How many calories should I be eating?

arielvanity

I'm 5'4 and I weight 250 pounds. I have pcos and a very horrible back so it makes it harder for me to lose weight and my back makes it harder for me to workout. I usually get bad back pain just from work. I'm trying to focus on eating better until I lose some weight and hopefully take some stress off my back. How many calories should I eat if I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds a month at least? This is a reasonable goal for me as it is what I've done in the past

arielvanity

I also do not eat beef or red meat or dairy so it's possible for me to stay low calorie easier

MsBuzzkillington

Doesn't MFP give you a calorie goal? If you put in your height/weight and weight loss goals?

arielvanity

It only goes up to 8 lbs a month

Sunshine2plus2

https://authoritynutrition.com/how-many-calories-per-day/

ItsMariii

arielvanity wrote: »

It only goes up to 8 lbs a month

I strongly suggest you start with the 8lb loss per month. It may not be as easy as you think. If you become consistent with staying in your calorie goals that MFP calculate for you, then go ahead and shoot for 10lhs. It's only a 2 lb difference.

janekana

ItsMariii wrote: »

arielvanity wrote: »

It only goes up to 8 lbs a month

I strongly suggest you start with the 8lb loss per month. It may not be as easy as you think. If you become consistent with staying in your calorie goals that MFP calculate for you, then go ahead and shoot for 10lhs. It's only a 2 lb difference.

Even if you have a lot of calories to lose, losing more than 8 lbs per month will be dangerous to your health, going up to 8 lbs per month is already nearing dangerous. There's a reason as to why MFP only goes up to 8 lbs per month.

Please make sure that you have realistic expectations before you come into your weight loss journey because you're either going to be very disappointed when you don't reach it or you'll become very unhealthy very fast.

cerise_noir

arielvanity wrote: »

It only goes up to 8 lbs a month

That's the safest rate of loss for someone of your weight. Start there, I was at 260lbs, I was losing at a rate of 2lbs per week. At first, I was dropping faster than 2lbs per week, but that was water weight. It settled to 2bs per week, then 1.5lbs, and now I am onto 1lb per week. It is just how the math works.

In 6 months, you could lose up to or even more than 52lbs, but due to weight loss not being linear, it will vary. The closer we get to goal, the slower it is. I am on my last 40lbs from 260lbs. Of course, weight loss isn't linear; some weeks you'll lose more, some weeks you may not lose anything at all, and of course some weeks there wills be gains due to hormones. Fluctuations are normal. The downward trend is what you should be tracking. Expect the fluctuations and try to not get upset when you see gains. We all have gains, and if you're adhering to your calories, the gains won't be fat. Remember, the only way to gain weight is to eat more than your maintenance calories. It's not about the type of food.

Use a food scale to weigh all solid and semi solid foods. Even pre packaged ones as they can be off by around 20%. I weigh butter and peanut butter too, as those are very high in calories and it is easy to go over if you're not careful.

In a year, you will see how far you came and will congratulate yourself if you start now.

Weight loss is ALL about calories. I have not cut out any foods, but I have been moderating them.

MissusMoon

Go with MFP. I have a friend with PCOS and it's not as hard as some lead you to believe. She's gone from size 22 to 6 this year. I was pre-diabetic and went from size 22 to 8 so far.

There are no excuses. CICO.

TavistockToad

arielvanity wrote: »

It only goes up to 8 lbs a month

Use that number