Opinions??

Rivera1988

I have put in my stat for weight loss
232lbs
5'0
Exercise 5xweek
The app has put me to eat 1900 cal
And says to burn 1600 a week

1900 seems like so much I started with calories at 1250 but I wasn't getting anywhere

Any advice on what how calories I need to be eating and how many calories I need to be burning weekly for weight loss

Any help would be great!

Asher_Ethan

Are you weighing the foods you consume? Are you eating back your exercise calories? If yes, how do you calculate your calorie burn during exercise?

Rivera1988

Yes weighing food not I do not eat back the calories I can only calculate the cardio on treadmill i don't count the weights
But 1250 wasn't doing anything and so I was thinking I'm eating not enough to I put my weight goal activity in the app and it came up with the 1900# at 1.5 lbs a week

AnnPT77

If you're weighing food, and being careful to count all the little add-ins (salad dressings, drinks, oil/butter used to fry things, mayo or whatever on sandwiches, etc.), it seems like you should be able to lose at 1900, at least until your weight is lower. (Being smaller will mean that later you'll burn fewer calories just being alive.) 1250 would be quite low, especially if you're not eating back exercise calories. (MFP's goal expects you to eat back exercise calories, though some people prefer to start by eating back 25-50% of them, in case the exercise calories are over-estimated.)

Have you been logging every day, logging everything (including bits & tastes) and sticking to your calorie goal every day? No "cheat days" or derails? (I'm not saying you can never eat more than your calorie goal. I'm just saying that if you do, but don't log it, it you wouldn't know where you stood.)

How long have you been at this? And is your exercise routine new, too? Sometimes it takes a bit of time for the loss process to get going, especially depending on how it falls in your monthly cycle (some women hold onto a surprising amount of water weight for that reason, and it can happen anytime from ovulation through menstrual period). A new exercise routine can have you holding onto a bit of water weight at first, and it masks the fat loss for a little while.

Realistically, it will take 2-3 weeks at a given calorie level to be able to tell whether you're stuck there, or not.

This can be tough at first, but patience, persistence and consistency are a vital ingredient.

Wishing you well!

CattOfTheGarage

Rivera1988 wrote: »

I have put in my stat for weight loss
232lbs
5'0
Exercise 5xweek
The app has put me to eat 1900 cal
And says to burn 1600 a week

1900 seems like so much I started with calories at 1250 but I wasn't getting anywhere

Any advice on what how calories I need to be eating and how many calories I need to be burning weekly for weight loss

Any help would be great!

I've never seen the app advise a certain amount of exercise before - where did the 1600 number come from?

Exercise can definitely help you to achieve your calorie goals but it isn't necessary for weight loss.

AnnPT77

CattOfTheGarage wrote: »

Rivera1988 wrote: »

I have put in my stat for weight loss
232lbs
5'0
Exercise 5xweek
The app has put me to eat 1900 cal
And says to burn 1600 a week

1900 seems like so much I started with calories at 1250 but I wasn't getting anywhere

Any advice on what how calories I need to be eating and how many calories I need to be burning weekly for weight loss

Any help would be great!

I've never seen the app advise a certain amount of exercise before - where did the 1600 number come from?

Exercise can definitely help you to achieve your calorie goals but it isn't necessary for weight loss.

If, during MFP setup, you put in that you plan to do X workouts per week, of Y minutes each, the app does give you a calories burned per week "goal" (on your goals page in the web app).

AFAIK, the only thing it uses this for is to track your exercise minutes and calories against that weekly goal on your exercise diary.

It has no direct effect on your weight loss goals in the app (has an effect in real life, of course) . . . but many people think it means more in the app than it really does. I think OP's referring to that, when she speaks of the number of calories MFP "says to burn" each week.

DarrelBirkett

Your day to day TDEE is likely around 2150 cals based one what you said. For good steady fat loss you would multiply that by 0.8 which is 1720.

I like to work it out myself and tell MFP what I will eat and my macro split.

So, for you I'd be aiming for 1700 cals per day and on days you exercise you "can" eat your cals back.

Or, as MFP is saying, if you eat 1900 per day and burn 1600 over a week then that is 230 burned (ish) per day. 1900 less 230 is 1670. So I can see where it gets its numbers from.

Personally, Id aim for 1700 in case you don't hit the exercise level suggested some weeks, then eat back the amount burned (optional) on days you exercise.

As others have said though, its very important you track "everything". From a spoon of sugar, butter on bread to milk in coffee.

AnnPT77

DarrelBirkett wrote: »

Your day to day TDEE is likely around 2150 cals based one what you said. For good steady fat loss you would multiply that by 0.8 which is 1720.

I like to work it out myself and tell MFP what I will eat and my macro split.

So, for you I'd be aiming for 1700 cals per day and on days you exercise you "can" eat your cals back.

Or, as MFP is saying, if you eat 1900 per day and burn 1600 over a week then that is 230 burned (ish) per day. 1900 less 230 is 1670. So I can see where it gets its numbers from.

Personally, Id aim for 1700 in case you don't hit the exercise level suggested some weeks, then eat back the amount burned (optional) on days you exercise.

As others have said though, its very important you track "everything". From a spoon of sugar, butter on bread to milk in coffee.

It doesn't assume you do the exercise when it calculates your daily calorie goal. That's why everyone who uses MFP (as designed) should eat back their exercise calories (or the percentage thereof considered accurate) to achieve the net calorie goal. The exercise is a minus to the goal, and the eating back is the compensating plus.

DarrelBirkett

Course, though if eating 1900 (in this example) and then adding 1600 (so 230 per day) will give a net of 2130 per day. Personally, I dont think that will achieve the fat loss desired based on info given.

tiptoethruthetulips

Did you put your goal to maintain or lose weight? Did you get your incidental activity level right correct. For your weight and height 1900cals per day seems a lot, unless it includes your exercise calories that is.

callsitlikeiseeit

im 5'1 and maintain 180 pounds at ~1600 cals.

1900 would add weight.

learn how to log and weigh your food ACCURATELY. ALL OF IT. EVERY SINGLE THING.

at your height and weight I'd eat around 14-1500 cals and eat back roughly half of exercise calories burned.

you'll lose doing that, if you do it correctly.

Maxematics

You say eating 1250 calories wasn't doing anything but you don't specify a period of time. If it was a few days or a week, you need to be patient. Weight loss doesn't always show up on the scale right away. If you ate 1250 calories daily for a month or more and didn't lose weight, then you were actually eating far more than 1250 calories.

The only side note I have is that I'm a little surprised at some of the TDEEs here. I'm 5'3.5", 113 pounds, and I maintain on 2300 calories per day or so. I would think that at OP's height/weight, she should be seeing weight loss at 1900 and especially 1250. I don't think 1900 calories would be giving you a 1.5 pound per week loss though.

DarrelBirkett

Assume that's down to activity level. If you maintain on 2300 you must be fairly active

AngInCanada

I started at 230 lbs at 5'7 and I was eating 2100 calories a day and losing 1-2 lbs a week. Don't be afraid to eat!

Angiepeg

Go to www.caloriecontrol.org - complete the required fields, and you should get a fairly accurate estimate of the calories you need. 3,500 kcals is roughly equal to 1 pound of fat. So to lose 2 lbs per week you would need a deficit of 7,000 kcals per week. BUT remember that one tends to lose lean body mass as well as fat so make sure you get enough protein, some carbs and some fat in your diet. Do strength exercises as well as cardio and have rest days from exercise so that your muscles can recover. Also remember that a square inch, for example, of muscle will weigh more than a square inch of fat so building a lot of muscle will reduce your size, improve your shape, and burn more calories but will not show such a big weight loss. The trick is to tone without building too much bulk. I have been over weight all of my life but have finally discovered what works for me and it is this - follow the above, have the odd "off the rails" meal, don't beat yourself up EVER. I have lost 100lb in around 18 months. There is no magic, quick fix - you need to find out what's right for you and follow a healthy regime of your very own. Good luck!

AnnPT77

Folks telling your their individual n=1 calorie levels are trying to be helpful, but you should ignore them. Start with one of the calculators (like MFP's) that are based on research on large groups of people. Even then, you may need to adjust based on experience, but start with a reputable calculator.

People's individual experiences vary all over the map, for a variety of reasons we'd have trouble identifying, let alone communicating.

Heck, I'm 61 years old, 5'5", weighing in the 120s, sedentary outside of intentional exercise, and still losing very slowly on around 1800 net calories, while eating back my the exercise calories.

This tells you nothing about you - but it should tell you that those who say 1900 is for sure too high for you because it's too high for them, or you can for sure eat more because they can . . . they don't really know. Sure, they may tell you some of the upper/lower bounds of possibility.

I put your stats into another calculator (not MFPs), and got a number close to the 1900.

Start with a calculator. Be patient, consistent, and meticulous about logging. Adjust the level after a month of that, if you find you need to, based on your personal loss rate.

everher

I agree with Ann.

Also, I don't mean to be mean, but I've never understood why people sign up with MFP but then don't want to follow the app's recommended calories.

I cannot say if 1900 calories will work for you or not, but if you've entered everything correctly into MFP I would say so unless you've overestimated your activity level (selecting active when you're really sedentary) or are underestimating your intake (which happens a great deal).

I would try following MFP's calories for a month or so and if no change or you gain weight I would review after that.

Personally, I have followed the calories set for me by MFP, recalculating every 5 to 10 lbs, and have lost 19 lbs to date since 10/23

AngInCanada

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Folks telling your their individual n=1 calorie levels are trying to be helpful, but you should ignore them. Start with one of the calculators (like MFP's) that are based on research on large groups of people. Even then, you may need to adjust based on experience, but start with a reputable calculator.

People's individual experiences vary all over the map, for a variety of reasons we'd have trouble identifying, let alone communicating.

I gave my numbers because I know how afraid some people are to actually EAT! I followed MFP calorie recommendations, and obviously it worked well for me.

AnnPT77

AngInCanada wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Folks telling your their individual n=1 calorie levels are trying to be helpful, but you should ignore them. Start with one of the calculators (like MFP's) that are based on research on large groups of people. Even then, you may need to adjust based on experience, but start with a reputable calculator.

People's individual experiences vary all over the map, for a variety of reasons we'd have trouble identifying, let alone communicating.

I gave my numbers because I know how afraid some people are to actually EAT! I followed MFP calorie recommendations, and obviously it worked well for me.

I hear you! Sometimes I do that, too. Your original post was just encouraging her not to be afraid, which is great. Some others were giving their own stats, and making clear that it was just their experience, like you did. Also good. But some were being much more prescriptive ("you will gain") based on their own experience. I was worried it was getting confusing (just being kinda granny-like: I do that, too ).

A calculator is a solid de-confuser as a starting point. Her MFP number is that kind of reasonable start.