i've been thinking

relax24
relax24 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I've been thinking about how to lose weight correctly, apparently 2200 calories is my limit so if i have a calorie deflict of 1800 calories i should be ok, and can i eat anything i want as long as it's healthy? or anything in general to add up the calories.

Replies

  • lm8222
    lm8222 Posts: 4
    If you just want to count calories and eat what you want as long as you have a deficit you might lose a little weight... But this is not a good idea, you can have an 80/20 mentality... But try to make healthier choices and eat to nourish your body and improve your health.. Not just calorie count to lose weight. Eating the right combinations of foods and getting a well rounded balanced diet rather than following a fad or cutting out entire food groups is best also (unless you have an allergy/dietary restriction etc).
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    Firstly you don't want to be in an 1800 calorie a day deficit, you don't really want to go over 1000 a day deficit, and even that's only when you've got lots of weight to lose. If you're a healthy weight, you should aim for about 500 calories a day deficit, or a loss of 1lb/week.

    As for what you eat, it doesn't matter as far as weight loss goes. Eating healthy food is, of course, better for your health, and will help with things like keeping you feeling full for longer. But you can eat chocolate and take aways an such and still lose weight, as long as it's within your calories.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Ok, so I've been thinking about how to lose weight correctly, apparently 2200 calories is my limit so if i have a calorie deflict of 1800 calories i should be ok, and can i eat anything i want as long as it's healthy? or anything in general to add up the calories.

    When you say that 2200 calories is your limit, do you mean that is the goal MFP set for you to lose weight or that is your TDEE (maintenance calories)? If that's your MFP goal for weight loss, then your deficit is already built in and you don't need to eat below it in order to lose weight. If it's your maintenance calories, then eating around 1800 calories would be a good goal to lose weight.

    As for eating whatever you want as long as you're at or below your goal, for weight loss, yes, that's basically how it works.

    Calories are what matter for weight loss. As long as you stick to your calorie goal and you are accurately tracking what you eat you should still lose weight. Depending on how your goals are set up, you can even eat a little more than MFP's number and still lose weight for the week, albeit a little more slowly.

    Macronutrients (fat/protein/carbs) help with various things. Protein and fat both help keep you feeling fuller and more satisfied. Protein helps to rebuild and retain your lean muscle mass. Fat is good for you and helps with everything from hormone control, vitamin absorption, cell growth, etc. And carbs give you energy. You can be over or under on any of them and still lose weight as long as your calories are okay. Finding the right macro ratio depends on your goals, medical history, workout routine, etc. Don't be afraid to adjust MFP's defaults to better suit your routine. MFP tends to set it's protein default too low anyway.

    Sugar and Sodium are the other two default nutrients tracked and I honestly don't know why they picked those two. Excess sodium may cause you to retain water weight, which can cause a jump on the scale, but if you don't have any health issues neither is strictly necessary to track for weight loss. Tracking them or ignoring them will, again, depend on your personal goals.

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