1200 calories a day + exercise
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lemurcat12 wrote: »3dogsrunning wrote: »And I don't care how absurd you think it is, I'm logging the numbers mfp gave me. Without a tracking device that's the best I can do.
OP -
are you losing weight? At what rate?
If it is working, keep doing it. If it is not, adjust.
Even if you calorie burns are too high, you may be off setting it by eating 1200 on the other days. You could try eating a little lesss on your active days and a little more on your rest days (so you average the same amount over the week). Or keep doing what you are doing. If it stops working, you could try eating a little less of your exercise calories.
This is the crucial question. OP's overall numbers (2000 gross on active days, 1200 on sedentary days, which less common) seem fine, but the question is whether if she is losing.
OP, if you are happy and it's working, keep it up. If you'd rather not eat 1200 on more sedentary days, just increase base calories and count back less of the walking calories.
Yes I am losing. More than 2lbs a week at the moment. Not saying it won't slow down at some point, I am sure it will but for now it's working.
Great! I started with numbers comparable to yours (220 and 5'3, although I am older) and had a similar goal and experience: ate 1250 net, but typically much more gross due to Fitbit adjustments (I think it averaged around 1700 or so, but I'm shorter and older). So your numbers seem in line with that to me. They seemed like big exercise numbers to me too (I was mostly walking a lot, some stationary biking and swimming), but I also lost really fast at first, so trusted it. I think part of it is the daily walking (the stuff you aren't counting) also tends to add up faster when you have a lot of extra weight on, so long as you aren't sedentary.
It slowed for me gradually as I lost weight. I didn't care, since I was feeling and looking so much better even before I hit goal, so I think you will be really happy at the end of the year, whether you are there or not, if you just stay consistent and don't make it too tough on yourself so you can't or don't want to stick with it, just to hit some arbitrary time line.
At some point I switched to a TDEE method, because I got tired of 1250 on off days and was running and biking enough that I didn't want all my extra calories on active days (and wanted to make sure I was eating enough to improve at those activities).0 -
I eat at 1200 calories without exercise. I use a fitness band to track anything I burn over this sedentary figure and I mostly eat back my calories depending on the day and how hungry I am. So, with exercise I can be eating anywhere from 1400-1800 cals. I don't feel like 1200 is too low for me or unsustainable. I don't know why people say that? It all depends on your height/weight/goals. If you eat your exercise calories back you'll be eating a lot more than 1200. 1200 is basically if you're sick and can't move - you'll still lose weight. I feel amazing and have lost 11lbs so far!0
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And I don't care how absurd you think it is, I'm logging the numbers mfp gave me. Without a tracking device that's the best I can do.
Exactly, you have to start somewhere. I did find that MFP estimate of my calories burned was actually double of what I actually burn so I think that's where some peoples concern is. But, you are moving more and tracking your food which is great! Keep it up!0 -
I usually just lurk around here, but I have to say this. A moderate pace walk according to MFP is 4.8km per hour (12.5 minutes per km). You say the 4.1km walk takes you 75 minutes, which is 18.3 minutes per km, making it a SLOW walk. Not fast (as you say), not moderate (as you log it), not leisurely (which would be 15 minutes per km)... SLOW (which is 18.5 minutes per km, so pretty close).
I calculated the difference between calories burned MFP gives me for a moderate pace walk and a slow walk... There's a 25% difference and that is huge. So start logging your walks correctly. You might be losing weight according to plan now, but when you get to a lower weight, it's inaccuracies like this that will get in the way of your progress.
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Well maybe the 4.1km is not accurate but my walks are not slow. I walk moderate to fast paced. I do not need anyone telling me I'm doing things wrong when it comes to logging my exercise, as that was not the point to this post. I am getting a device on wednesday and I will use it and see what it says.
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Alright so I just realized google maps calculates the quickest route when I looked at directions from my apartment to the mall. Im mapping it out now for the route I take after I drop off my daughter at school0
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Really depends on how much someone weighs. At OP's weight, it's probably 100-120 calories per mile, so 5 miles would be close to 600 calories.juggernaut1974 wrote: »That is also true...600-800 calories would need to be like a 10-15 mile walk.
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I'm 150lbs, and this is my TOTAL daily burn for walking 19kms (11 miles). I think I got an extra 1000 calories on MFP
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So I have been doing the 1200 caps a day and work out 3_4 Times a week, I have lost almost 70 pounds in 3 weeks shy of a year. I don't eat my calories back. I still have like 50 pounds to go. I don't feel deprived at all.0
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If you have a smart phone you should get a gps app like map my run or another one like that, there's many.
It's fun too see your path and actually know how far you've walked.0 -
I second the suggestion to use the map my run app. It can track walking/running/bicycling it's great.0
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I am new to using MFP (have used other stuff in the past) but I can say that 1200 calories is too low.
For me personally--I can't get a good workout in if I am eating too little. I have found that I am able to lose over 1 pound a week at 1500 calories and I don't even count the "exercise calories" at all. I just stick to my 1500 a day whether I've burned 90 calories or walked 3 miles or did an hour on the elliptical and burned about 250 calories. I see no point in trying to make up for any calories burned during exercise (I'm not a trainer or expert so I can't say if that's the wrong way of doing it but I find it works for me)
I am 5'6 197 pounds and 33 years old. From my exercise tracker I burn 129 calories for every 30 minutes of walking at a 3.0 mph pace. If I am walking a slower pace, say 2mph-- then I only burn 90 for the same amount of time.
But I am also working out in a gym and can keep track of exactly what I am walking and for how long.
I agree with everyone else when they say that 100 pounds is possible but you will have to decrease your calorie amount every 5-10 pounds you lose because your body needs less calories the less you weigh. You don't want to start off so low that you begin to feel weak or want to binge later in the day.
You want to fuel yourself so you can workout, build muscle and burn fat.
Eat higher protein meals, cut down carbs (not dramatically but stick within your macro limits and eat less carbs on non-active days) and again--1200 calories is just too low. I tried that for a week and kept overeating the next day and my workouts sucked. I did some calculating and realized I actually need to eat between 1500-1700 a day for my activity level and I feel so much better and I'm seeing the results much more now. Bigger weight loss and noticeable toning and fat loss on my body.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!! 0 -
Iheartalaric wrote: »I am new to using MFP (have used other stuff in the past) but I can say that 1200 calories is too low.
For me personally--I can't get a good workout in if I am eating too little. I have found that I am able to lose over 1 pound a week at 1500 calories and I don't even count the "exercise calories" at all. I just stick to my 1500 a day whether I've burned 90 calories or walked 3 miles or did an hour on the elliptical and burned about 250 calories. I see no point in trying to make up for any calories burned during exercise (I'm not a trainer or expert so I can't say if that's the wrong way of doing it but I find it works for me)
I am 5'6 197 pounds and 33 years old. From my exercise tracker I burn 129 calories for every 30 minutes of walking at a 3.0 mph pace. If I am walking a slower pace, say 2mph-- then I only burn 90 for the same amount of time.
But I am also working out in a gym and can keep track of exactly what I am walking and for how long.
I agree with everyone else when they say that 100 pounds is possible but you will have to decrease your calorie amount every 5-10 pounds you lose because your body needs less calories the less you weigh. You don't want to start off so low that you begin to feel weak or want to binge later in the day.
You want to fuel yourself so you can workout, build muscle and burn fat.
Eat higher protein meals, cut down carbs (not dramatically but stick within your macro limits and eat less carbs on non-active days) and again--1200 calories is just too low. I tried that for a week and kept overeating the next day and my workouts sucked. I did some calculating and realized I actually need to eat between 1500-1700 a day for my activity level and I feel so much better and I'm seeing the results much more now. Bigger weight loss and noticeable toning and fat loss on my body.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
But she is eating more than 1200 on most days. She;s eating like 1900 calories on some days.0 -
I'm gonna stick to my 1200 a day unless I feel like I'm hungry and need to eat more.0
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And I don't care how absurd you think it is, I'm logging the numbers mfp gave me. Without a tracking device that's the best I can do.
try getting MapMyWalk app on your phone, granted it may not be 100% accurate, it seems to be pretty close, and it will track how far you are walking, calories burned may be different than MFP but you can always just use the distance info you get from it and plug that into mfp.
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Ok...I am finding this a bit weird. OP is losing about 2lbs/week - which is what she wanted. Perhaps she is overestimating her calories burned slightly. But she has the safety margin of having dropped her base calories to 1200 while eating back all her exercise calories - so about 1900 a day. So overestimate on one side while underestimate on the other . Without more accurate tracking tools, it sounds like she has found a way to balance it out.
Also she said MFP calculates her burn at about 380/390 and someone posted that Runners World's calculation was about 350. Not that much of a difference IMO.
OP, what I did was start monitoring my weight daily in TrendWeight. I only want to lose 1lb a week. MFP set me at 1200 calories (I am 5ft tall). I was eating back half my exercise calories, so about 1300 cals a day. After logging for 4 weeks, TrendWeight said I was averaging 1.5lbs a week of loss and burning a bit over 200 calories a day more than I planned to. Too fast for me, so I have started eating all my exercise calories. (MFP gives me a burn of 400-500 cals a day, and I had been eating 200-250 of that. Now I eat all 400-500 of it). I am kinda impressed that according to my TrendWeight stats, MFP's exercise numbers seem to be pretty accurate for me.
I plan to watch TrendWeight for the next 2-3 weeks and adjusting my calorie intake up or down based on what it says.
It makes sense to pay attention to MY body to see how my way of tracking works/doesn't work and adjust accordingly. Every single calculator out there is just an estimate anyway. Plus, even with all my careful weighing, I have to do a certain amount of estimating when it comes to food logging anyway - when I eat out/eat at a friend's place - I have to guess as best as I can. While most ppl underestimate, I know I often overestimate since I want to be safe.
So I am watching the scale. Also paying more attention to my body. I was feeling sleepy and having a hard time concentrating on my previous plan. So I am eating more and will see how that goes. No interest in starving myself
Also, based on advice here, I work on weekly net calories. That way if I overeat on one day, I can exercise more/eat less on the next day to make up for it. I've been pretty good about staying right about where my weekly net calories are.0 -
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I use Runkeeper for both walks and runs and I agree, an app like that can really help in figuring out your distance, pace, etc. I've toyed with getting a Fitbit or similar but I've read mixed reviews on how accurate they are so I wasn't sure if it was worth the money (for me). A lot of people love theirs though!0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »
I mean I'm sticking to 1200 + exercise calories0 -
I've seen girls with eating disorders exercising and eating under 1k cal per day. I believed you mentioned you did well on 1500 cal so I would stick to that and maybe more on harder workout days.0
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I've seen girls with eating disorders exercising and eating under 1k cal per day. I believed you mentioned you did well on 1500 cal so I would stick to that and maybe more on harder workout days.
So have I, but that has nothing to do with me since I'm not eating under 1000 calories a day. I eat 1200 calories on days I don't exercise and 1900-2000 on exercise days.0 -
Perhaps seeing what apps u can download to your phone to get slightly more accurate might also help u with confidence with your numbers? Some of what others posters on here have said in this thread got me to download the free Runtastic app on my phone.
I was worried it wouldn't work on my Blackberry but I tested it out today and it worked well. It said I walked faster than I thought - 3.6mph instead of 3mph and gave me a more accurate number for distance walked. Since I have been recording this as 219 cals, I can eat 20 calories today Numbers were pretty close to MFP though. (248 cals on MFP, 239 cals on Runtastic). 0 -
Ok...I am finding this a bit weird. OP is losing about 2lbs/week - which is what she wanted. Perhaps she is overestimating her calories burned slightly. But she has the safety margin of having dropped her base calories to 1200 while eating back all her exercise calories - so about 1900 a day. So overestimate on one side while underestimate on the other . Without more accurate tracking tools, it sounds like she has found a way to balance it out.
Also she said MFP calculates her burn at about 380/390 and someone posted that Runners World's calculation was about 350. Not that much of a difference IMO.
OP, what I did was start monitoring my weight daily in TrendWeight. I only want to lose 1lb a week. MFP set me at 1200 calories (I am 5ft tall). I was eating back half my exercise calories, so about 1300 cals a day. After logging for 4 weeks, TrendWeight said I was averaging 1.5lbs a week of loss and burning a bit over 200 calories a day more than I planned to. Too fast for me, so I have started eating all my exercise calories. (MFP gives me a burn of 400-500 cals a day, and I had been eating 200-250 of that. Now I eat all 400-500 of it). I am kinda impressed that according to my TrendWeight stats, MFP's exercise numbers seem to be pretty accurate for me.
I plan to watch TrendWeight for the next 2-3 weeks and adjusting my calorie intake up or down based on what it says.
It makes sense to pay attention to MY body to see how my way of tracking works/doesn't work and adjust accordingly. Every single calculator out there is just an estimate anyway. Plus, even with all my careful weighing, I have to do a certain amount of estimating when it comes to food logging anyway - when I eat out/eat at a friend's place - I have to guess as best as I can. While most ppl underestimate, I know I often overestimate since I want to be safe.
So I am watching the scale. Also paying more attention to my body. I was feeling sleepy and having a hard time concentrating on my previous plan. So I am eating more and will see how that goes. No interest in starving myself
Also, based on advice here, I work on weekly net calories. That way if I overeat on one day, I can exercise more/eat less on the next day to make up for it. I've been pretty good about staying right about where my weekly net calories are.
I agree 100% if its working, and she is losing 2 lb a week, and not 7 lbs a week she should keep at it, an app for tracking just makes it a little easier, and makes me feel for confident I am tracking my info as close as I can...2lbs a week is a healthy rate to lose....I know this past summer I was walking between 4-7 miles a day depending on time and weather, and I was losing about 2lbs a week as well..not that winter is here in MN walking has pretty much halted lol....OP keep doing what you are doing if it is working for you, and you are feeling well..
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I've just started with MFP and its gave me 1200 as a goal for my daily calories. I currently weigh 171. Is this something that isn't sustainable? I've seen lots of people on this post saying it's too low? X0
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If you're short, 1200 is perfectly fine. However, taller more active women can eat much more, so long as you do exercise regularly. Try some websites to help you work out your goal versus the MFP auto settings. Good luck!0
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I've just started with MFP and its gave me 1200 as a goal for my daily calories. I currently weigh 171. Is this something that isn't sustainable? I've seen lots of people on this post saying it's too low? X
@slrayner - that depends. It can be fine if you are very short and sedentary. For many, it is too low. The problem is people often pick the sedentary option when they are not and then choose 2 lbs a week for a weight loss goal when it is too aggressive and end up at 1200.
It's also important to note that even if MFP gives you 1200, the app expects you to log exercise and eat those calories back. So if you exercise you eat more than 1200. This is another common mistake, not eating at least some of the exercise calories back.0 -
I don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply x0
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I don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply xI don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply x
At 5'6 and 171 lbs you should not be aiming for 2 lbs a week. 1 lb a week would be much more realistic. 2lbs a week is a more realistic goal for those with 100 or more pounds to lose.
You should be over 1200.0 -
Thank you so much @3dogsrunning for taking the time to reply. I've changed my goal to 1.5lbs a week and I now have 1370 cals to play with which sounds a lot better to me x0
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