Large calorie amount? Confused!

UrusaiBakaBonza

Hi All,

I have just started using the app, and after putting all of my information in i have been given a whopping 2420 calories to go through... Is this correct?

I am 140kg, quite tall and just generally a "big guy", but i have eaten my normal daily amount of food and have only reached 1400 calories.

Would just love some tips as to what i should be doing? should i be trying to reach that 2420 goal and then exercise it off? should i eat less like i am now? And if that's the case why haven't I lost weight before this?

Any help would be amazing!

editorgrrl

Start here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

And take before photos! (Wish I had.)

bajoyba

Start here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

This. And make sure you're accurately weighing/measuring your food.

Mickey2u

I was also given around 2400 calories but I have went back and manually set mine to 2000 calories.

Since doing this I lose pretty consistently about 2 lbs a week. It gives me room for error because I am not the type who is going to weigh and measure everything i eat.

MoreBean13

It's possible.

Can you elaborate on your settings, though? 140kg. Age? Activity level? Desired weight loss per week? Goal weight?

Also a little info on what your exercise plan and occupation/everyday activities would help (e.g. a waitress burns more calories than a computer programmer)

UrusaiBakaBonza

Age:32, Weight:140 and Activity is Sedentary (Customer service/callcentre work) and i'm aiming on a goal weight of 100kg.

I used to eat ALOT, (bakery items being a personal weakness) and i hit about 135-140 maybe 2 years ago? since then i have been actively eating less (not having double helpings, walking on the other side of the street when i come to a bakery, etc).

So what i considered a normal day would be cereal in the morning (weetbix, rice bubbles), sandwhich for lunch and assorted dinners, occasionally rice crackers or fruit to snack on during the day. But no exercise apart from wrestling the kids and walking the dogs.

After going through the articles below though, i noticed i haven't been paying any attention to the minimums of what have to go IN, and because this is my first time to really get into this sort of frame of mind it's kind of a large hurdle to get over! Eating involving calculations :P

lynn_glenmont

I am 140kg, quite tall and just generally a "big guy", but i have eaten my normal daily amount of food and have only reached 1400 calories.

and

I used to eat ALOT, (bakery items being a personal weakness) and i hit about 135-140 maybe 2 years ago? since then i have been actively eating less (not having double helpings, walking on the other side of the street when i come to a bakery, etc).

So what i considered a normal day would be cereal in the morning (weetbix, rice bubbles), sandwhich for lunch and assorted dinners, occasionally rice crackers or fruit to snack on during the day. But no exercise apart from wrestling the kids and walking the dogs.

If I'm understanding you, you're a 32-year-old man of above average height who weighs over 300 lbs (140 kg), and you've been eating what you believe is 1400 calories a day for two years, but you haven't lost weight? Either you have some rare medical condition, or you are vastly underestimating your daily calories. Do you measure or (preferably) weigh all your food? If you open your diary, it's possible people may be able to spot the underestimates. A description of an unspecified amount of cereal for breakfast, a generic "sandwich" for lunch, and "assorted dinners" doesn't give us much to go on. A breakfast of cereal can easily top 200 or 300 calories depending on portion size, a sandwich from many chains could be 500 to 700 calories or more, even what seems like a "sensible" dinner is likely to be 600 calories or more, and fruit "during the day" might easily be another 100 to 200 calories, depending on how much and how often. Maybe that's only 1400 calories, maybe it's 1800 or more. Are you getting any calories from beverages? I would think at your size, you would be ravenous on 1400 calories a day, and the weight would be flying off.

ewilliams412

I have noticed the less I eat the more weight my body retains. If I eat a large amount of calories my body sheds weight like crazy. Prime example, after being frustrated over not losing weight but exercising and staying within my calorie allowance, I at over 4000 cals and lost 7 lbs overnight. Another example eating a lot due to stress and depression of losing my uncle, I lost 10 lbs in 5 days. I had my metabolism tested at a weight management clinic and the results came back that I have a high metabolism. I think when I diet or limit my calorie intake too much, my body goes into starvation mode and retains food. Just a thought :-)... Good luck with your weight loss.

editorgrrl

You're a 32-year-old man of above average height who weighs over 300 lbs (140 kg), and you've been eating what you believe is 1400 calories a day for two years, but you haven't lost weight? Either you have some rare medical condition, or you are vastly underestimating your daily calories.

^^^This. If you're not losing weight, you're not eating at a deficit.

Step 1 is learning to log everything you eat or drink accurately & honestly. It sounds way easier than it is. Weigh (or at the very least measure) everything. I repeat, everything. Learn to find reliable database entries. There's a whole lotta bad data in there, and it's awfully tempting to chose the entry w/ the lowest calorie count. But the self delusion is self defeating.

Step 2 is to move more, and to estimate your calorie burn as accurately & honestly as possible. Calorie counts & calorie burns are nothing but estimates, so you have to reduce the margin of error as much as possible. Once you're eating at a deficit, you will lose weight. Period.

Edited to add that step 2 is entirely optional. You lose weight by eating at a deficit, and exercise allows you to create a deficit more easily. The more you move, the more you can eat whilst continuing to lose.