Calorie intake...I know, I know!
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lemurcat12 wrote: »@lemurcat12, MFP said 2200 cal, 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat. My activity level is gym 5 days a week, one hour. Rest days are Wednesdays and Sundays.
Did you ask for 1 lb/week or what? If you did, I think it's fine to go under. If you said 2 lbs, I'd be less comfortable with it. Also, are you adding exercise calories to the goal and what did you say your activity level was (in other words, did you give it a higher activity level, like "active" and if so were you including exercise in your estimate).
2000 or even 1800 sound plenty high to me, for most, but if you are very tall you might have reason to eat more.
OP, can you answer this question about adding your exercise into your activity level? That is one way to calculate TDEE and a deficit, but not when you are using the MFP NEAT method. Activity level should be without added exercise.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position
I think it happens a lot when people drastically change their diet and eliminate many of the foods they were eating previously.
That's probably true. I just need to find the combination of food that makes me feel like that!
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So:
Height ? ( I know you said average, but what exactly are you considering average)
Weight ?
(this information helps us to figure out why MFP gave you that calorie goal. If we don't know that we can't tell you if it's reasonable for you to eat less or not)
Make sure you have your settings correct on MFP.
Do you use a food scale? If not, you could be eating more than you think.
Do you use oil/butter when you cook? If yes, are you logging it?
Are you using "Homemade " or " Generic " entries from the database? These could easily be incorrect for what your eating. Always double check entries you use, because the database is mostly user created and there are a lot of incorrect entries.
How long have you been at this? Days, weeks, Months?
Have you lost any weight in that time frame? If so how much?
I'll leave this here as well (it's about eyeballing portions vs weighing portions out):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
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THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!0
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@jprewitt1, I'm not sure how many calories I was eating before, but I was gaining.
Oh okay. I misunderstood then. What is your ultimate goal? How much weight do you want to lose? Do you want to be able to run 5K races for fun when you're done doing this weight loss?0 -
@arditarose, without including the gym, I would consider myself active with the exception of my desk job, but I get up and move.0
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I often have this question; if someone gains enough weight that they want to lose some, how come they all of a sudden find it difficult to eat enough to reach a calorie goal that should see them losing weight. This goal must be less than they used to eat, during the time they gained the weight. The reason is I am jealous and wish I could be in the same position [/quote]
I'm surprised anyone would have this question. If you are used to eating really high-calorie, yummy food and then switch to less calorie dense food, it can be harder to eat the same number of calories. I could probably eat 5000 calories of pizza in one sitting. I probably could not eat 5000 calories worth of veggies and chicken breast in one day.0 -
In general, because I eat low carb, high fat, I find most days I'm well under 2000 calories unless I've gone out to eat and "splurged" on dessert or bread.0
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If you are eating a decent minimum amount of calories (and 1500 sounds fine) and you are not hungry don't force yourself to eat. If you are dipping below 1200 then that is a different story. It is probably just your body adjusting to a different diet and your appetite will likely return. Forcing yourself to eat doesn't help you in the long run teach yourself to stop when you've had enough.0
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shadow2soul wrote: »So:
Height ? ( I know you said average, but what exactly are you considering average)
Weight ?
(this information helps us to figure out why MFP gave you that calorie goal. If we don't know that we can't tell you if it's reasonable for you to eat less or not)
Make sure you have your settings correct on MFP.
Do you use a food scale? If not, you could be eating more than you think.
Do you use oil/butter when you cook? If yes, are you logging it?
Are you using "Homemade " or " Generic " entries from the database? These could easily be incorrect for what your eating. Always double check entries you use, because the database is mostly user created and there are a lot of incorrect entries.
How long have you been at this? Days, weeks, Months?
Have you lost any weight in that time frame? If so how much?
I'll leave this here as well (it's about eyeballing portions vs weighing portions out):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
^Waiting for the answers to some of these questions before I toss in my two cents. Otherwise I'm like to twist myself into a pretzel trying to cover all the possibilities!0 -
@jprewitt1, my goal is 40 pounds, and no 5Ks for me, at least not running it the whole time! LOL! ☺️0
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Prior to using MFP, I understood that my breakfast was generous and my evening after work intake was undisciplined and excessive. Since I began using MFP a couple of weeks ago I've been able to sharply reduce my breakfast and get control of my evenings after work. Now, after breakfast and lunch from the junk food in the kitchen at my workplace, I get home having consumed about 750 calories including about half my daily sodium budget. Once I'm home, I have about 4 hours before bedtime and it's very easy to intake no more than 700 calories and be sated. During the last week, that included a serving of Girl Scout cookies. In the 14 days I've been using MFP, I've lost an average of 1/2 lb per day. My calorie target from MFP is 2360 per day. I'm usually 1000 short of that.0
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See, the reason people are asking for your current weight and height is because there is a possibility that you may have picked the wrong goal entry (gain a pound instead of lose a pound for example)0
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A desk job is classed as sedentary. If you've told MFP that you're active it will give you more calories than sedentary.
- Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
- Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)
- Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
- Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)
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@jprewitt1, my goal is 40 pounds, and no 5Ks for me, at least not running it the whole time! LOL! ☺️
I don't understand why you won't answer the questions you have been asked. Unless you are over 300 pounds now that calorie goal is probably too high but no way to know without real numbers.0 -
@arditarose, without including the gym, I would consider myself active with the exception of my desk job, but I get up and move.
Even "getting up and moving" isn't going to be enough to put most people with a desk job into the "active" category. That's for people who are on their feet for their entire working day, I believe. You may want to adjust your activity level -- this will result in a lower calorie goal, but also probably a more accurate one.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »@arditarose, without including the gym, I would consider myself active with the exception of my desk job, but I get up and move.
Even "getting up and moving" isn't going to be enough to put most people with a desk job into the "active" category. That's for people who are on their feet for their entire working day, I believe. You may want to adjust your activity level -- this will result in a lower calorie goal, but also probably a more accurate one.
Yeah...I mean...I work with little children, and live in NYC/walk everywhere, and I'm still the "lightly active".0 -
@shadow2soul and @diannethegeek:
5'5 @ 214lbs.
I have not been using scale, but will upon recommendations
I cook with butter and olive oil (just discovered how to add my recipes today, so I will start including those measurements)
Sometimes I use the "generic" when it matches, like Chobani but I create my entries for the most part.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »@arditarose, without including the gym, I would consider myself active with the exception of my desk job, but I get up and move.
Even "getting up and moving" isn't going to be enough to put most people with a desk job into the "active" category. That's for people who are on their feet for their entire working day, I believe. You may want to adjust your activity level -- this will result in a lower calorie goal, but also probably a more accurate one.
Oh I apologize for not reading the whole thread so I thought maybe she didn't enter her goal correctly. Yes. I totally agree with the above post. You may need to re-evaluate your activity.0 -
Thank you @CurlyCockney , that clarifies a lot.0
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You're welcome!0
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I have to walk 16000 steps in addition to an hour in the gym strength training to even get to a TDEE of 2,200 a day. I can not relate to the problem of not being able to eat enough to reach my minimum.0
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@shadow2soul and @diannethegeek:
5'5 @ 214lbs.
I have not been using scale, but will upon recommendations
I cook with butter and olive oil (just discovered how to add my recipes today, so I will start including those measurements)
Sometimes I use the "generic" when it matches, like Chobani but I create my entries for the most part.
There is no way to accurately know how much you're consuming without weighing. Measuring should only be for liquid. Try it and you'll be very surprised.0 -
@shadow2soul and @diannethegeek:
5'5 @ 214lbs.
I have not been using scale, but will upon recommendations
I cook with butter and olive oil (just discovered how to add my recipes today, so I will start including those measurements)
Sometimes I use the "generic" when it matches, like Chobani but I create my entries for the most part.
IMHO, I think you have set your activity level too high, for MFP to give you a minimum of 2200 calories at your height and weight. Unless you are on your feet 8 hours a day and or regularly lifting and carrying heavy things, you could very easily drop to 1600-2000 a day.0 -
ManiacalLaugh wrote: »LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
That's not true at all. My maintenance is 1800 cals and I'm not even down to goal weight yet. I can definitely gain weight eating 2,000 cals a day. (Substantially, if given enough time)
OP, it's different for everyone, which is why people are asking for stats. If you're taller and/or heavier, you should definitely keep that intake high. If you're shorter and/or lighter, you might need to drop it a little.
I think the point is that most people who've come to the point of needing to lose weight were eating a lot more calories than they are now...so why all of a sudden are they unable to eat?0 -
daniwilford wrote: »@shadow2soul and @diannethegeek:
5'5 @ 214lbs.
I have not been using scale, but will upon recommendations
I cook with butter and olive oil (just discovered how to add my recipes today, so I will start including those measurements)
Sometimes I use the "generic" when it matches, like Chobani but I create my entries for the most part.
IMHO, I think you have set your activity level too high, for MFP to give you a minimum of 2200 calories at your height and weight. Unless you are on your feet 8 hours a day and or regularly lifting and carrying heavy things, you could very easily drop to 1600-2000 a day.
+1.
OP, my advice would be change your activity level to lightly active and start using a food scale as often as possible. This will lower your calories and improve your logging accuracy. Then log any additional exercise and eat back half those calories. Then give it 4-6 weeks and see what happens. Good luck!0 -
Also, I find I can manage and not feel hungry on fairly low calories - some days (very occasional) I only eat 1000 cals total and don't feel hungry. But then there is life. After several weeks of strict eating, I was longing for a treat here and there. Plus, social situations often involve food. After 4 weeks, I have upped my cals by 200-250 a day. Yes I could manage on my prior calories - which led me to lose about 1.5lbs a week on avg. BUT - it was strict and once I threw in social situations, it got frustrating. I am much happier now that I have upped my calories.
It will take me a bit longer to lose weight, but I don't have to see red numbers and feel like a failure, I can still eat out, go to my friends' homes for food without obsessing over every bite (or eating before I go lol), etc. It's been much more relaxing since I upped the numbers.
Plus, I figure it will make maintenance easier since it will not be such a drastic difference in calories. I have seen way too many people pack the pounds back on after coming off a super restrictive diet.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »ManiacalLaugh wrote: »LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »If you're having a hard time eating 2200 calories, how did you end up in a position where you felt you needed to lose weight? One does not gain weight eating 1500-2000 calories per day.
That's not true at all. My maintenance is 1800 cals and I'm not even down to goal weight yet. I can definitely gain weight eating 2,000 cals a day. (Substantially, if given enough time)
OP, it's different for everyone, which is why people are asking for stats. If you're taller and/or heavier, you should definitely keep that intake high. If you're shorter and/or lighter, you might need to drop it a little.
I think the point is that most people who've come to the point of needing to lose weight were eating a lot more calories than they are now...so why all of a sudden are they unable to eat?
They aren't unable to eat all of a sudden. If they've changed from lots of high calorie foods like fast food (which can be fine but is usually high calorie) to home cooked meals or more low cal food then they can still eat the same volume but drop down in calories.
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