Calorie goal confusion

smquigg4019

I tried reading the sticky posts and other posts, but I am still confused.

I am a 43 year old woman, 5'2, starting weight 191 on 8/26, current weight 168, current body fat is 46% according to my scale and 44% based on a calculator using body measurements.
I have a desk job, but over the past 30 days have exercised 4 days a week for 45 minutes each doing low impact aerobics and step aerobics. I also use a recumbent bike occasionally (don't really work up a sweat) and I do light strength training 2 times a week. I intend to keep this level of activity and may increase.

I used a few calculators that say my BMR is 1293. MFP has my calorie goal as 1200 when I enter in a two pound weight loss. I think it is the same goal whether I say I am lightly or moderately active. I have been staying at 1200 for about two months. I didn't count calories when I first started, I just switched to healthier foods. I have lost about 23 pounds, although the first 5 pounds were probably water as I started a prescribed water pill for high blood pressure at that time.

My question is, should I stay at 1200 even if it is under my BMR of 1293? I increased my calorie goal manually to 1500 starting tomorrow, but I am worried I will stop losing weight. I am usually not hungry at 1200.

My goal weight is 120, but I would also like to reduce my body fat to a healthy level.

I would appreciate calorie goal advice to lose weight in a healthy way.

Thanks,
Shelly

seska422

BMR is just a number you use to calculate other numbers. It doesn't matter if you eat above or below your BMR as long as you have enough excess fat to burn in order to bring you up to your TDEE.

1200 is the lowest calorie amount that MFP will give a woman no matter how you have your choices set.

If you want to up your calorie intake, you can give that a shot. Every 250 calories below maintenance should average about half a pound per week difference in weight loss. You might want to up your calories by 100 and see how you do at that new level for a while before you nudge it up again.

Online calculators are places to start. You can then make adjustments based upon your personal numbers from recorded data.