I need guidence on calories ......

leader29

Iv lost 8.5lb so far..... yayaya. But its now slowed rught down, which is to be expected, I now need to adjust what im doing to help get the pound a week if possible.
Mfp says I should have 1440 calories a day, and I feel bad if I eat upto that amount, so have been eating 1000 to 1200, should I be pushing harder at eating the 1440 and then exercising it back down, will that work to get ny 1lb loss a week. Should I be eating more? Im confused. Xxx

thatguyalex

My experience (when I originally lost 80lbs before being an idiot and gained it all back over five years) is that the last 15 are the hardest and slowest to lose...if 1440 represents the amount you burn normally (i..e you'd never gain or lose a pound) then you'd need to go under 1000 to lose 1lb a week...1lb is 3500 calories...BUT...the lower you go, the more your body rebels...

My totally unscientific advise is that it's very unlikely (if your 24 lbs is your final goal weight) that you'll lose 1lb a week and be done in 15 weeks...I'd aim for a more realistic 0.5lb a week and aim for June/July to hit your goal...the last 5-10 don't come off nearly as easily as the first 5-10.

i.e I'd aim for 1200 and just accept it will take some time.

luckydays27

If you are not losing weight, you need to make sure you are accurately counting the foods you eat. Do you weigh and measure your food? If not, try using a food scale to see how much the stuff you are eating truly is.

You are supposed to eat the cals that MFP gives you PLUS your exercise cals if you are following the MFP method.

If you are using MFP to determine your exercise cals, eat half or 3/4 of them as its a bit on the high side for cal estimation for exercise.

The closer you get to goal, the harder its going to be and you are supposed to slow your weight loss down to .5 a week.

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

FP4HSharon

You should be getting at least 1200, but here's what I'd suggest. Enter in the info on MFP about your weight, etc. On Activity Level, no matter what you actually do, I'd set it to the Sedentary Level. On the exercise, I'd put in that you'll do a minimum of 30 minutes/day. Then I'd eat whatever MFP recommends, but only eat back half my exercise calories. An easy way to do this is to only enter the exercise in near the end of the day, or only enter what you'll eat back. That's the formula that worked best for me. If I ate back all the calories, then I either didn't lose anything, or barely lost anything. If I didn't eat back any, same results. But when I ate back half, I consistently lost good amounts, usually about 1-1.5 lbs/week. BUT everyone needs to sort of see what works for them. However, I really think your biggest issue is not getting enough calories, so your body is slowing your metabolism to hang onto them. But this is a controversial issue...some people don't think it slows your metabolism enough to really make a difference. Only YOU can answer that question w/trial & error. All the best on your journey.

Ang108

Iv lost 8.5lb so far..... yayaya. But its now slowed rught down, which is to be expected, I now need to adjust what im doing to help get the pound a week if possible.
Mfp says I should have 1440 calories a day, and I feel bad if I eat upto that amount, so have been eating 1000 to 1200, should I be pushing harder at eating the 1440 and then exercising it back down, will that work to get ny 1lb loss a week. Should I be eating more? Im confused. Xxx

Your question is impossible to answer without knowing your stats and additionally having a look at your food diary.

jeanners98

Hey! I think everyone has given pretty smart advice, so I won't echo it. A lot of people talk about how exercise calories on MyFitnessPal are sometimes overestimated, so that's worth keeping in mind. I would say eat some, but not all of your burned calories back and you should be in a good place!

Also the people who say the last 15 take forever are totally right! So just know that every day you are making progress, it's just not as immediate.

jstout365

Why do you feel bad about eating 1440 calories? That is a reasonable amount for many people and like others have said, without stats, hard to say if it is reasonable for you as well. Don't be afraid to eat. Food is fuel for your body. Check out the sexypants link given above and don't feel bad about eating.