Too many calories??

jillaudraclark

Hi all,

MFP has my daily calorie intake at 2200. Holy cow! That seems really high to me. But I'm wondering if my thinking that 1500 calories per day is what is sabotaging me. I'm 5'9" and want to lose 220 pounds. Any advice is welcome.

Have a blessed day!

Jill

puffbrat

That seems reasonable. It will decrease gradually as you lose weight. Remember that you want to make changes that are sustainable for you long term to be able to lose the weight and keep it off. A higher calorie allowance that is still a deficit can be really helpful for that versus eating too few calories and either suffering diet burnout or negative health affects from under eating.

Lietchi

You want to lose 220 lbs, so I'm guessing you weigh at least 350lbs?
2200 calories certainly doesn't seem excessive to me. I'm eating between 1700 and 2000 calories a day and still losing weight, and I weigh around 180lbs.

Don't forget that your calorie goal will go down as you lose weight, since a smaller body needs less calories.

sijomial

Try it for a month and then you will know.

No it doesn't seem at all high to me as 2,000 is often given as the maintenance calories for a mythical "average" adult woman and with a high weight you are far above average, that extra body weight all consumes energy.

With a lot to lose you need to make the process as sustainable as possible. Best of luck.

AnnPT77

At 5'5" and an advanced age (64), I maintain my weight in the mid 130s on something around those calories. Given that you're substantially taller, younger, and currently also heavier, it seems completely plausible that you'd lose weight at 2200. (I admit I'm mysteriously a pretty good li'l ol' calorie burner for my age . . . but still.)

Sometimes, I think we women get sold on the idea of waif-like calorie counts being necessary for everyone, when they really, really, aren't.

Best wishes!

bmeadows380

I'm 5'9" and started at 375 lbs and sedentary. At 2 lbs/wk setting, I got around 2200 - 2400 as my starting limit, and I very much lost easily at that amount. You have a lot of mass that has to get moved around - your body needs those calories just for movement! The more you lose, the lower that number will go. I'm down to 265 now, and sedentary 2lb/wk is now down to around 1500.

You can lose weight without starving yourself! (I wish I could get my sister to understand that.....)

try2again

That sounds right. When we are bigger, our bodies actually burn more calories just from daily living. I would say use this as an opportunity to get accustomed to logging accurately and meeting your calorie goal and to learn what foods satisfy you the most for the calories. Then you'll be in a great position to start cutting what you deem to be "non-essential" calories as your goal starts to go down. Wish you the best

NovusDies

jillaudraclark wrote: »

Hi all,

MFP has my daily calorie intake at 2200. Holy cow! That seems really high to me. But I'm wondering if my thinking that 1500 calories per day is what is sabotaging me. I'm 5'9" and want to lose 220 pounds. Any advice is welcome.

Have a blessed day!

Jill

Hi @jillaudraclark Jill,

Others have already steered you in the right direction. Since you have more than 75 pounds to lose and you seem interested in doing it the right way this time you are welcome to join my MFP Larger Losers group. It is primarily for people who want to lose their weight in a sensible and sustainable fashion. We have a nice community of people who all have a good understanding of what it means to carry and try to lose a large amount of weight.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/133315-larger-losers

conniewilkins56

Enjoy the bigger amount of calories as you begin your journey...believe me, the amount goes down faster than you think!....the Larger Losers Group is a great group of people who are all working to lose excess pounds...I started out at about 1800 calories and 66 lbs later I get about 1400.... best of luck in your progress

jillaudraclark

You all are amazing. I did the InBody machine last night at the gym and currently at 374. Thank you all, and Connie, I'll join that group. Thank you so again! ❤️