Help!

asr260284

Hey, I've been a member for a few years now but never used the forum!

Anyway, this year WILL be my year to lose weight!

I need some pointers though, I was planning to work on a number of 1500 cals per day (based on nothing other than this being a reasonably low amount) however when I put my details in the app it says I should be at 1860 cals a day. Stupid question but should I go with what MFP tells me??

Thanks!

DjinnMarie

Lowering to 1500 cals will just cause faster weight loss.

Depending on your activity level, you may want to stick with 1860, to keep up your energy. How often/long to you plan to exercise?

roanokejoe49

Dude,
Picking an arbitrary number of calories is a recipe for failure. If you eat too few calories, you can actually GAIN WEIGHT. Weird, but your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto energy for dear life. You should eat based on your BMR + the number of calories you burn through exercise.

Fuzzipeg

Much depends on your height and weight and activity, all taken into consideration by the system. This already gives you a deficit to enable you to loose the weight each week you wish to. I have read new starters finding they are tired or weak or having headache or the like and not knowing why. If you go too low compared with how you normally eat you could find yourself in the same boat. How about seeing how you go at the 1800 whatever and then if you can take things more quickly you can give it a go.

Calorie counting is not as simple as it sounds you need to try to achieve a balance of the principal food groups and this may not be as easy as you think. Trying to change your weight and health requires a different frame of mind to the one you have previously employed and to suddenly cut back too far could set you up for disappointment.

Take the days as they come revel in your 1800+ if you are over by a bit one day, so be it. Likewise if you go under by a bit like wise. Give it a month and see. I like the first time every morning seeing the same old number, so what if yesterday went to pot. This helps me stick with it.

All the very best wishes as you attempt to change your life

stt43

I'd say 1500 calories is too low. In fact, if I were you, I'd say 1800 calories is too low. I wouldn't drop below 2000 a day, but I guess everyone is different. It helps to be active to increase the calories you can eat too.

Psychgrrl

Fuzzipeg is right--it's not just a matter of simple math. One thing that helped me is BodyMedia--it's an armband you wear (like a FitBit wristband) and it links with the food diary of MFP. The armband tells me what my daily goals are regarding calorie deficit, exercise, steps, sleep, calories burned and the armband syncs with the computer to update everything. My goal is 1500 calories in and 2000 calories burned so that means a 500 calorie deficit per day. And there are lots of ways to make those numbers and the system really helps me see that.

Not meaning to sound Like a commercial, but seeing the impact of my daily exercise and schedule (sometimes I have to walk all over campus) on my calorie intake helps me adjust to meet my nutritional needs while keeping that minimum calorie deficit to lose weight.

My current goal is 1 lb per week. It evaluates everything on a daily and weekly basis, so one day of indulging really doesn't ruin your efforts and you can see that. I'm also a huge stats nerd, so seeing all the data is really fun for me!

MFP was a great start for me, but I really needed to see how everything worked together to really be successful.

Phoenix_Warrior

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