Calories

gnkvp9hgfr

New to MFP. After putting in my stats and goals. MFP has me on a 2700 calorie limit. I go to a medical weight loss doctor also. She said I should be eating only 2000 calories. I’m having a hard time reaching the 2000 nevermind the 2700. I don’t want to eat Calories just to eat calories when I’m not hungry. Questions are: Why is there a difference between Doc and MGP calorie cap. Is there any recommendations on eating calories without eating junk calories. Thank in advance.

AnnPT77

All calorie goals are just estimates. Probably your doctor's recommendation is different from MFP's because they use a different estimating methodology. Honestly, even though that's a big-ish difference, it's probably not a big deal. Any calorie estimate is just a starting point. After a while (multiple weeks) following the recommendation, we'll see what our average weekly weight loss rate is, and can adjust if it's too fast to be healthy, or too slow to be satisfying.

If you're having trouble even reaching 2000, maybe stick there for the initial few weeks, as long as you don't start feeling weak/fatigued, having appetite kick-back, or seem to be losing too fast after the initial weeks.

I agree that getting in your nutrition is priority one: Protein, healthy fats, maybe whole grains, some nice veggies/fruits. Once that's in good shape, it can be OK to have less nutrient dense treat foods in reasonable portions, as long as you're able to moderate the portions as needed. Unless you plan never to have a treat again, figuring out how to fit some in in moderate amounts is good practice. (Foods don't divide neatly into good and junk, as long as we're not talking about eating actual poison! Even some treat foods have nutrients, they're just more calorie dense and nutrient-sparse. It's not evil to eat a cookie or something now and then, as long as no health condition contraindicates that.) Or, just eat more of any nutrient-dense foods you personally find tasty.

If you're feeling pretty full, but want to get in some more calories, many (not all) people find fats less filling, so something like a handful of nuts, some seeds on salad or veggies, a bit extra of something like olive oil, maybe some avocado if you like it - that could be good. Some people find drinking calories less filling then chewing them, too, so maybe juice, smoothie, that sort of thing. Another option would be to add in extra calories via small snacks spread out through the day, so they're not as filling.

Weight loss isn't some kind of magic spell where you have to get everything exactly exact from day one, or it won't work. As long as our calorie intake is less than the number of calories we burn (in all ways, including just being alive and breathing), we'll lose weight. Good nutrition is important, but it's a thing we can work at improving more gradually if necessary. Figuring out the right mix to get enough calories, but not too many, that deliver reasonable nutrition while not making us too hungry or too full . . . it can take some analysis and experimenting. And that's OK.

Best wishes!

yirara

Doctors generally have very little nutritional training. Added that their experience is likely that patients complain that they eat so little yet lose next to nothing they might also have given you a low number, hoping you'd lose more, if not as fast as he hopes simply due to guessing very wrongly. There might also be medical reasons why you should eat less than MFP gives you.

We can't say because you've not told us more about yourself or provided your current stats. But given your very high calorie number, provided you added a weightloss goal, suggests that you're very obese, or very tall or both.

tomcustombuilder

The 2,000 is most like a more correct number for fatloss however without details it’s a guess.
Figuring 2,000 and adding in the fairly normal underestimation of weekly calories you’ll most likely be over 2,000.

As mentioned, any amount is a starting point and a review in 4-6 weeks will tell you if you’re on the right track or not and you can adjust accordingly.

springlering62

Pulling suggestions out our bottoms. Don’t know if you’re male or female, short, tall, age, weight or activity level: sedentary, athlete, etc.

Kinda like asking “how fast can my car go?” when we don’t know make. , model, age, horsepower, or if there’s even any fuel in it.

(Which reminds me of the time my daughter put diesel in her gas car. “Well nobody told me not to! And it was cheaper!” )

Asking questions is good. Context is …gooder.

Hoping you’ll come back and fill us in.

Retroguy2000

Assuming you're obese, because 2700 is quite high for weight loss, tbh I wouldn't worry too much right now about a specific calorie goal. As some above have said, nobody including yourself knows your current maintenance anyway.

The important thing is you start to make sustainable lifestyle and food changes. Setting an arbitrary goal that you can't meet and will get frustrated with doesn't help you. Starting from obese, it's easy to get a large calorie deficit by making smarter food choices. Have smaller portions of obviously high calorie stuff. If you need some volume, add more veg and fruit to the plate. Have low calorie treats instead of your usual. Don't buy ultra processed foods, or at least put them out of sight. Switch to diet soda if you haven't already. Reduce alcohol. Eat out far less. Eat more protein and fiber, it's satiating. Walk more. Park farther from the store or your work so you get some more steps in. Things like that. From where you're probably starting from, just doing some or most of the above should have you losing weight.

Get used to tracking calories, diligently, so you can fine tune as you learn more. It can be eye opening how many or how few calories certain meals have.

gnkvp9hgfr

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm new to lost and sort of lost my post. Sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I'm 5'8" 47 years old and started at 325. I'm down to 309 in two weeks of recording my habits on this app. My goal is to get down to 275 then hoping for 250 by the time Halloween comes around . I work at a haunted house so be nice to get into better shape for that. Right now IM semi active. Work as a electrician in a high-rise in Boston. MY mindset is to lose weight watching what I eat and when I hit the Plateau I will start going back to the gym to break thru.

Thanks for everyone's advice. I read everyone's answers 2-3 times.

tomcustombuilder

gnkvp9hgfr wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm new to lost and sort of lost my post. Sorry I didn't get back sooner.

I'm 5'8" 47 years old and started at 325. I'm down to 309 in two weeks of recording my habits on this app. My goal is to get down to 275 then hoping for 250 by the time Halloween comes around . I work at a haunted house so be nice to get into better shape for that. Right now IM semi active. Work as a electrician in a high-rise in Boston. MY mindset is to lose weight watching what I eat and when I hit the Plateau I will start going back to the gym to break thru.

Thanks for everyone's advice. I read everyone's answers 2-3 times.

Start going to the gym NOW.

Try a certain calorie amount for 6 weeks then adjust based on progress or lack of it.