Calories

markslady58

Hi! Been using MFP FOR quite a while. I’ve had great success. My calorie’s available have been 1770 per day for a while. This week without any reason my calories dropped to 1580. Any ideas on what might have triggered this? I’ve gone from 285 down to 239. About 85 pounds to go. Karen

Lietchi

Did you change your activity level or any other setting? It sounds like something triggered a recalculation of your calorie goal, which is a good thing As you lose weight, your body needs fewer calories and your calorie goal should decrease (but MFP doesn't necessarily update your goal automatically based on your weight updates, often it's only triggered by going through your goal settings).

markslady58

Thanks for responding. I changed my goal weight once I hit 239. So I guess i’ll just learn to adjust to the 1580? It won’t go back?

Lietchi

It shouldn't go back, it should only go further down as you lose weight, for the same weight loss rate. I would recommend going through your goal settings every 10lbs lost or so, so you get an updated goal.

I do suggest slowing down the weight loss rate as you get lighter too, which will give you more calories. Between 1 and 0.5 % of your bodyweight per week is considered sensible, closer to 0.5% as you get closer to a normal BMI.

PS your goal weight doesn't influence your calorie goal at all

cmriverside

Yeah, it was just that you reset your goals. That's what triggered the tool to recalculate at your now lower body weight. It does that only when you re-save your Goals.

If you want to continue to eat 1770, you can manually change it. Has your weight loss been pretty much in line with what you chose as a goal? The tool is just a dumb tool...it will do what you ask it to do. If you ask for, "Lose two pounds per week," it will try to accommodate your request. If you're losing close to two pounds per week at 1770, no reason to change it.

The tool/calculator is just a starting point. Your own data should really determine your intake. If you have good logging data, use your results and set your calories manually. Figure a One Pound Loss Per Week would equal 3500 calories, or 500 calories per day below your total energy needs (7 X 500=3500.) You could also choose something between the 1580 and the 1770. All of this is in your control.

I agree with Lietchi, though, as you approach a healthy weight, your weight loss rate needs to be slower. Ideally, you would step down your calories every 10 pounds BUT when you get to 25 pounds remaining to lose, don't set it at more than, "Lose one pound per week."

HaleCry

Your calories should slowly go down as your weight drops. You can manually increase them if you want to lose at a slower weight.

yirara

It's a good idea to do the guided setup or recalculate your calories again with every 10lbs lost. A smaller body needs less energy to function, your organs are working less hard to keep you alive, your movements take less energy. And hence, if your weightloss goal doesn't change then your calorie allowance goes down. You have two choices basically: eat less or lose slower. The second one will happen anyway at a certain time as your body can only lose so much fat in a given time anyway.