Calling all 100 poundish losers...

kmg3614

I have a long way to go in my weight loss.. I'm currently 251 lbs, 5'3" and 47 years old.. I'm wanting to get off to a good start so in the "Guided" setting I put 2 pounds per week and it gave me 1200 calories. Looking to see what all you have done that have lost a lot of weight.. Should I keep it at 1200 calories? what did you do?

Thanks,
Kim Garman

areinafierce

You will probably be starving by Noon with that goal LOL
Try setting yourself up for a smaller attainable goal. Like a pound or a pound and a half.
It will come off, you just have to give it time.

_Resolve_

Hello Kim

I would suggest going here http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Plug in all your info and find your tdee, based on your activity level it will tell you how many calories to eat a day. 2 pounds per week is really aggressive, I would aim for a pound per week and go from there. 1200 may be a little low for you...

Also buy a food scale and weigh EVERYTHING, accuracy logging is essential for weight loss.

Good luck

nancy10272004

I'm 5'3" and started MFP at 236. It gave me 1200 calories/day which I knew was too low. I changed the setting to lose 1lb/week and it changed to 1600/day which is much more reasonable. Since then I haven't felt hungry, deprived or like I'm on a diet.

I'm almost a month in and still doing great on 1,540 calories. After another month, I'll try 1400 or 1200. Not for now, though.

angelzxy321

I have about 100 pounds to lose as well in order to get to a very healthy weight. I've only just started. When I chose guided I got the same results you did - about 1200 calories a day. I found that I'm never tempted to eat more than that. I'm full all day. I know when I'm hungry my chances of grabbing anything and everything increases so I eat EVERY time I'm hungry. Usually fruit or veggies. I'm not sure but I think it's the fiber in my new snacks that's keeping me full throughout the day. It may not seem like much but 1200 of the right types of calories are way more than they seem. I also drink a lot of water all day long.

So yes, 1200 may be fine for you. I suggest trying it for a few days and see how that goes. If you need more calories readjust then.

My calories are mostly from protein, low on carbs and a little lower on fat. My protein is the only thing that goes over (that and sugar because of my two fruits) but I think that is fine.

I also eat back a portion of my exercise calories. Weight loss is greater when I do than when I don't.

LavaDoll

1200 calories a day can be adequate for those who have this much to lose and who are sedentary - you just have to do it right.

<ingest real foods and not filler.>

you can do it.

rosevalleygirl23

Hey, we are practically the same age and exactly the same start weight.

I added exercise to my daily routine and I eat back those calories. I started off with walking, now I do walking, Zumba and weightlifting. I lose pounds if I can to stick to 1400 net calories or under. If I eat more my habits tend to creep in the wrong direction and my weight loss stalls. It's good for me to try and fail though. A lot of lessons learned in that space.

AlmightyAce

I too have over 100lbs to lose, and was set at 1200 calories. I tried it for a few days and I was ravenous, cranky, and generally not a nice person to be around. I changed my goal from Lose 2 per week to 1.5 and upped my activity level from Sedentary to Lightly Active, and I am now at 1,910 calories per day. I rarely reach that exact number so I feel it'll be easier the more pounds I lose to eat less calories. Feel free to add me for motivation and support.

kmg3614

Thank you ALL for your input...I'm excited to really get going. I have been on here before, but I didn't stick with it. I'm really hoping for success this time!

loconnor466

Another 100 pounds to lose over here. When you have so much to lose, sometimes it just can't fall off fast enough. But we have to remember that we didnt gain 100 pounds overnight or even over 3-6 months. I recently changed mine to be a 1 pound per week loss and changed it from sedentary to lightly active and it went to 1560 which has been good for the last week. You will find what works for you, just try not to get discouraged and quit. Logging in everyday has been a huge motivator for me.

Julesoola

I lost about 90lbs in roughly 7-8 months about a year ago. I started on ~1200 cals/day and kept this up for a couple of months. I was only walking a couple of miles a day most days at this point. I upped both sides of that about 3 months in to roughly 1700 cals and 6-10 miles a day. I have spent the last year maintaining. I just started back up again and am sticking with the 1200-1300 range which may change depending on my activity (for now). The first couple weeks are the hardest.

You need to actively keep yourself away from the temptations. I feel like it's a constant awareness thing for me, especially when just starting. Every single day I am actively making very specific food choices. It will probably take some trial and error to find daily meal plans that work for you. But, if you're eating *mostly* clean, fresh and stay aware of every ingredient you're consuming, you can actually eat perfectly well on 1200 or so cals a day.

Most importantly - Don't be afraid to modify your plan if it really isn't working for you. There may be some necessary tweaking to find what will work best for you. The most valuable and effective plan is the one that you will stick to. You're better off losing 20lbs in a year and sticking to it than losing 10 in a month and then quitting.

crazybookworm

That's seems quite low. My starting weight was 252 lbs, I was eating about 1,400-1,600 calories a day, a little more with exercise. I stayed at a steady 8-10 lb loss per month. I hit my 100 mark in 11 months.

Healthier eating, Portion control, Moderation, and exercise. Follow those keys, and you'll be successful!

captmiddy

The least I allowed my calories to get to before I flipped over to 1.5lb per week was 1300 calories, below that I probably would have started to eat random things without logging and defeated the purpose. 2lb per week sounds good when you want to lose fast but it can be real painful to deal with. I am now doing 1 lb per week and will probably switch over to .5 lb per week in a few more weeks as I get closer to my next milestone (and move the goal line out just a little further).

Samstan101

Hello Kim

I would suggest going here http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Plug in all your info and find your tdee, based on your activity level it will tell you how many calories to eat a day. 2 pounds per week is really aggressive, I would aim for a pound per week and go from there. 1200 may be a little low for you...

Also buy a food scale and weigh EVERYTHING, accuracy logging is essential for weight loss.

Good luck

Exactly this. Working for me

anewlife1980

I started out a year ago at 295lbs, 5"4 & 32yrs old. I set my goal at 1lb a week because honestly my opinion is that anything more then that is not being realistic, at least not until you are into this & see that you are truly going to change your life & stick to it. So many people give up so killing yourself for 2lbs a week is just crazy. That might be something easier to achieve later on. I also stuck with the calories MFP gave me which in the beginning was 2070 (before mfp I prob avg about 3500 calories most days). I never ate to the 2070, I would come in around 1750ish so I always had calories left over, even more when you factored in exercise calories but I never changed it, I used what I was given. Every 10lbs mfp deducted 50ish calories off. A year later, I have 101lbs gone & I now get 1490/day. If I don't exercise I rarely stay under those but if I go over its usually by 100 or less so I am still within my deficit. Edited to add: I lost my 101lbs in exactly only year, for the first 10mths I averaged 9lbs per mth, then it slowed down big time, I took Dec off which I regret. Since Nov I've lost the 11lbs to get me to my current weight. It does eventually slow down. I still have 43lbs to go, it very well might take me another full year to reach my goal but I am more then ok with that.

The goal is to set yourself up to be successful that's the only way this works. If you set yourself up for failure you will give up in no time. I know you can do it but you have to do it right. Its such a mental game, the slightest thing will send you reeling, so if you are aiming for 2lbs & you get a 1lb, instead of celebrating you will be upset. Every loss is a step in the right direction & its not a gain which is huge. Keep in mind the avg person loses about 4lbs a month & if done right, you have a much better chance of the weight staying off. There is no quick fix for this, it has to be a way of life for it to work.

Good luck on your journey to a healthier & happier you :-)

psych101

Highly recommend the Scooby calculator above ^^

Or, change your settings to 1lb per week loss - do this for several weeks and check your progress then lower or lift your calories as necessary. Oftentimes people set extremely ambitious weight loss targets (which is fine) but going into such severe calorie restriction does not help with adherence - you're more likely to stick with it if you're eating enough

DeliriumCanBeFun

For me 1200, is way too low. For the best long term ability to stick with it, you're going to have to experiment a little and figure out what works best for you. I joined the site quite some time ago, and blew it off. I came back in Dec at 164 with no really significant amount to lose but still with abinge problem, and I started my calorie goal at 1700 until I could get used to it a bit. Now I'm at 1400, but I eat back pretty much all of my exercise calories. This gets me a 1lb a week loss even with not logging and eating pretty much whatever on Sundays. That 1400 can be tricky, and planning ahead is a must for me. This needs to be something you can do forever! I know I would rather lose weight slowly much more than losing it quickly and gaining it back because I didn't learn how to change all the things that made me gain the weight in the first place.

Tabithas_Transformation

Definitely agree with the previous comments about a gentler start. I'm 5ft 7 so my 2lb loss a week calories at a sedentary level is set to 1,660. I would have felt very discouraged trying to hit 1,200 in the beginning. It's a big adjustment!

Iknowsaur

I have a goal of 140-150 pounds to lose, and I eat 1,550 a day and can still get kinda hungry while being pretty inactive >>
1,200 seems like a poorly informed decision. Do what's best for your body, not what seems fastest. It's not even close to your BMR.

ktsmom430

I am 62.
I did the 1200 calorie thing for the first 18 months. (3/12/14 was my 2 year anniversary on MFP)
Upped it to 1600 6 months ago. I am still alive, and by all accounts (most importantly my doctor) very healthy.
Get advice from your health care professional and do what is right for you.
Best of luck!

lajuice24

I eat about 1400-1500 calories a day and work out about 4-5 times weekly. I am at the end of my weight loss and it is going slow now. But before I would lose 1-1.5 a week. 1200 is really low.

wamydia

I've lost 106lb (then put 15 back on, took 10 back off, put 10 back on, and taking it back off again now :-) and I still have about 40lb left to lose. I acutally starting on Weight Watchers and then switched over to MFP. I use the MFP goal and make adjustments as needed. For instance, I start with what it gives me and if I find that I am not losing, I may only eat back half of my exercise calories. Or, if I am losing but I find that I am hungry all the time, I may adjust my caloire goal for a slower weight loss and go from there. The best general advice I can give you:

-Know your activity level. If you are using MFP, it is set up for you to select a level of general activity and then add exercise calories back on top of it. Do not lie to yourself about this. If you aren't at least standing and walking around most of the day, you are sedentary and you should select that, not lightly active.

- Be patient. It takes time to lose this much weight. It also takes time for your body to adjust to what you are doing and show you results one way or the other. So whatever calorie goal you set, make sure you stick with it for several weeks to see if you will gain, lose, or stay the same. Then adjust accordingly and give it a few more weeks.

- Be realistic. Pick a goal that gives you enough calories to work with. Make food and exercise choices that you can live with. Don't do anything to take the weight off that you aren't willing to keep doing for the rest of your life to keep it off.

- Be honest with yourself. If you aren't losing weight (which happens to almost everyone at some point or another), it is most likely that you aren't running the calorie deficit that you think you are. Evaluate what you are doing and determine if you are underestimating intake, overestimating output, aren't measuring food accurately, etc. Be truthful with yourself about your choices so that you can figure out where you are going wrong and fix it.

- Keep moving. Pick things that you like to do so that you will want to do them. On days when you don't feel up to much, at least go for a walk. Be aware that MFP sometimes overestimates calorie burn, so you may need to adjust how many of them you eat back. I suggest starting at about 75% and adjusting from there.

- Make lifestyle changes gradually. Pick one thing at a time and stick with it for a few weeks until it becomes habit before you start trying to change something else. I suggest starting with tracking everything you eat for a few weeks without worrying about calories limits or what you are eating. After a few weeks you will both have a habit of tracking your food and a better picture of what you are doing right now. Then you can start trying to make small changes to get you down to your calorie goal. After that, you can start working on other goals -- adding exercise, making healthier food choices, etc.

I hope this helps and good luck!

hmaddpear

Aiming to lose 98lb, and am halfway there. Started at 238lb, 5'% and 37 years old (38 now, my height's still the same! :laugh: ) I'm losing (still) about 1.5lb a week on 1600 kcals net of exercise. I've got more active as I've slimmed down, and am currently eating just under 1900kcals a day.

I agreed, 1200kcals is low. Use on of the calculators other posters have linked to - calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and TDEE, eat between the two. It's much more sustainable than very low calories.

Good luck!

jenny181111

I have over a hundred to go too. I'm 4ft 10.2 !! Currently 251 lbs.
My allowance is set to lost 1.5 lbs weekly, and I'm on 1490 cals daily. This seems good for me, I can still have treats so I don't feel deprived.
Feel free to friend, We're all here for support and motivation xx

bamadwl

What about 200 poundish losers?:happy:

cbtomlin

I didn't even track my food until I had already lost over 80 pounds. I just cut my portions and started exercising at least 3 times a week. I also stuck to only drinking water and had my coffee in the morning. That was a big deal for this southern girl who loves her sweet tea
You body needs fuel. Make sure you are not putting your body into starvation mode. We want to be burning fat not muscle. Right?
You should be safe to go by what MFP sets you at to lose 2 pounds per week. (I'm sure that would still be above 1200)
Best of luck to you!! You can do it

btsinmd

One of the things I did when I started was a little different. I got on the calorie calculators and found what the maintenence calories were for me when I get at the weight I wanted to get to. By definition, that's the number of calories that if I ate every day (assuming I was average for my age, sex, and height) my weight would go to. If I was below that weight and I ate that many calories, I would go up to that weight, if I was above, I would go down. Again, assuming you are average, you NEVER have to go below that amount of calories and you will get to the weight you want, fast if there is a big gap between where you are now and where you want to be, and really really slow if you're close. This helped me a lot when I was deciding how many calories I wanted to eat in my plan. It was a nice data point and I try not too eat too much lower than that number, so if MFP decided it should be much less, I knew that I needed to choose less weight loss per week..

WaterBunnie

I have lost 100lbs (on a good day!) and can categorically state that I will NEVER eat as low as 1200 calories a day. As I lose my daily calorie allowance drops in line with the calories my lighter body will expend, but I will alter my loss rate goal so that I can still live life comfortably and not come off the rails as I would if I was always hungry.

kmg3614

What about 200 poundish losers?:happy:

LOL--Yes 200 poundish losers, too!

It's so helpful and encouraging to get advice from people in the same boat as you... Thanks again for all the responses. Best of luck to you all!

bamadwl

Basically I started "watching what I was eating" which entailed decreasing sweets, sodas and "white carbs" (white bread, white rice, potatos and pasta). I eventually gave up all sodas because whether they are diet or regular, I don't see any benefit in them at all. I also gave up all caffienated beverages. I began walking. Nothing too ambitious mind you, considering i started at around 450 lbs. Back then walking 1 mile was a pretty big deal. After my weight loss slowed down (approximately 1 year and 100 lbs lost) I joined a local gym and attended 2 days a week, then 3 days and now I'm "normally" attending 5 days a week. I lift weight M-W-F & do cardio on T-TH). There have been a few minor set backs along the way (broken foot, tendonitis in the left arm & a couple of pinched nerves), but I'm actually going for a skin removal consultation on Monday due to the excess amount of loose skin that's left over from the large amount of weight lost. Even though it was lost at a relatively slow pace, there is quite a bit of skin. Gastric surgery was not an option for me and since I have a loving wife and 3 young sons, dying at an early age wasn't the legacy and example I wanted to leave behind for them. Slow (sometimes it seemed excrutiatingly so!) and steady does win the race with your weight loss journey. Don't buy into gimmics and fads, just work hard and eat smart. Oh yeah, set short term goals that are attainable and have an ideal long term goal. I say "ideal" because it may change when you get closer to it. I wish you the best of luck!

kmg3614

Congrats to all the losers on here! 190 seems unimaginable, but right now 10 pounds sounds great... LOL The fortitude and consistency it take to get those big numbers are highly admirable! Hats off, to you all in successes big and small!