morbidly obese, 300+lbs to lose - calories/day?

chickidee87

I'm currently 532lbs, and was wondering what my calories per day should be to lose weight? I have myself at 1900, as that was what I was at when I tried dieting before, and can meet or stay under that goal pretty easily. Should I go less, maybe 1500 as that's an average healthy woman's cals per day, and decrease it to 1200 as I lose weight, or just go to 1200 now? Eek! Not sure what my calorie goal should be!

gigglesinthesun

What number did MFP come up with when you created/updated your diet/fitness profile? It's unlikely to be 1200.

ccmzone2013

Only have a few seconds - - Check out my profile . .. That may help you a bit . . . I wish you all the best! You can do it

chickidee87

MFP told me something crazy, like 3000 cals/day.

pain_is_weakness

actually I know it sounds dumb but the bigger you are the more calories you need to eat. MFP should set the calories for you once you chose how much you want to lose a week and your activity level. Thing is with going so low so fast is that there is no where to go once things stall out a bit, just follow the program, trust the site, you will and can do it! If it says do 1900 a day then I would do that, i actually eat about 100-200 over what they say to eat because I lose more that way, I eat high protein about double what they say to eat and only go over with protein or fruits/veggies, no carbs after 3pm ideally not that I do that all the time. It will work, just eat good calories

mamabee103

I'm not sure, because this is new to me, I need to lose 110. I woke up one day, and realized how serious it was becoming. My heels crack, and I'm on bp meds, thyroid pills, and barely fit in my bathtub. I have failed so many diets, but this site is teaching me accountability. I am praying you find someone that knows how to help you chose the right diet to follow. Bless you, and best of luck

spicypepper

What's your activity level like? Do you exercise any, do you have a desk job? I woukd think that MFP is correct if you plugged in your weight and activity.

gigglesinthesun

MFP told me something crazy, like 3000 cals/day.

So it is safe to say that you could eat at least 2000 and still lose weight. Do you know how much you were eating on average on a normal day before?

jaimefreeze

3000 calories is probably not a crazy number. Unless you have some kind of a metabolic disorder MFB cannot account for. As you lose weight that number will decrease. You don't want to drop too many calories too fast or your body will go into starvation mode which makes it even harder to lose weight.

chickidee87

What's your activity level like? Do you exercise any, do you have a desk job? I woukd think that MFP is correct if you plugged in your weight and activity.

I exercise daily, don't work atm due to my weight and weight related issues.

So it is safe to say that you could eat at least 2000 and still lose weight. Do you know how much you were eating on average on a normal day before?

I'm not sure how much I ate calorie-wise before, but I know it's more than I'm eating now, and a lot more junk food and soda too.

gigglesinthesun

3000 calories is probably not a crazy number. Unless you have some kind of a metabolic disorder MFB cannot account for. As you lose weight that number will decrease. You don't want to drop too many calories too fast or your body will go into starvation mode which makes it even harder to lose weight.

she'd have to lose at least 400lbs before she'd go into starvation mode as it doesn't affect people until they are down to like 5% bf or something

jennifer_a00

When I first started on mfp I had 100 lbs to lose and mfp had me at about 2200 cals a day. As I have lost some, mfp has reduced my calories some, to about 1900. I would recommend trying the amount of calories that mfp gives you, so that you can lose weight in a slow, healthy manner. If you plugged all your numbers in correctly, you should be at a calorie deficit, even if it seems high.

Shannon_PAC

I agree with keeping your calories up if you can. I know it seems unreal, but it's likely you consume at least 4000 calories per day to maintain your weight (unless, as someone else mentioned, you have a metabolic issue that MFP doesn't account for). I will be honest. I weight right around 300 pounds. I am just starting off for the most part, though my weight at one time was 380. Right now, I'm eating 2200-2500 calories a day. It's about about a 1-1.5 pound loss per week. And I'm okay it with it. To me, it's better to lose eating more calories than less. Just my humble opinion.

pain_is_weakness

3000 calories is probably not a crazy number. Unless you have some kind of a metabolic disorder MFB cannot account for. As you lose weight that number will decrease. You don't want to drop too many calories too fast or your body will go into starvation mode which makes it even harder to lose weight.

she'd have to lose at least 400lbs before she'd go into starvation mode as it doesn't affect people until they are down to like 5% bf or something

actually not true, you will not lose weight if your body is starving itself . . .so all the hard work will be fore nothing and you can make permanent damage on your metabolism

pain_is_weakness

I would say try 2500 a day and see how that works for 2 weeks, then go form there based on results

SLLRunner

MFP told me something crazy, like 3000 cals/day.

I'm afraid that's not crazy. Because of what you weigh, your body needs more calories to sustain itself while you lose weight.

Hang in there, you can do it.

chickidee87

Thanks everyone! MFP has me set at 3400 cals / day, will give it a try for awhile and see how things go.

pain_is_weakness

Just think of it this way, the more you weight the more your body works to de everything, breathing, walking, moving of any sort, just living you body will burn more calories so it needs more, as you lose the calories will drop because your body require less. Just follow the program and dont eat too few or it will be hard to keep the loss up long term

arlenem1974

I think 3000 is very realistic. I am friends with a guy who was eating 3500 per day and he is heavier then you. According to my calculations need to eat over 6900 calories to maintain your current weight. weight x 10 x 1,3

RusticDreams

This seem like an idiotic question, if someone were to say eat all there calories. stay in deficit on donuts will they still lose weight? I eat a generally healthy diet just now smaller portions and measuring pretty much everything. I mean say you go over on a few things in your macros or a person goes over a lot on there macros would a typical person still lose?

bajoyba

Thanks everyone! MFP has me set at 3400 cals / day, will give it a try for awhile and see how things go.

I think it's always best to start high and then adjust as needed. You may also find it easier to stick with it if you eat at a higher calorie goal as opposed to the bare minimum.

Good luck!