Is 1500 Calories too much?

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  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    How do you determine the number of calories you should be eating to lose weight? I've been using 1500, but I've been wondering if that's too much. I am currently 258, 5'2", age 33.

    Your BMR is roughly 1900 calories. Your TDEE, if you are lightly active, is roughly 2500 calories. Eating at 2000 honest calories should get you to an average of one per week loss. Eating 1500 honest calories, should get you to about two pounds per week.

    The word "honest" is referring to the true amount of calories you are eating. If you are not weighing your food and accurately logging each bite, then your calorie count isn't honest, so it can not be used it as data to determine your goals.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Hi,

    I went to doctor recently and she told me 1400 cal a day is what is required to lose weight. Ive been sticking to that...


    *for you*
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    1500 is fine, so long as you can stick with it. You shouldn't need to go any lower. Just make sure you're confident in your 1500 calories - get a good scale and weight/measure everything.

    As for the people talking about eating below BMR and suggesting disastrous consequences will occur, please stop spreading that myth. Your BMR is not the magical line at which your body begins burning lean body mass for energy. Yes, everyone has a point at which their caloric deficit is more than their body can pull from their fat stores, but that has NOTHING to do with your BMR beyond calculating a caloric deficit. It has to do with how much fat you've got on your body. And if you actually think about it rather than just repeating "never go below your BMR!", it makes sense. When you eat a caloric deficit from your TDEE, your body still burns your TDEE in calories every day - it just pulls the remaining calories from your fat stores. When you dip below your BMR, your body again just pulls the remaining calories it needs from your fat stores. No difference. Where it becomes a problem is when your body can't pull enough energy from your fat stores to make up the caloric deficit you're running, and so it turns to your lean mass for energy. But that has nothing to do with your BMR, and at 258 pounds, you can dip a fair bit below your BMR and your body can easily make-up the difference from your fat stores.

    TL;DR, your BMR is nothing special when it comes to sparing lean body mass.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    In my humble opinion it isn't enough! You can easily up that to 1800-2000 and you'll still lose, as long as that is the AVERAGE calories that you're eating; if you tend to eat more at weekends then offset that during the week.

    I am 5'2", 44, 147lb(ish), and if I could just stick to 2,200 a day I'd lose, BUT I also walk at least 10,000 steps a day and work out 30 mins x 4 a week minimum, mostly strength as I detest cardio.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Another vote for probably not enough!

    You can do all the hard sums, but to be honest being truthful about your activity level, not overestimating your exercise burn and using MFP settings to lose 1 or 1.5lb a week works out as close as damn it to other methods.

    I'm 5' 8", 183lbs and losing a steady 1lb a week on 1900 calories (which includes eating back my exercise calories).
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    1 lb/week isn't the goal for everyone and at 258, I would aim to be more aggressive. If 1500 is too hard to stick with you can consider slowing down, but the best move for your health would be to set a more aggressive deficit and look to lose the weight more quickly (at least at first). Just because you can lose weight eating more doesn't mean it's the best move, as you will lose weight more slowly doing this.
  • southerndream24
    southerndream24 Posts: 303 Member
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    You could probably get away with eating more. Your activity level will play a role in how much you should be eating.

    To me 1500 is way low for your size. I'm 5'3, size 0 (sorry I don't weight myself because scales are BS), and I eat about 1900 a day and that's on a cut. So eat more.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    In my humble opinion it isn't enough! You can easily up that to 1800-2000 and you'll still lose, as long as that is the AVERAGE calories that you're eating; if you tend to eat more at weekends then offset that during the week.
    Just to clarify, I'd say the above, PLUS eating back most of your exercise calories.
  • Dawnieb01
    Dawnieb01 Posts: 12 Member
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    The best way to determine how much you need to eat to lose depends on where you start. Most Americans that struggle with weight loss eat more than the recommended 2,000 calories a day. So try logging your food intake for 3 days to a week and you will see how many calories you actually take in, then you will get an actual picture of what you need to work on. I am a nurse surrounded by docs, nutritionist, dieticians all day. They all say you that instead of restricting calories you have to look at quality and quantity. Eat less calorie dense low nutrition foods and exercise. I am not into protein shakes or snacking on carrot sticks but looking at what I eat has put me in better position to make this life change...its a struggle. I am no expert but I see daily the consequences of poor health. Just starting on this site so I have not lost any weight yet but I am mentally ready. Good Luck, if you like we can be "fitness pals". Dawn
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    If 1500 is too hard to stick with you can consider slowing down, but the best move for your health would be to set a more aggressive deficit and look to lose the weight more quickly (at least at first). Just because you can lose weight eating more doesn't mean it's the best move, as you will lose weight more slowly doing this.
    If you're finding 1500 hard to stick to then don't be so aggressive, increase your calories, lose at a consistent rate, and you will most likely stick to it. Change your lifestyle, not your mind after a few weeks when you feel starving and give up.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,590 Member
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    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    A lot of people who have lost huge numbers on MFP have used this calculator, hope you find it helpful. :flowerforyou:
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
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    A dietician gave me this advice years ago, and it served me well when I started MFP.

    For two weeks, track what you normally eat. Don't cheat yourself and don't overeat. Once the two week period is done, put it into MFP and assign calories. You'll probably find you're eating way more than you think.

    Then it's time to assign calories to your diet. If you're normally eating 2500 or 3000 a day, dropping to 1500 is probably too much too soon. You'll be hungry and you're more likely to quit. Drop your intake in increments. You might find 1500 is where you need to be only after dropping a considerable amount of weight. Focus on foods that are nutritionally dense, but lower in calories.

    You can lose weight by severely restricting calories, but it's also hard to stick to. Think of this as a lifestyle change. Sustainable weight loss is the goal. Yes, you can drop 2 lbs or even 5 lbs a week, but can you keep it up without constant professional support? Probably not.
  • HaleyxErin
    HaleyxErin Posts: 94 Member
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    I just go with what MFP gave me for what I wanted to lose, my height/weight, and my lifestyle. So it says I should eat 1,850 calories per day and I always try to get a little exercise and I always try to be a little under on calories.
  • marjoleina
    marjoleina Posts: 189 Member
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    I think it is lilkely not enough. I am female, 5 ft 4 and eat 1500 a day, bike to work 1 hr a day and resistance training at home. I used the TDEE less 20% Haybales has a spreadsheet if you want to figure it out more precisely. Just put TDEE and haybales in the search feature on here.
  • southerndream24
    southerndream24 Posts: 303 Member
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    You could probably get away with eating more. Your activity level will play a role in how much you should be eating.

    To me 1500 is way low for your size. I'm 5'3, size 0 (sorry I don't weight myself because scales are BS), and I eat about 1900 a day and that's on a cut. So eat more.

    :laugh:

    I just posted on another thread how clothing sizes are BS. Zero means "none, nothing, nada." It isn't a size at all. I always that that was the dumbest thing ever to create a clothing size called "zero." :laugh:

    :flowerforyou:

    Ok, feel better about yourself? I'll rephrase that, my jeans are size 23 and 24.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    How do you determine the number of calories you should be eating to lose weight? I've been using 1500, but I've been wondering if that's too much. I am currently 258, 5'2", age 33.

    It's too vague a question. If you coordinate with your doctor, at your weight, you could eat literally nothing but vitamin supplements for six months and be fine health wise while losing a ton of weight. Conversely, at 1500 calories/day, you could lose weight more slowly, but in a (presumably) more comfortable way.

    Here's the thing, though. At your weight and height, you are somewhere around 60%-65% body fat. So your BMR is only going to be around 1200 calories/day. Which means at 1500 calories/day, you will be running quite a small deficit. Meaning your weight loss will be quite slow.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Hi,

    I went to doctor recently and she told me 1400 cal a day is what is required to lose weight. Ive been sticking to that...
    For everyone? No. Perhaps for you. Perhaps not. But no, not for everyone.
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
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    I am 27, 5'7'' and on 1500 calories. MFP started me on 1290 but that was not nearly enough food. So I am on 1500 now and not eating back 250 - 500 exercise calories burned 5x a week. I know my ticker says I haven't lost anything but I have lost about 8 lbs. I know it will go faster in the summer when I can get outside.
  • dpriceee
    dpriceee Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi! You could cut 100 calories per week until you lose weight, so you will know where to start.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    How do you determine the number of calories you should be eating to lose weight? I've been using 1500, but I've been wondering if that's too much. I am currently 258, 5'2", age 33.

    It's too vague a question. If you coordinate with your doctor, at your weight, you could eat literally nothing but vitamin supplements for six months and be fine health wise while losing a ton of weight. Conversely, at 1500 calories/day, you could lose weight more slowly, but in a (presumably) more comfortable way.

    Here's the thing, though. At your weight and height, you are somewhere around 60%-65% body fat. So your BMR is only going to be around 1200 calories/day. Which means at 1500 calories/day, you will be running quite a small deficit. Meaning your weight loss will be quite slow.

    Using Fat2fit BMR calculator, I plugged in her stats and the 60% body fat number you threw out there. Her BMR is a little over 1300, and her TDEE numbers are below. Eating at 1500 would not be a really small deficit, although at her current weight, I agree she could go a little lower. But 1500 would be fine, and depending on exercise, she could have between 1-2 pounds loss every week.

    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2297
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2632
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2967
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 3302
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3637

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