Am I eating enough?

KristenKHAOS
KristenKHAOS Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I weigh 214lbs. I lost over 60lbs eating 1200 cal/day without exercise. I recently starting doing low impact cardio half hour a day. According to my heart rate monitor, I burn between 200-400cal during my workout. Myfitnesspal starts the day showing me a calorie goal of 1200, at the end of the day after my fitbit adjustment gets entered in, it shows my calorie goal anywhere from 1470-1740.

my body burns about 2500 calories a day on average, i'm trying to lose 2lbs a week.

on fitbit's website, it says i can eat 1550 cal a day to lose 2lbs a week.

My weight loss feels like it has slowed down a bit since i started exercising.

Should I increase my calorie intake to 1400/1500 or leave it at 1200 and wait it out?

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    I've always found (from personal experience and from chatting with people here on MFP) that having a calorie deficit of greater than 1000 calories is counter productive to consistent, healthy, steady weightloss. Meaning, you'll still lose weight, it just becomes more erratic and unpredictable. Between 500-1000 per day deficit is the kind of steady, predictable weightloss zone most people find success at.

    I know you want to lose the weight as fast as you can, but there's additional risks when you start eating so much below your TDEE. Hormone issues, bone loss, anemia...
  • KatissimusDorsi
    KatissimusDorsi Posts: 79
    Absolutely agree with the poster above.

    Eat to fuel your exercise.
  • Kaylaef
    Kaylaef Posts: 194 Member
    I agree too. I think you should up to the higher number :)
  • KristenKHAOS
    KristenKHAOS Posts: 5
    thank you ladies, i'm going to increase to 1500 and play it out :)
  • FitGeekery
    FitGeekery Posts: 336 Member
    I agree with the posters above and also wanted to add don't be afraid to increase your daily calories if you're feeling too hungry/lacking energy/endurance etc. As long as you are eating below your TDEE you will lose weight; it affects the rate of weight loss, not whether you will or not if you're consistent :)

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