1350 calories a day...how do you do it?

SCoil123

tracymayo1 wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I have that job too. I have a desk job. If I do nothing but my desk job, take the bus home, and sit in front of the TV I STILL get 5000 steps which if you have an activity tracker MFP will set you to lightly active or you will start accruing extra calories if you set to sedentary.

I know people think MFP sedentary means desk job but I'm telling you it doesn't act like that. Since people are using MFP it doesn't matter what they think sedentary means it matters what MFP sets your TDEE to if you select sedentary and what it does is barely budge it off your BMR which is like what you would be if you were bedridden, not walking around on occassion with a desk job.

I encourage everyone who doubts me on this to try it themselves. Play with the MFP calculator, figure out what your BMR is and set yourself to sedentary and see that it considers your TDEE to be close to your BMR. Set to lightly active and see that it only bumps up from BMR not that much which is probably much more accurate for what most people consider to be sedentary.

If you use fitbit... you should be at Sedentary and allow negative calories... It is what I do, and it works.
I have to walk extra in a day to hit my 8000 step goal.

How do you set it to allow negative calories?

hmltwin

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass. Based on that my maintenance is 1550 sedentary and 2200 when very active (these stats seem about right for me, as I was maintaining at 2200 when actively tri training). Lightly active is 1775, but that's not going to mean just walking 5000 steps, I don't think--MFP's lightly active is different from the TDEE calculators that include exercise.

I've tested MFP's lightly active with my fitbit. If I go over 5000 steps in a day it starts adding calories to my net.

5000+ steps a day is what I get doing basically nothing working a desk job. I get the feeling almost everyone puts in sedentary even though chacnes are they aren't.

When I don't exercise, I'm lucky to get 5000 steps. Usually -without taking an extra walk or five - I get right around 3500 steps. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's sedentary. That's why I set MFP to sedentary - then I eat back all/most of the calories I get when I do exercise.

Also, if you look at MFP's instructions, in the diet profile it has this:

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)

tracymayo1

SCoil123 wrote: »

tracymayo1 wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I have that job too. I have a desk job. If I do nothing but my desk job, take the bus home, and sit in front of the TV I STILL get 5000 steps which if you have an activity tracker MFP will set you to lightly active or you will start accruing extra calories if you set to sedentary.

I know people think MFP sedentary means desk job but I'm telling you it doesn't act like that. Since people are using MFP it doesn't matter what they think sedentary means it matters what MFP sets your TDEE to if you select sedentary and what it does is barely budge it off your BMR which is like what you would be if you were bedridden, not walking around on occassion with a desk job.

I encourage everyone who doubts me on this to try it themselves. Play with the MFP calculator, figure out what your BMR is and set yourself to sedentary and see that it considers your TDEE to be close to your BMR. Set to lightly active and see that it only bumps up from BMR not that much which is probably much more accurate for what most people consider to be sedentary.

If you use fitbit... you should be at Sedentary and allow negative calories... It is what I do, and it works.
I have to walk extra in a day to hit my 8000 step goal.

How do you set it to allow negative calories?

oh boy... It was in the settings when you link up your fitbit and MFP.. there is a box to tick off that says something in line with allow negative calorie calculations I think it was...Ill see if I can find it - unless someone else knows exactly where it was

tracymayo1

@SCoil123 - go to EXERCISE - SETTINGS and I believe it was second option from the bottom of the list there is a box showing allow negative calorie adjustments.
Tick that box.
Now Fitbit and MFP will auto adjust your calories based on the steps you take ALL day and will ADD calories to your daily limit as the day progresses based on your activity each day compared to what activity MFP guessed you SHOULD be at.

Steff46

OP - My calorie goal is 1300 a day. MFP had it lower but I rounded it up! I am 5'5", age 51 and have a desk job. I'm very active (most days after work) and some days I do eat at maintenance. But most days I stay at the 1300 mark.
Preparation is the key. Here is what I've been doing. During the week I eat breakfast and lunch at my desk. Breakfast - overnight oats & fruit, Lunches - canned chicken/tuna, canned veggies, fruit (I keep canned goods at my desk), Dinners - Lean protein & lots of veggies. I usually cook on Sundays and Wednesdays. Some ideas, bake chicken in stock in the oven, put a roast in the crock pot with stock. Use these with veggies, raw or cooked or steamed. I don't make a lot of fish due to an allergy. I do save room for sweets, like low calorie ice creams and I love the occasional chips.

tomteboda

@Aaron_K123 I'm of the opinion you're being piled on in this thread. It's starting to really look like cyber bullying at this point, not because of intent but because of sheer repetition of the calls for your apologies and so many people casting pretty harsh judgements on you based on having a different style of communicating.

For this reason, I actually think this thread is not only derailed and no longer useful, but actively harmful.

ouryve

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I found this inspiring:

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

Of course not everyone has the time or will to do that, I do understand that it is an extreme example, but just the idea that looking better and feeling better doesn't have to be weight loss (for those who are not obese or very overweight) seems to be a powerful idea worth mentioning as a counterpoint to low-calorie dieting. If that is not for you thats okay and I apologize for coming across as so insistant.

It's not just time and will. My ligaments are doing a pretty poor job of even supporting my own bodyweight plus a light backpack (and forget carrying anything in my hands) this week.

AnnPT77

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

I was trying to avoid this thread but people keep posting @ me.

@AnnTP77 I was trying to help. I think my first post here was fine but in responding to others I got overly defensive and sounded patronizing and antagonistic. I shouldn't have responded to every response and should have let it go.

(snip)

@AnnTP77 with net/eat in mind I did read OP wasn't losing at 1600 calories but was struggling to eat 1350. I was attempting to suggest that there are two ways to approach a deficit and that she might be able to eat more while still netting 1350 by increasing her activity level.

(snip)

I found that depressing but then I met people on this site who approached dieting by eating the same or even more and greatly increasing their activity level and I found that inspiring. Because of that I tend to post on low cal posts where the OP is struggling and suggest that a deficit can be reached through increased activity.

My tone is wrong and I get over defensive so I need to work on that. What I'm trying to do is fight a culture that I view as toxic to people's actual health.

Thank you. I suspect it was difficult to recognize and write that, and I respect you for doing so.

It may surprise you to know - and I know this is off topic for the thread - that I absolutely agree with you and share your concern about people who have over-aggressive goals. I'm a believer in asking them questions about their stats, or qualifying my advice, because I know some really do struggle with low goals and have no choice. There are outliers on the TDEE/NEAT bell curves.

In practice, I am one: I'm a li'l ol' lady (60 y/o), retired from a desk job, who is truly sedentary outside of intentional exercise, by anyone's definition. (I'd be surprised if I get as many as 1000 steps in a typical day.) I record and eat back any significant unusual activity, even a few silly ones, if I figure the calories are substantial (say, 3 digits).

The TDEE calculators put my sedentary TDEE around 1400-1500 at my current weight/height (120lbs, 5'5"). MFP appears to put my NEAT (if I use settings that accurately describe my behavior) at something near that.

Yet I'm maintaining at something above 2000 net calories, and averaging consumption above that because of daily exercise that's usually around 300 calories +/- 50. While losing weight, I had to set MFP at "active" (not just "lightly active") to get it to calculate anything like a rational calorie goal - based on my actual weight loss rate - even though I'm truly sedentary. I have no idea why this is so - although I'm grateful for it - it's crazy.

This leads me to conclude that there are probably a few others who are as far below the TDEE/NEAT population average as I am above it. If my actual NEAT is at least 200 above what MFP estimates, then probably some women my age/size have a real-life sedentary NEAT at 1300 or below. (I have some MFP friends in that category, too - based on watching months of their meticulous logging & progress photos, I completely believe them.)

These people - the ones on the unhappy slope of the bell curve - are more likely to post than people who are at or above the calculators' values.

carlysuzanne85

What's been working for me lately has been looking at my calories for the entire week. My daily goal is 1350 calories but my TDEE is 1900, so I know anything under 1900 is in weight loss mode. There are days I'm under 1350 and days I'm over and I just try to have as close to a weekly average of 1350 as possible. For example, there are days when I eat my 1350 or so and then work out and am not extra hungry so I might only net 900 or 1000 that day. But then the next day, I have planned on going to my favorite Mexican restaurant or drinking a few glasses of wine or eating a giant dessert or whatever it is and that will put me quite over 1350--but between the two days I've averaged somewhere close to my goal. I've been averaging between 1350-1550 calorie weeks for the past couple months and I'm finding that quite sustainable for now. That balance and flexibility, for me, is key to maintaining my lifestyle change

On days when I am sticking to my 1350, as others have said, it's a lot of veggies, lean protein, and planning ahead! I do my best when I meal prep and plan. I like to eat the most in the evenings, so I'll have, for example, either a Greek yogurt (100 cals) or fruit (banana or apple) for breakfast, and then I'll eat a salad that's packed with tons of veggies and a lean protein for lunch so I still have a solid chunk of calories for dinner/evening snacks. I try to keep my breakfasts/lunches to about 600-700 cals total so I have 650-750 for evenings.

rheabb0325

Breakfast
Silk - Almond Milk Light, 1 cup 40 5g 2g 1g 0mg 160mg 5g 0g
Strawberry - Strawberries, 4 strawberry 23 6g 0g 0g 0mg 1mg 3g 1g
Blueberries, 0.25 cup 21 5g 0g 0g 0mg 0mg 4g 1g
Idealshake-vanilla Meal Replacement - Whey shake powder, 1 scoop 100 10g 3g 11g 25mg 210mg 2g 5g

Lunch
On the go - chicken avacado wrap, 100 g 202 18g 9g 12g 0mg 185mg 2g 0g
Smart Food - Single Serve White Cheddar Popcorn, 1 package-5/8 oz 100 9g 6g 2g 5mg 180mg 1g 1g
Morrison - Watermelon, 1 cup 35 9g 0g 1g 0mg 1mg 7g 0g

Dinner
Kt - Beef Stew In Crockpot, 2 cups 271 13g 15g 21g 70mg 8mg 0g 2g
Homemade - Angel Food Cake (Plain), 1 slice 72 30g 0g 3g 0mg 320mg 23g 0g
Muffins - Cornbread, 1/12 of recipe 243 37g 83g 4g 56mg 191mg 18g 1g

Snacks
Figi's - Pecan and Cashew Mix, 0.0625 Cup or 28g 43 2g 4g 1g 0mg 25mg 0g 0g
Rold Gold Pretzels - Tiny Twists - 1/2oz Single Serve Bag, 0.25 oz 30 6g 0g 1g 0mg 110mg 0g 0g

TOTAL: 1,180 150g 122g 57g 156mg 1,391mg 65g 11g

H_Ock12

I eat 1200 calories (or less) a day & rarely eat back my exercise calories. Now that I've been doing it religiously for five months, I don't feel hungry anymore, but those first few weeks were brutal. I don't restrict what I eat, but I only eat three times a day. I start with a glass of cold water with my morning meds and 10 almonds, second meal between 11-2, and if I have calories left after second meal, I'll eat again in the evening (if not, a glass of 2% milk is filling enough). On days I lift (mornings), I'll add a protein shake.

This method may not be for everyone, but at 5'8", I am happy with the weight I've lost and the muscles that are starting to show through my fat again.

lemurcat12

eveandqsmom wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

Honestly troubles me how many people on this site seem to be trying to eat 1200-1400 calories a day, that just seems ludicrously low to me. That is like a sandwich, a glass of milk, a salad and a bowl of cereal for your entire day. You look at people who claim to be full on that and they are just eating a ton of fibery plant matter to I guess make them feel full in the physical sense...but that can't be satisfying.

I'm 5'2, and not incredibly active...for an example often for breakfast I have an English muffin with avocado, egg and salsa (approx 300), for lunch I'll have a green dragon roll (400), and that leaves 650 for a completely satisfying dinner. (if I have zero activity)

I think people try to imagine THEIR lives on lower calorie diets and that's not fair...I'm not a 6' male fitness trainer. 1200 calories only puts me at one pound per week loss.

I also think there is a HUGE disconnect when it comes to people saying they "eat" a certain number of calories when they mean "net"...I used to net 1200 easily while eating closer to 1600-1700 a day.

Yup. I used to do 1250. In other words, net 1250. Ate a lot more much of the time. Wouldn't do 1250 under the TDEE method, of course.

Christine_72

This link lists how many step equals which activity level. Sedentary is between 5,000-7459 steps a day.

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

daniip_la

Christine_72 wrote: »

This link lists how many step equals which activity level. Sedentary is between 5,000-7459 steps a day.

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

That doesn't match up with what MFP calculates, though, as I posted above. I've only taken ~6000 steps today, and I've already got a ~300kcal adjustment (my adjustment's more because I weigh more, but the important part is that it's adjusting me upwards with my level set to Sedentary). MFP's sedentary setting seems to be under 3000 steps a day.

VintageFeline

daniip_la wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

This link lists how many step equals which activity level. Sedentary is between 5,000-7459 steps a day.

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

That doesn't match up with what MFP calculates, though, as I posted above. I've only taken ~6000 steps today, and I've already got a ~300kcal adjustment (my adjustment's more because I weigh more, but the important part is that it's adjusting me upwards with my level set to Sedentary). MFP's sedentary setting seems to be under 3000 steps a day.

I posted earlier in the thread. I've checked this with my tracker and negative adjustments turned out and being a truly sedentary person. It's about 2500 steps for sedentary (as in that's where the adjustment hits 0) and increases by that number per activity level. This is for MFPs settings.

Christine_72

daniip_la wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

This link lists how many step equals which activity level. Sedentary is between 5,000-7459 steps a day.

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

That doesn't match up with what MFP calculates, though, as I posted above. I've only taken ~6000 steps today, and I've already got a ~300kcal adjustment (my adjustment's more because I weigh more, but the important part is that it's adjusting me upwards with my level set to Sedentary). MFP's sedentary setting seems to be under 3000 steps a day.

I'm set to lightly active, only changed it this week. I'll pay attention today to see when my numbers start moving upward (it's 6am here now), I assumed it was around 5000 steps??

paigeg150

I'm eating under 1350 every day. I log everything and weigh my food. I can honestly say I'm rarely hungry and I enjoy what I'm eating. When I am hungry, I can usually identify why, I.e. Extra workout, forgot a snack, missed my protein goal. High protein is key. I made the smallest change to my morning breakfast and it made a huge difference fighting off AM cravings. I was using plain yogurt, blueberries and a tsp of honey. I switched to plain GREEK yogurt, 1 TBP of peanut butter and blueberries and I am much more full in the morning.

Friend me if you want to see my diary for ideas! Bottom line is, you shouldn't live your life hungry.

tomteboda

Based on currently available evidence, we propose the following preliminary indices be used to classify pedometer-determined physical activity in healthy adults: (i). <5000 steps/day may be used as a 'sedentary lifestyle index'; (ii). 5000-7499 steps/day is typical of daily activity excluding sports/exercise and might be considered 'low active'; (iii). 7500-9999 likely includes some volitional activities (and/or elevated occupational activity demands) and might be considered 'somewhat active'; and (iv). >or=10000 steps/day indicates the point that should be used to classify individuals as 'active'. Individuals who take >12500 steps/day are likely to be classified as 'highly active'.

Tudor-Locke, Catrine, et al. "BMI-referenced cut points for pedometer-determined steps per day in adults." Journal of physical activity & health 5.Suppl 1 (2008): S126.

kshama2001

My FitBit One starts giving me calories after I've gone around 2,100 steps.

lemurcat12

daniip_la wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

This link lists how many step equals which activity level. Sedentary is between 5,000-7459 steps a day.

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

That doesn't match up with what MFP calculates, though, as I posted above. I've only taken ~6000 steps today, and I've already got a ~300kcal adjustment (my adjustment's more because I weigh more, but the important part is that it's adjusting me upwards with my level set to Sedentary). MFP's sedentary setting seems to be under 3000 steps a day.

Yeah -- that's why I posted upthread that MFP's sedentary doesn't seem to match up with other sedentaries. MFP's is super sedentary, which means lots of people who might normally think of themselves as sedentary probably should be lightly active on MFP (although if you use a step tracker that syncs it won't matter).