Daily Calorie Allowance

redhairannie
redhairannie Posts: 26 Member
edited December 21 in Food and Nutrition
So I'm sure this question has probably been asked a million times in a million different ways but I want to start a new thread on it, and gather up some hopefully helpful advice. Here is the DEALI-O!

Inputting all my info, goals, yadda yadda, MFP has me on a 1,200 cal diet. Now, this hasn't been terribly effective for me. So far on my weight loss journey, I've lost 27lbs, Yes that is great and Yes, I am very VERY proud of myself, yes, I know that's healthy weight loss. Most of that weight loss was not from counting calories, but was from going raw vegan for 2 months, however, I was deprived of certain things and it screwed me up a bit and so its just healthier for me to count calories. Moving on because I don't want to dwell on that situation, while on the 1200 calories/day, I keep stalling out. long amounts of time between any weight loss, keep bouncing around back up then down then up then down. I am not going to decrease calories anymore, because I would be hungry like, all the time and its not healthy to go under 1200/day... So I guess my question is, has anyone had success going a little above when they keep stalling? and if anyone has insight on WHY that happens, PLEASE SHARE! THANKS!

Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    How much weight are you trying to lose?

    What is your starting weight?

    What rate of loss did you select in your MFP goals setup?

    Do you use a food scale to weigh all solid food?
  • redhairannie
    redhairannie Posts: 26 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    How much weight are you trying to lose? 90 more lbs

    What is your starting weight? 255

    What rate of loss did you select in your MFP goals setup? 2lbs/ week

    Do you use a food scale to weigh all solid food? yes


    I'm not questioning why MFP calculates what it does, I'm just wondering if anyone has had success with raising their limit a little...
  • redhairannie
    redhairannie Posts: 26 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    1200 calories a day is based on your weekly weight loss goal. It's also a default minimum to help you reach nutritional goals. 1200 is not a guarantee that you will lose at the rate you want to. It's just a safe minimum.

    The closer you get to goal, the slower you lose......period. Water weight is going to fluctuate, this is normal. There are many reasons for it, from hormones, to sore muscles, to sodium intake.

    How do you measure 1200 calories in? Do you use a digital food scale for solids and semi-solids?

    Also, how close are you to goal? 1/2 pound a week is a perfectly reasonable result. But, again that 1/2 pound isn't going to show up every week like clock-work.


    Yes, I measure and weigh all of my food! All solids are weighed in a digital food scale. I'm not asking why I'm not losing weight. I am asking if anyone has had success going a little above that minimum suggested to basically change things up and get weigh loss moving again.
  • MoKaaz
    MoKaaz Posts: 162 Member
    I have found going a little over hasn't affected my loss rate very much but I will add that I am vegetarian and I workout, both of which will change my results compared to someone who lives differently.
  • fcanad
    fcanad Posts: 48 Member
    I switched from 1200 to 1350. I’m loosing about 1 lbs/week instead of 3-4/lbs a week.
    I had to switch to maintain my emotional wellbeing. I do 2 days lower calories when I’m not as active.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    redhairannie wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    1200 calories a day is based on your weekly weight loss goal. It's also a default minimum to help you reach nutritional goals. 1200 is not a guarantee that you will lose at the rate you want to. It's just a safe minimum.

    The closer you get to goal, the slower you lose......period. Water weight is going to fluctuate, this is normal. There are many reasons for it, from hormones, to sore muscles, to sodium intake.

    How do you measure 1200 calories in? Do you use a digital food scale for solids and semi-solids?

    Also, how close are you to goal? 1/2 pound a week is a perfectly reasonable result. But, again that 1/2 pound isn't going to show up every week like clock-work.


    Yes, I measure and weigh all of my food! All solids are weighed in a digital food scale. I'm not asking why I'm not losing weight. I am asking if anyone has had success going a little above that minimum suggested to basically change things up and get weigh loss moving again.

    If you are not losing weight on "1200 calories" you are not miraculously going to start losing on higher, without also increasing your NEAT (often unintentional when upping the amount of food you are eating) or exercise to up that calorie burn.

    However, I suspect you are making those common logging errors we all make and are eating more than you think you are or are inaccurate in measuring your calorie burn.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    To answer your question, yes. I eat around 1700-1800 calories a day and losing. I'm a little lighter than you, but I have my calories manually set to slightly less than a pound a week. Sometimes I go weeks without loss and sometimes I lose more than expected, but it usually averages out to my chosen rate of weight loss. Going raw vegan means you may have been undereating, which is why you lost more readily. I may also mean that because your salt levels were likely more consistent, you saw fewer swings.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Reducing the size of your deficit makes sense to me, OP, and you may find that adding a just couple of hundred calories/day, particularly composed of foods YOU find more satiating, may be just the thing. Your journey success really revolves around a way of eating that you can sustain over several months.
  • Justin_7272
    Justin_7272 Posts: 341 Member
    redhairannie wrote: »
    I am asking if anyone has had success going a little above that minimum suggested to basically change things up and get weigh loss moving again.

    The issue is your question doesn't make sense scientifically; the larger the caloric deficit, the more weight you'll lose. Therefore increasing caloric intake-and thus reducing your caloric deficit-will not "get weight loss moving again."
  • whoami67
    whoami67 Posts: 297 Member
    I don't eat as little as MFP recommends. I eat more and lose just fine, and I feel much better with higher calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,625 Member
    Justin_7272 wrote: »
    redhairannie wrote: »
    I am asking if anyone has had success going a little above that minimum suggested to basically change things up and get weigh loss moving again.

    The issue is your question doesn't make sense scientifically; the larger the caloric deficit, the more weight you'll lose. Therefore increasing caloric intake-and thus reducing your caloric deficit-will not "get weight loss moving again."

    Well . . . yes, a bigger deficit means faster loss, and a smaller deficit means slower loss . . . but if a lower calorie level leaves you weak, fatigued, sleeping more, doing less, sitting around instead of being active in daily life, skipping workouts or reducing their duration/intensity, then calorie expenditure (mainly non-exercise calorie expenditure) drops. That equates to a lower TDEE, and potentially slowed loss.

    Anecdotally, some people's energy levels seem more sensitive to calorie intake level. For them, finding the "sweet spot" where energy level stays strong (so calories-out don't materially decline) but there's still a decent actual calorie deficit, can be a really important step. The lowest intake isn't necessarily the best intake for weight loss, if calories-out tank at that low intake level.

    Also anecdotally, a very low calorie level is a physical stressor that can potentially cause more water weight fluctuation, and a slightly higher calorie level (enough to be less of a stressor) may result in a more sensible-seeming result on the scale (even if slightly less actual fat loss). The fact that OP reports excessive stalls and fluctuations make me wonder if there's some of that going on.

    OP, no one else can answer your question, really. 1200 is a very low calorie level for many adult women, but it's necessary for some. Perhaps it's too low for you. Why don't you try increasing it by one or a couple of hundred calories, stick with that for 4-6 weeks, and see what happens? You might see an initial scale jump from water weight and increased average digestive system contents, but that should sort itself out within a week or two.

    I lost most of 50 pounds at 5'5", from 180s to 130s, at age 59-60 (while hypothyroid, if that's relevant - I think it's not) while eating 1400-1600 plus all of my (carefully estimated) exercise calories. 1200 had me losing too fast, and I got weak/fatigued. However, I'm mysteriously a good li'l ol' calorie burner . . . MFP thinks I'd maintain or gain at that around 1500ish, at my age. Ain't so. Go figure. ;)

    Best wishes!
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,460 Member
    Weight watchers put me on 1200 calories when I weighed 220. I would lose 5 or 6 pounds the first week, spend the second week in bed eating anything I thought would give me energy and make me feel better, then not diet so I could catch up with housework laundry, etc the third week. Total lost in three weeks= 1 or 2 pounds. I just kept trying because everyone said weight watchers was the best. Finally, after years of feeling like a failure, a very knowledgeable dietician said let’s see how you do on 1600 calories a day. I lost 10 pounds a month.
    As I felt better, I got more active, so I ate a little more, not less, to keep losing.
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