How to decide on calories

cholloway88

Hi everyone! So I know that MFP sets your caloric intake for you when you fill out the information, but I'm just wondering if people always go by that or if you choose a different number? For instance, mine calculates that I should eat a little over 1500 calories a day for weight loss, but when I talk to my doctors, they suggest I stick to a 1200 calorie diet for weight loss?

Just interested to see what people have been successful with

LyndaBSS

Doctors and hospitals default to a 1200 calorie diet.

Go by what mfp set for you. Depending on the amount you have to lose, set a reasonable loss per week and then go by that calorie allotment.

kimny72

cholloway88 wrote: »

Hi everyone! So I know that MFP sets your caloric intake for you when you fill out the information, but I'm just wondering if people always go by that or if you choose a different number? For instance, mine calculates that I should eat a little over 1500 calories a day for weight loss, but when I talk to my doctors, they suggest I stick to a 1200 calorie diet for weight loss?

Just interested to see what people have been successful with

The MFP setting bases your calorie goal off of your height, weight, activity level, and the rate of loss you selected. Is your doctor suggesting you lose weight faster than you set MFP up for? Do you have a health condition that requires you to lose weight aggressively?

Unfortunately, many doctors have little to no training in weight management. It's also not uncommon for doctors to assume that patients won't log carefully, so they suggest a low goal assuming you'll eat more anyway. If you log accurately and consistently, you most likely don't need to eat the bare minimum to lose.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

Scottgriesser

Chances of you being on the nose about your bmr and the deficit needed off the bat are extremely low. Use MFP as a guide and track for a month or more. If you are honest and accurate and the numbers don't do what the numbers say they should, then adjust them as needed.

For easy math...
2000cal a day maintenance. To lose 1lb/week would require a 1300cal a day intake. 700cal/day difference = 3500cals over the week. 1lb = 3500cals.

Strudders67

I went with what MFP said and, so far, have lost 23kg (which I think is about 50lb). I'm now very close to my goal.

I wonder if doctors suggest the lower number because they think (know) that a lot of people won't track their food intake accurately, won't weigh / measure everything they eat / drink, will overestimate their exercise calories and will ultimately actually be eating more than they think.

Used properly and as designed, MFP works. Just make sure you're weighing everything and be wary of incorrect entries and inflated exercise figures.

Also, as LyndaBSS says, set your loss rate to a reasonable figure. Don't aim to lose 2lb a week unless you have a lot (more than 60lb) to lose. Someone on here once said that the successful person is the one who can eat the most whilst still losing weight. Going slower and not feeling quite so deprived makes it much easier to manage and sustain.

kimny72

Scottgriesser wrote: »

Chances of you being on the nose about your bmr and the deficit needed off the bat are extremely low. Use MFP as a guide and track for a month or more. If you are honest and accurate and the numbers don't do what the numbers say they should, then adjust them as needed.

For easy math...
2000cal a day maintenance. To lose 1lb/week would require a 1300cal a day intake. 700cal/day difference = 3500cals over the week. 1lb = 3500cals.

Your numbers are off here. If a person's maintenance is 2000 cals, they would need to eat 1500 cals per day to lose 1 lb per week, 7 days x 500 cal daily deficit = 3500 cal deficit for the week. But there's no reason to assume a person's maintenance is 2000, since MFP or countless TDEE calculators online will give them a closer to accurate estimate.

Luke_rabbit

Most doctors have had one or less classes on nutrition. If you have a health condition that requires a particular eating plan, get a referral/appointment with a registered dietician. Otherwise try the MFP numbers and see what happens in 6 weeks. For most people, a food scale used consistently is the most important tool.

For your original question, yes, after about 6 weeks, I increased my calories from what MFP recommended (1220 to 1300). I was losing .8 lbs per week instead of the .5 lb I was shooting for. I think my normal activity level is between MFP options, so I had to adjust for that.

cholloway88

@kimny72 thank you for the links! It had some really good information. No, no health conditions that I need to lose weight aggressively for, but I do have some chronic health issues that I battle.

cholloway88

@Strudders67 congrats on the weight loss! I've set my weight loss goal to .5-1 pound per week since I am unable to be very active.

StaciMarie2020

It takes a bit of trial and error. If you are in a scenario where slow & steady is appropriate, then 1500 is perhaps more realistic. If you have health matters that make faster weight loss important, you may need to aim for faster.

Machka9

cholloway88 wrote: »

Hi everyone! So I know that MFP sets your caloric intake for you when you fill out the information, but I'm just wondering if people always go by that or if you choose a different number? For instance, mine calculates that I should eat a little over 1500 calories a day for weight loss, but when I talk to my doctors, they suggest I stick to a 1200 calorie diet for weight loss?

Just interested to see what people have been successful with

You can pick something in between 1200 and 1500.

I go with 1350.

ginnytez

My doctor actually uses MFP for himself (he is tall and lean). He says if I am following what they set and tracking as accurately as I can (and try to eat balanced), he is in full support. In all the years I have been going to him he has never looked anything close to overweight so I was surprised he used anything. He believes everyone needs to watch intake because you want to try to consistently maintain a healthy weight. It was nice to have his support.

nighthawk584

I have found most my Dr's don't know diddly about weight loss and nutrition. I would go by the MFP calculator. It's pretty accurate for me.

Privatesandbank

I’m almost 6’ I would faint on 1200. My TDEE is somewhere between 2500-3000. I set my calories to 1600.

apullum

Unless you are a very short, sedentary, and/or older woman with very little weight to lose, 1200 is too few calories for you.

Most doctors know very little about weight loss and nutrition because they receive little to no training in these things.

AnnPT77

apullum wrote: »

Unless you are a very short, sedentary, and/or older woman with very little weight to lose, 1200 is too few calories for you.

Most doctors know very little about weight loss and nutrition because they receive little to no training in these things.

Heck, I'm kinda short (5'5"), sedentary (outside of intentional exercise) and at age 59-60, 1200 (plus eating back all exercise calories!) was too few calories for me. I lost 50 pounds in less than a year, most of it on 1400-1600 plus exercise calories.

I admit I'm mysteriously a good li'l ol' calorie burner, and that some women (like apullum said, very short, sedentary, older) do need to stick to 1200 calories to lose.

But there are definitely more people eating 1200 than need to, and more doctors recommending it** as a default weight loss diet for women.

** I think they believe most people won't estimate calories accurately, based on sound research that says that's the case. If you weigh/log food carefully, you won't fall into that trap.

This link is an excellent read on the subject:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

amy19355

I use what MFP calculates from the info I enter in the Goals section of my profile.

There are other online calculators to help each of use establish a good number of calories based on our goals.

Seems to me if we're here at MFP looking for answers, we can do ourselves a lot of good by spending time to read the sticky posts at the top of Getting Started section. The risk of a 1200 calorie a day idea is very well explained; as is the problems that come from eyeballing portions.

I lost 30 pounds eating 1525 calories a day. Previous attempts at 1200 calories a day were unsustainable, and the weight came right back. This time it is staying off.

good luck to you, and good fitness to us all!

rumbaimom

apullum wrote: »

Unless you are a very short, sedentary, and/or older woman with very little weight to lose, 1200 is too few calories for you.

Darn it. You just described me. How I mourn my 1200 calorie limit. 😂😂

apullum

AnnPT77 wrote: »

apullum wrote: »

Unless you are a very short, sedentary, and/or older woman with very little weight to lose, 1200 is too few calories for you.

Most doctors know very little about weight loss and nutrition because they receive little to no training in these things.

I'm kinda short (5'5")

I’m under 5 feet. I look up to you (literally).

Lillymoo01

I am only 4'11" and weigh less than 100 pounds. If I were sedantary I'd still lose weight eating 1200 calories daily. Unless you are a wee little thing 1200 a day won't do you any favours long term. Not eating enough regularly leads to a binge/restrict cycles. Your body will release hunger hormones (ghrelin) when you undereat which increases your appetite making it much harder to stay within a calorie deficit.

lynn_glenmont

At first I went with what MFP suggested, but it didn't seem like much food to me, and after several seeks of losing faster than expected, I increased it by about 200 kcal.

Then after three months of accumulating data, I used the logging and weight loss data from months 2 and 3 (discarding initial water weight loss) to calculate my actual NEAT (my exercise varied enough that I felt it was better to use NEAT thsn TDEE), and I started using that number to calculate my deficit from.

Repeated the calculation a year later and got a still higher number, despite weight loss (presumably due to increased base level activity and possibly an increase in muscle, although the latter doesn't make that much difference).