Confusion/concern about calorie allotment

pktransue
pktransue Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am a little confused and concerned...when I input my numbers it calculated a recommended 1,200 calorie per day intake for me. I do want to lose weight but I am concerned this is a bit too low. With my height, weight and age I calculated my BMR at 1518 calories per day. I am also nursing which I understand burns a few hundred extra calories per day. I am just concerned that if I cut too many calories it will hamper my weight loss and decrease my milk supply.

Can anyone help me on this? I am 5'2", 167 lbs and 33 years old. I work a sedentary job and (admittedly) do not get much exercise.

Thanks for your input!

Replies

  • Live4theLift
    Live4theLift Posts: 329
    I personally think MFP is way off for the women's cal goals. You need to calculate your TDEE or total daily energy expenditure. Then once you have that number subtract 500 and eat that per day.

    Google {DoYouEven TDEE} and its the first link I believe
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
    . I am also nursing which I understand burns a few hundred extra calories per day. I am just concerned that if I cut too many calories it will hamper my weight loss and decrease my milk supply.

    If you are nursing, I think you should check with your doctor to see what he or she recommends.
  • bwesser
    bwesser Posts: 61
    I don't nurse, but I have plenty of friends who are having children right now and I've been paying attention. I wouldn't worry too much about your calorie intake right now, but more so about WHAT foods you're eating. You're going to need protein and fat right now, and not so much sugar/carbs.

    Then again, I don't worry too much about the amount of calories I take in to begin with... since I can do 1200 calories and not lose weight... I realized it was WHAT those 1200 calories were that was setting me behind.

    Everyone is different... and I think that with nursing, your milk supply is much more important. Try to focus on what you're eating and please don't stop your self from eating when you're hungry.

    Also, I hear oatmeal is a great way to increase your milk supply.

    (edited for more information)
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    I personally think MFP is way off for the women's cal goals. You need to calculate your TDEE or total daily energy expenditure. Then once you have that number subtract 500 and eat that per day.

    Google {DoYouEven TDEE} and its the first link I believe

    That is exactly what MFP does. confused.

    OP - if you walk through the Goals setup, it will ask you your stats, activity level, and desired loss rate. It calculates your BMR from your stats, then multiplies it by an activity factor to get your TDEE based on the activity level you specified. If you are on your feet walking around quite a bit, choose the moderately active one otherwise choose sedentary. Finally, it subtracts a calorie deficit from your TDEE based on the desired loss rate you chose. If you choose a loss rate of 1 lb/week, the deficit will be 500 calories a day. If you chose a loss rate that is too aggressive, it will cap you at the minimum calories of 1200/day.

    Doing more research so you understand the process is great. However, MFP is setting up your caloric goals based on the info you give it using BMR, TDEE, and a caloric deficit.

    Nursing burns somewhere around 500 calories a day. There is actually a breast feeding entry in the food database that adds negative calories to your diary. Just add it every day.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Did you put in that you want to lose 2lbs a week when you entered your info? If so, lower it to .5 or 1lb - any more and it's a surefire way to get MFP's standard 1200.
  • ctinawilson
    ctinawilson Posts: 127 Member
    Hi there! Yep, MFP sets the calorie amount to 1,200 if you pick 2lbs loss a week I think, but really its an absolute minimum aimed at someone who is completely sedentary and certainly not for a nursing mother.

    There will be plenty of people who i'm sure can give you a good idea of how much you burn / use breast feeding, and I know some people add it to their exercise calories, as a way to track.

    I would try TDEE -20% on Scoobys: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ however you may even want to consider reducing it to -15% while nursing at least.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
    I have a friend who's currently nursing and her daily goal is 2200. I'd say that 1200 is way too low for anyone (IMO) but certainly for a nursing mum.

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