So confused about calorie intake

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jessesmom81
jessesmom81 Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am logging everything on MFP. It says I should have 1410 calories per day to lose 2 lbs a week. I am losing but it is very slow. I do Grown Young Fitness chair exercises for seniors because of bad knees. I have look at other diet plans and everything else says I should have anywhere from 1900 to 2500 calories a day. I have a hard enough time getting in 1410 healthy calories a day. How are we supposed to know how many calories we are really supposed to have? I am considering doing the 21 day fix. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    jessesmom81 wrote: »
    I am logging everything on MFP. It says I should have 1410 calories per day to lose 2 lbs a week. I am losing but it is very slow.

    Are you using a food scale? It is very difficult for most people to accurately measure their food intake without a food scale. Even studies with dieticians have shown they generally underestimate their food intake.
    I do Grown Young Fitness chair exercises for seniors because of bad knees. I have look at other diet plans and everything else says I should have anywhere from 1900 to 2500 calories a day. I have a hard enough time getting in 1410 healthy calories a day.


    Not all your food needs to be "healthy," especially if you define healthy to be low fat. You need fat for a host of bodily functions.

    How are we supposed to know how many calories we are really supposed to have? I am considering doing the 21 day fix. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

    Stick with one calorie goal for at least a month. If your rate of loss is too fast, add a couple of hundred calories to your daily goal for the next month, and reassess. If your rate of loss is too slow, either deduct a couple of hundred calories from your daily goal or tighten up your logging (by getting a food scale, if you don't have one, or making sure you're actually using it for whatever you eat or prepare at home).
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
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    I am wondering how you are logging your calories. Are you weighing all solids (including prepackaged foods and condiments) with a food scale and measuring liquids with measuring cups and spoons. Are you checking that your entries are accurate by checking against package nutritional labels or the USDA database? If you are just eyeballing or using measuring cups for solids and if you do not weigh prepackaged food which can weigh more than indicated on the packaging there is a good chance that you are eating considerably more than 1410 calories.
    Stick with what MFP gives you but improve on logging accuracy and you may find the weight starts to go down without having to make drastic changes like a 21 day fix.
  • jessesmom81
    jessesmom81 Posts: 30 Member
    edited August 2018
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    I weigh and measure everything. On the 21 day fix everything is measured but it says I should have almost 2500 calories a day. I am diabetic so I have to watch my carb and sugar intake and I don't want to gain back any of the 85 pounds I have already lost. Thank you all for you input. I appreciate it. :)
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    jessesmom81 wrote: »
    I weigh and measure everything. On the 21 day fix everything is measured but it says I should have almost 2500 calories a day. I am diabetic so I have to watch my carb and sugar intake and I don't want to gain back any of the 85 pounds I have already lost. Thank you all for you input. I appreciate it. :)

    Is the 21-day fix plan designed for diabetics? If not, it doesn't seem like it would be a good idea for you. And if you're still trying to lose weight, and MFP has given you 1410 a day to lose 2 lbs a week, and the only exercises you can do are chair exercise, 2500 calories a day is likely around maintenance for you, so this also doesn't seem like a good idea for you.
  • PaytraB
    PaytraB Posts: 2,360 Member
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    You're doing great! You've lost 85 lbs already! That's truly wonderful.
    As you get closer to your goal weight, the weight will come off slower. Keep doing what you are doing. It's working.
    Congratulations on the 85 lb. loss. That's terrific.
  • jessesmom81
    jessesmom81 Posts: 30 Member
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    Thank you :). It has taken a long time to lose it but I keep trudging along. I know the chair exercises don't work as well as regular exercises but that is all I can do. At least I am moving more and I feel a lot better.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    jessesmom81 wrote: »
    Thank you :). It has taken a long time to lose it but I keep trudging along. I know the chair exercises don't work as well as regular exercises but that is all I can do. At least I am moving more and I feel a lot better.

    If that was meant for me, I just want to be clear that I'm not criticizing the chair exercises, just recognizing that it's unlikely to be burning a lot of calories, and thus not boosting your daily burn by a whole lot above 2410 kcal NEAT implied by the 1410 goal MFP set for you. (And it's possible I'm wrong about the chair exercises -- the ones I've seen have generally looked like rehabilitation or a light bodyweight resistance workout. If yours is more of a cardio workout, 2500 might still be a half-pound weekly loss or so.)
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
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    As a Diabetic do you have a set number of carbs, proteins, fats you should be getting per day? I have a set number of calories per day as well. I too am a diabetic, but my Dr. has told me she really wants me to focus on staying at goal or under for carbs and fat. And to hit the protein goal. I have had no issue with sugar goal and sodium goal staying way under. So I focus on the carbs, fats, protein, sugar and of course watch the calories as well. I faithfully weigh everything on a food scale, and measure out all my liquids here on MFP, I joined in May 2018 and have done well.

    85 lbs lost that is huge, congratulations for losing and keeping that off.
  • jessesmom81
    jessesmom81 Posts: 30 Member
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    Yes Maureen, I do have goals on carbs, proteins, fats and sugar. An it is really helping with my A1c. It was 6.4 last month and my cholesterol came down too.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    What approach did you take to lose the 85 lbs already - that's a fantastic accomplishment! Is that no longer working for you? How much weight do you still have to lose - because 2 lbs/week is usually only appropriate for those who have 75 lbs or more to lose.

    For managing your diabetes - I would work with your doctor and ideally a registered dietician to determine a plan for calories, macros, etc and then set up your MFP goals accordingly. The chair exercises are an added bonus for your continued mobility and strength but likely won't contribute significantly to the calories burned.

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    jessesmom81 wrote: »
    I used the MFP guide to lose the 85. It has been over a long period of time. I have at least another 85 to lose. I started at 342 and I'm down to 257. Right now I would just like to get down to 200 or under. I set small goals and work on them until I get there and then set another goal. When I hit 260 my next goal is 240, 20 pounds at a time till I hit 200.
    The chair exercises do have standing exercises also, but you are right, they don't burn a lot of calories but they really help me and I enjoy doing them because they don't hurt me.

    You said in the first post that MFP had you at 1410 cals to lose 2 lbs/week but it was slow. How slow are we talking? Are you losing 1 lb/week? 0.5 lb/week? If the rate of loss doesn't match the expectation, then you aren't eating at a 1000 cal deficit (as suggested by a goal of 2 lbs/week). Upping your calories to 1900-2500 as you are seeing on other programs isn't going to make it go faster...

    I guess I'm not sure I understand what your specific question is or why you believe you need to change your approach?
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,009 Member
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    jessesmom81 wrote: »
    Lynn, that was not meant for you :). I was just saying that I wish I could do regular exercises but because of my knees I can't. I know the chair exercises are not for everyone but for us seniors that have problems with mobility and balance they are great. I have gone from sitting on the couch all day playing on the computer to exercising up to an hour a day.

    Absolutely! Any movement we can do is good, and having a regular routine of an hour a day is great.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
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    If you are diabetic, I suggest you go to a diabetes education class or make an appointment with a registered dietician to find out what you should be eating. I assume you are tracking your blood glucose before and after meals to see what might be spiking your sugar and stay away from those things? While MFP doesn't tell you what to eat, it will sure help you keep track of your calories and carbs, provided you weigh everything and record it accurately. As far as chair exercise - any exercise is good, and it sounds like you are doing what you can do! Good for you. For diabetes, woman should consume between 20 to 35 carbs per meal, hopefully tending toward the lower end, and about 132 carbs a day to stay stable.
  • jessesmom81
    jessesmom81 Posts: 30 Member
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    Elsie, I have been to the diabetes classes and I do track my sugars several times a day. My A1c was 6.4 last month when I went to the doctor which is good. My cholesterol was better also.I had 3 tia's last July so I am doing my very best to get all of my numbers down so that doesn't happen again. I was very lucky that it wasn't bad and I have recovered very well.

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