Maintenance vs weight loss calories?

drinkingflower
drinkingflower Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I hope this isn't a totally stupid question, but why is that that people who have reached their goal can eat 2000 (or whatever) calories in a day to maintain, but to lose weight MFP puts me at 1370? I just read a post where the woman is around 110 pounds and eats 2000 calories a day to maintain.... So why couldn't I eat 2000 to get down to my goal weight? It makes no sense to me lol.. Thanks

Replies

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Height, weight, age, gender, and activity levels will all influence how many calories you eat along the way. Additionally, there are individual factors such as hormonal imbalances and other health issues. Don't compare yourself to others, you will drive yourself nuts. Good luck on your path.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    To lose a pound a week you have to cut 3500 calories from maintenance and for 2 you have to cut 7000. So if you were the hypothetical woman with 2000 for maintenance (and yours may be more or less), to lose a pound a week she'd be eating 1500 (2000 less 500/day to get the 3500/week), assuming that her activity was the same. To get 2 lbs a week, she'd be at 1000, which obviously is not recommended. If your calories are lower than you like, you might want to reevaluate how many lbs/week you are aiming to lose.

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