Changing Goals When Weight Drops

Fit_Fox88

I was just curious when you all update your goals? Do you update for every 10 lbs you lose? Every 5? Or do you keep it the same until you stall and then change?

I'm doing a mix of lifting (3-4 times a week) and cardio (4-5 time a week). I have been losing steadily over the past 6 weeks, but I just updated my goals with my new lower weight (as of this morning) and it dropped me another 40 calories for my daily goal. On lifting days I usually tend to eat back all my exercise calories from my cardio routine and sometimes a little more, especially when it's lean protein or veggies that has caused me to go over.

Should I set my calories back to what they were previously since that was working for me? Or go with the new version? Any suggestions are appreciated, thanks!

Chezzie84

I thought MFP did it for you as you lose weight!!

cwolfman13

As you lose weight you require less energy (calories) to function, thus your calorie goals get adjusted down. If you set them back to what they were before you will start to lose slower and ultimately stall out because you don't require as many calories to maintain and thus would require even few calories to lose.

terbusha

Nice job on the weight loss! As long as you are making progress towards your goals, you can keep your calorie level the same. I always tell people to eat as much as they can while still losing weight. The problem with going on a very restricted diet right away is that when you hit a plateau (from your metabolism being repressed to compensate for the lack of energy) you'll have nowhere to cut from and be stuck.

Also, as you lose weight and become more fit, you may actually need to increase calories. I had that happen to me. I was losing weight at 1800 cal/day. Eventually I stalled. I bumped it up to 2000 cal/day, and the scale started moving again. If you're having trouble, you'll just have to play with your calories and see what works for you.

Also, I don't eat back calories from exercise (I don't log my exercise actually). I work out hard 6 days/week and focus on hitting my calorie/macro goals. My goals take into account an average calorie burn.

What is your calorie goal? You may be eating too much or too little if you are stuck.

Allan

Fit_Fox88

I thought MFP did it for you as you lose weight!!

Hmmm, not sure. Maybe I haven't lost enough for MFP to make the changes... I just go in each time I drop between 8-10 lbs and enter it manually to see if it changes.

Fit_Fox88

Thanks for the responses! For now, I'll leave it at the lowered amount that MFP set when I entered my recent loss and see what happens. If I start stalling I'll play with the numbers a bit more. Now I just have to work a little harder to eat those 40 extra calories it took away from me :grumble:

tcbs99

Interesting, and a good point.

KaelaLee88

What a good question!

I usually adjust once every 10lb loss as prompted by MFP. However, I did change my weight-loss goal of 2lbs per week to 1.5lbs per week because after a number of weeks eating 1200 calories per day I have felt nothing but tired, irritated and hungry.

I'm now eating 1300 calories and I feel much, much better :-)

Kaela x

SezxyStef

As you lose weight you require less energy (calories) to function, thus your calorie goals get adjusted down. If you set them back to what they were before you will start to lose slower and ultimately stall out because you don't require as many calories to maintain and thus would require even few calories to lose.

I don't totally agree with that..my TDEE has gone up in 6 months. Sept 9th it was 1995, today after losing a net of 10lbs it is 2243.

I think it all depends on how you lose the weight and if the weight is maily fat with very little muscle or if it is fat and a lot of muscle.

I lift heavy so I have maintained a lot of my muscle...so at a smaller scale weight that allows for an increase in TDEE.

cwolfman13

As you lose weight you require less energy (calories) to function, thus your calorie goals get adjusted down. If you set them back to what they were before you will start to lose slower and ultimately stall out because you don't require as many calories to maintain and thus would require even few calories to lose.

I don't totally agree with that..my TDEE has gone up in 6 months. Sept 9th it was 1995, today after losing a net of 10lbs it is 2243.

I think it all depends on how you lose the weight and if the weight is maily fat with very little muscle or if it is fat and a lot of muscle.

I lift heavy so I have maintained a lot of my muscle...so at a smaller scale weight that allows for an increase in TDEE.

Activity?

I mean yeah...when I started out, my TDEE was 2400ish calories...it is now 2800ish...because I move more...but my non exercise maintenance number is lower than it was when I was 40 Lbs heavier because my body simply doesn't need that much energy anymore.

Another possibility is that you were underestimating your TDEE initially...also lifting causes you to burn more calories at rest which would further result in an increase in TDEE.

dopeysmelly

I had my calorie target set at 1200 to start with (I'm 5' 2", 41, walk for 1hr a day but otherwise not particularly active). After the first 20lbs gone, I increased it to 1300 (most days don't quite get there). I shall be increasing again in a week or so.

For motivational purposes, I wanted to shift some weight quickly (I started at 192 lbs, so BMI obese and I figured my body could take it), hence why I set my calorie target so low. Now I've dropped some significant weight and, more importantly, I have some good data on my weight loss v. calorie intake, I've calculated a more accurate estimate of my TDEE.

I won't be guessing quite so much to figure out how to achieve the 1-1.5lb/week weight loss I want at the moment, so I'll be increasing my calories but quite slowly (probably add 100-150 and wait a month).

So, yes. I do change my calorie goals while my weight goes down, but I do it in a measured, data-driven kinda way.