MFP's calorie suggestions...

slimmingsiobhan

Well,

I entered my weight, movement status i.e lightly active etc and it says that I should be having 1210 a day :-s
Yet other sites I have challenged to work out how many cals I should have a day are suggesting, on some, that I have between 1400 and 1600 ....

Does anyone recommend around the 1500 mark to begin with and gradually reduce?
I've started running and am averaging 2miles per day, and I am continually up and around with a toddler, would you guys consider this 'lightly active' as opposed to sedentary?

Thanks xx

jennylynn84

I'd definitely consider a toddler at least lightly active. Sedentary is really for folks like me who sit at a desk job all day. And keep in mind when you add your working out in it will give you back some calories.

That said, I could never do 1200 very well. That's probably for 2lbs a week loss goal, correct? If that feels too restrictive, lower your goal to 1 lb a week, or even 1.5 - I compromised with that for a while.

slimmingsiobhan

Yeah it seems to be for the 2lbs loss! I think I'm gonna shift it to lightly active and go for a 1.5lb a week loss thanks for that.
Crazy 1200 I'm starving on that, 1-200 cals difference sure goes a hell of a long way.
Baby eddie is 7 months and has been crawling two weeks murder! xx

andreahanlon

I would say having the toddler in itself is lightly active. I would add the 2 miles as exercise which will bump up your caloric needs, possibly hitting the target calories you're hoping for.

slimmingsiobhan

Well I've put 1.5lbs as my target per week girls & added lightly active as my status (rather under than overestimate my status of movement!!) and it says I'm entitled to 1520 much more achievable!! xx

kimi233

If you work out, you are supposed to eat the calories you "earn". So if you enter your runs it will calculate by your info how many calories you should be burning. I also chase three kids, but I recently put mine to stationary just to be on the safe side that I'm not under estimating the calories in food. I also do a "catch all" calories of 200 calories to count for things I don't think about adding because I'm not very good about adding every little thing on here (ex... taking a bite off the kids plate, the butter I add to my food) But you really just have to find what is working for you. Best of luck!!

jamie1888

Yes, start out slow and see what works! Setting your caloric goal too low may be unnecessary and discouraging! Try 1500 for a few weeks and see how your weight loss goes. If you drop 1 - 2lbs per week, that's a good amount for you. If not, then you can look at lowering your calories or increasing exercise, etc.


Edit to add:
Be sure to drink LOTS of water, watch your sodium intake, eat lots of lean protein with all of your meals, get enough fiber & healthy fats in your diet. All of these things will help with weight loss. It's not ONLY about eating the right amount of calories.

KimSchnizleinWECHANGED

MFP gave me a 1200 cal/day limit ... But my Dr said at least 1800 for my weight. A few days ago I did 5 hrs of research on BMI, BMR, TDEE, and LBM ... I calculated all of these, and found that I definitely needed to be taking in more than 1200/day to encourage weight loss. You adjust down as you lose weight, and that does mean all those calculations again, but now I feel as though my diet plan is in better shape.