout and hard, I want those workouts fuelled and feel to fit, strong and powerful. Eating enough is essential to that. So I lose a bit slower than many new to MFP would like but I'm able to be consistent and develop great new long term habits, I have no intentions of ever being 220lbs again!

WinterSkies

scolaris wrote: »

I base what I eat every day on what my Fitbit HR is telling me I am burning. It has been very accurate so far. I aim for no more than a 500 per day deficit. If I have done really big workouts during the week and have a bigger weekly deficit than 3500 I eat some of those calories back on Saturday. Being very moderate really keeps me on track. I average 1 lb per week when I do this, but it isn't exactly the same week to week. It never is. I am not just trying to fit in 'z-size jeans by y/x date.' No. I am retooling my entire health. Fat loss is just one of many other goals. Running big deficits would defeat those purposes. I like to hike & get outdoors so i often eat 1800-2000 calories.

+1 to this. While MFP sets my calories to 1590/day (5'6", 170lb) to lose 1lb/week, my activity level usually allows me extra calories every day. So, I aim for the 500 calorie deficit as well. Totally in the camp of exercising so I can eat more

erinc5

I think you will find that people who are eating 1200 are either: relatively new to calorie counting and trying to lose ASAP too aggressively, or they are a short (less than 5'2") female towards the end of their weight loss journey.

I started out my journey at 1200. It just isn't enough for me. I am 5'7" and 170. I eat a little over 1450 and have been losing fine.

For most people, it will take months to lose all their weight (some people take years), and I think most people find that if they aren't a petite female, that 1200 is just too low to continue to eat on a daily basis, month over month. Even for those petite females, its a hard amount to stick to. Just the extra 200 calories I eat makes a world of difference in my mood.

Francl27

I was 34 when I joined MFP and never ate under 1650 calories... lost 80 pounds. I'm 5'5". Depends on your height and activity, really. I exercise so I can eat more.

VintageFeline

It must be said, due to illness over the weekend I averaged 1200 net for those couple of days with little extra from exercise because I was sick and felt the impact immediately. It's only today I feel less like I want to chew my own arm off. People who are not tiny who do it for a long time are superhuman.