How does the daily calorie goal work?

TragicWriter

Is this the amount I should aim for to lose weight or is this the amount I need to eat to maintain my current weight? My current daily goal is 1370 calories but I've only been eating around 1000-1100 because I'm not sure how it works. I'm trying to lose 100 pounds, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly to become healthy.

Kalikel

I think you can set it up however you want. Check your settings.

Cerakoala

I set mine to lose 2 lbs per week At my weight height age etc I get 1200 Then I also exercise to get more calories to use I eat backa bout 50% to 75% of my exercise calories On a daily basis with exercise I eat about 1500-1800 You should be eating more than you are I would think so you are not starving yourself If you follow the calories MFP set up for you, you will lose I am proof of that. Don't treat this like a diet and harshly limit your calorie intake It will make a healthier lifestyle something you cannot continually do

Karenka2012

Cerakoala wrote: »

I set mine to lose 2 lbs per week At my weight height age etc I get 1200 Then I also exercise to get more calories to use I eat backa bout 50% to 75% of my exercise calories On a daily basis with exercise I eat about 1500-1800 You should be eating more than you are I would think so you are not starving yourself If you follow the calories MFP set up for you, you will lose I am proof of that. Don't treat this like a diet and harshly limit your calorie intake It will make a healthier lifestyle something you cannot continually do

If you are eating 1800 calories you are exercising for about 600 calories per day? Is that correct?

shadow2soul

TragicWriter wrote: »

Is this the amount I should aim for to lose weight or is this the amount I need to eat to maintain my current weight? My current daily goal is 1370 calories but I've only been eating around 1000-1100 because I'm not sure how it works. I'm trying to lose 100 pounds, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly to become healthy.

1370 is your calorie goal to lose weight without exercise. If you exercise, you get to eat a bit more.

MFP predicts about how many calories a day you burn with your stats and selected activity level before exercise. Then, it takes a deficit off of that prediction and gives you a calorie goal that you will lose weight at without exercise.

An example:

1900 calories burned per day without exercise @ lightly active setting (this number is based on my stats)
0.5 lbs per week (-250)
1 lb per week (-500)
1.5 lb per week (-750)
2 lb per week (-1000)

In my case, the largest deficit MFP will let me have is 700 calories. MFP will not give any one a calorie goal below 1200 calories.
So without exercise, to lose 1 lb per week, I should eat 1400 calories. If I exercise, then I need to eat 1400 + some of my exercise calorie burns to keep my deficit at 500 calories/1 lb per week loss. So I aim to have a NET of 1400 calories consumed (my 30 day avg total intake is 1920 per day).

Keep in mind healthy weight loss will be 1-2 lbs per week. Losing faster than that can risk you losing LBM which usually results in a thin but still jiggly look. I recommend starting some sort of resistance or strength training to help maintain as much of your LBM as you can.

Ready2Rock206

TragicWriter wrote: »

Is this the amount I should aim for to lose weight or is this the amount I need to eat to maintain my current weight? My current daily goal is 1370 calories but I've only been eating around 1000-1100 because I'm not sure how it works. I'm trying to lose 100 pounds, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly to become healthy.

SIgnificantly undereating is not the way to become healthy - it is not recommended to go under 1200 for a woman. Glad you asked this question! With 100 lbs to lose I would think you could eat much more than 1370 and still lose weight - but if MFP gave you a goal of 1370 assuming you entered everything correctly that is the amount you eat to lose weight - no need to take calories off this amount. It is a calorie goal - as in something you should try to get as close to as possible. And as someone else mentioned if you exercise you can eat more!

cwolfman13

TragicWriter wrote: »

Is this the amount I should aim for to lose weight or is this the amount I need to eat to maintain my current weight? My current daily goal is 1370 calories but I've only been eating around 1000-1100 because I'm not sure how it works. I'm trying to lose 100 pounds, so I want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly to become healthy.

if you told the calculator that you wanted to lose weight, it is going to give you a calorie target based on that goal...otherwise why would you put in that you wanted to lose X Lbs per week?

TeaBea

The way MFP works......you plug in your stats (height, weight, age, etc). MFP uses your stats for the starting point.
Then you set a weekly weight loss goal. MFP gives you a daily calorie goal BEFORE exercise.

If you told MFP "I want to lose 2 pounds per week" ....MFP subtracted 1,000 calories a day. So you can eat 1370 calories every day (with zero exercise) .....and lose 2 pounds a week. That is a reasonable goal for someone with > 75 pounds to lose. As you get closer to goal, stepping down the weekly goal is a very good idea.

If you log exercise......you earn more calories. Many people start by eating a portion of those back (50-75%) ....as calorie burns are estimates. "Earning" calories is a good incentive for people who are very sedentary.

OP - weight loss is a marathon.....not a sprint. Eating 1000-1100 calories makes is really difficult to get adequate nutrition. This is why MFPs lowest default is 1200. Pick a range that you can live with for a long time.