Use MFP Calorie Goal or Change it??

Dozrzz

Hey Everyone! So MFP set my calorie goal at 1770 calories in order to lose 2 pounds per week. (I am currently at 307 lbs EEK! with a goal of 180 lbs. I am 5ft 9in)

I feel like 1770 is a ton of calories! Now I am not saying I can't eat that much...I love food, I can totally eat that much. lol But I am worried if I allow myself to eat that much then
a) I will feel like I have all of these calories available and end up eating something I shouldn't, or go overboard with it.
or b) even I stick to the 1770 really well, I feel like that is too many calories for me to still be losing.

So my thoughts were that maybe I should lower the calorie goal to say 1400 or so. But I don't know. I feel like MFP is the "expert" here and maybe I should just do what it says.... It is kinda like when you are following the GPS in your car but then you decide you know a better way. Then you get yourself lost because you thought you knew better than TomTom! lol

So my questions:
1) Should I just leave my calories at 1770 and also make sure I eat that many calories?
2) Should I leave my calories at 1770 but then don't stress if I am a few hundred calories short (like 200-300)?
3) Should I lower my calorie goal and if so how much should I make my goal?

I appreciate any advice you might have for me. :-)

Psychgrrl

Due to your current weight, you'll lose weight more quickly at first. The 1770 sounds reasonable to me at your weight. You want to consume enough nutrients to sustain your body through the weightloss while not losing muscle. Your number will slowly adjust down as you lose as you'll need less to sustain the new, smaller you.

How many calories were you thinking it should be set at?

prefabsey

In my experience, the MFP calorie targets tend to be on the low side already, so I'd hesitate before lowering it, especially if it's already set to 2lb/week loss.

Honestly, I wouldn't over-think it too much until you stop seeing consistent steady loss.

Dozrzz

Due to your current weight, you'll lose weight more quickly at first. The 1770 sounds reasonable to me at your weight. You want to consume enough nutrients to sustain your body through the weightloss while not losing muscle. Your number will slowly adjust down as you lose as you'll need less to sustain the new, smaller you.

How many calories were you thinking it should be set at?

I was thinking like 1400 or so. I wasn't going to go as low as 1200 or anything. I don't think I could stick with it. But I have done about 1360 today for example and could be done eating today. Of course, it is still early yet so maybe I'll get bored/hungry later tonight. But theoretically I can easily be done at around 1400 and not starve all day.

So the question is, like today for example, do I plan on eating something else tonight to get closer to the 1770 or should I stop for today if I am feeling ok with the calories I've had...?

MelisMusing

Experiment a little. Set it at 1700 and see how you feel a few weeks down the road. You can tweak it then if you need to. I'd make those 1700 calories count though- whole clean foods, minimal processed anything, and try eliminating a few things just to see how you feel without them - wheat, corn, sugar. I never realized how sensitive I was to wheat and corn until I took it away. The difference was amazing.

3dogsrunning

Why drop lower right away? Why not see how 1700 works for you first?
What happens when you stall? If you are at 1700, you have lots of room to cut calories, at 1400, you don't have far to go.

Dozrzz

Why drop lower right away? Why not see how 1700 works for you first?
What happens when you stall? If you are at 1700, you have lots of room to cut calories, at 1400, you don't have far to go.

Hmm that makes a lot of sense! :-)

asciiqwerty

In my experience, if you're honest with MfP it'll work for you.

Assuming you want to stick with this for the long term, I would recommend that you not push too far too fast. Stick with a steady, manageable goal, that doesn't require you to cut out all your favourite treats forever.

Go with MfP for at least 3-4 weeks and see how you get on.
Of course MfP is an estimate, and you will also be estimating exercise, and many of us make more assumptions than we would like to admit in our food logging.

When I assumed that mfp was wrong a cut further, I felt fine for a couple of weeks until I hit a wall of exhaustion, and lack of energy, incidentally I didn't lose any weight during that time either, just ended up feeling like crap.

jennifer_417

I'd say give it 3-4 weeks. It sounds like a lot of calories in theory, but in practice you will probably have to make some serious adjustments in your eating habits to meet that goal. Why make it harder than it needs to be?

Faye_Anderson

I don't mean to sound rude but you must have been eating a lot more to get to your current weight. 1700 sounds like a reasonable goal, the idea is to have a healthy sustainable target so that you can continue with the lifestyle when you reach your goal and then you are less likely to put the weight back on again, like has happened to you in the past :flowerforyou:

sdps720

I'm fairly new here too and I am following the goal set for me. So far it has worked, when I am honest about portions!


Feel free to add me and we can go this together!