Am I eating enough?? 1200 cals

likewhoa712

Hi... This is my 2nd week of tracking on mfp. I am 5'2 and 246 lbs. I chose a goal of 2 lbs a week and mfp says to keep to 1200 cals a day. Last week, I didn't really go over that amount daily, and was under on my fats. But I didn't lose anything, I expected to lose at least 1 or 2 lbs of water weight. I have not worked out yet. I saw a few threads about it not being enough and wondering if that applies to me since I have so much to lose?? Just trying to get the mathematics of it all down. Thanks

melaniecheeks

I think you just need a bit more patience- give it a month bad then assess how it's going.

caritomili

Sometimes it's not the fats that keep you from loosing, it also can be the sugar (which is my problem). When I first started to get on a plan to loose weight, I cut all sugar (except for fruits, and splenda for coffee) and tried to eat foods that had enough of fiber, as well as protein to help me feel full longer. Also, don't expect the weight to suddenly drop, sometimes on your third of fourth week, you will end up seeing a huge drop. Some weeks are also better than others. But don't get discouraged or give up! If you stick with your plan, you will see it all pay off. You also don't want to loose a lot too soon as it will come back just as quick. If you go slow, you will more likely keep it off.

likewhoa712

Sometimes it's not the fats that keep you from loosing, it also can be the sugar (which is my problem). When I first started to get on a plan to loose weight, I cut all sugar (except for fruits, and splenda for coffee) and tried to eat foods that had enough of fiber, as well as protein to help me feel full longer. Also, don't expect the weight to suddenly drop, sometimes on your third of fourth week, you will end up seeing a huge drop. Some weeks are also better than others. But don't get discouraged or give up! If you stick with your plan, you will see it all pay off. You also don't want to loose a lot too soon as it will come back just as quick. If you go slow, you will more likely keep it off.

Thanks! I have a problem with sugar as far as pop... I went from like 6 cans of coke a day to 2 last week. So 1 can basically was my sugar goal for the whole day. This weeks goal is to be down to one! That's why mfp is so nice to be able to visualize the damage I'm doing to my body from food. I just keep seeing these posts about 1200 not being enough calories to live on so I wanted to make sure I was doing the right things.

likewhoa712

I think you just need a bit more patience- give it a month bad then assess how it's going.

Thanks! I just wanted to make sure I am following a correct plan. I know I didn't gain it over night so I won't lose it over night

mactaffy84

If you want to lose weight, you don't want to take in enough calories to live on. You need to create a deficit in order to use your body fat. It is up to you to decide how much of a deficit you can live with.

Sabine_Stroehm

If you want to lose weight, you don't want to take in enough calories to live on. You need to create a deficit in order to use your body fat. It is up to you to decide how much of a deficit you can live with.

What? 1200 calories is probably a HUGE deficit.
And yes, you DO want to take in enough calories to "live on" because you have to LIVE while losing.

Sabine_Stroehm

OP: you might want to consider opening your diary so we can give you more specific advice.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

No, you are not eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Sometimes it's not the fats that keep you from loosing, it also can be the sugar

This is false. All that is required to lose weight is a calorie deficit. I eat candy every day. It has not stopped my weight loss in the slightest, as you can see.
<

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codycsweet

Read through getting started links like this
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

This has many useful links

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069275-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Now things I've learned

I started at 250 and tried the 2lb/week it didn't work I was hungry and at most I'd loose 1.4 and usually 1 lb consistently. So that is what I set my goal for 1.5 or 1 lb depending on were I was in weight loss. I'm currently at 1lb/week and have been here for awhile.

Buy a digital scale if you don't have one and weigh your food. Be careful when looking up the calories on MFP. If it seems to good to be true than it probably is for instance I have seen someone think a while donut is 50 calories (they are in denial).

Use what others offer for advice cautiously, I say this because there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here who are great resources, but some people are not.

Find out what works for you and make sure you are still giving your body enough nutrition to properly function.

You said you've cut back on coca cola good for you, my hubby is a huge Pepsi drinker and I'm trying to get him to cut down because the empty calories and sugar is not good. Also watch your sodium, it works for me.

Use other forms of measurements. Take pictures I wish I had when I started I had already lost 25 before I started keeping front, back, and side pics. Take your measurements you'll be glad you did because the scale can lie about your progress and shouldn't be your only means of measurement.

Eat more, this is something you want to be able to sustain throughout your weight-loss journey and then shift into maintenance.

Don't restrict foods just be careful of your portion sizes and fit it into your day.

If you have a bad day, acknowledge it, learn from it, and move on.

I learned I didn't have to do a cardio queen to loose weight I do Zumba 2-3 days a week bc I love it and lift

Good luck to you

codycsweet

OP: you might want to consider opening your diary so we can give you more specific advice.

Agreed

kar328

I'm also 5'2" and started this at 248 lbs, but set my goal at 1 lb a week event though we're in the range where 2 lbs is okay. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, but maybe you need to try playing with the numbers a bit.

Check the links people post here, they all have great info. :drinker:

likewhoa712

Read through getting started links like this
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

This has many useful links

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069275-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Now things I've learned

I started at 250 and tried the 2lb/week it didn't work I was hungry and at most I'd loose 1.4 and usually 1 lb consistently. So that is what I set my goal for 1.5 or 1 lb depending on were I was in weight loss. I'm currently at 1lb/week and have been here for awhile.

Buy a digital scale if you don't have one and weigh your food. Be careful when looking up the calories on MFP. If it seems to good to be true than it probably is for instance I have seen someone think a while donut is 50 calories (they are in denial).

Use what others offer for advice cautiously, I say this because there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on here who are great resources, but some people are not.

Find out what works for you and make sure you are still giving your body enough nutrition to properly function.

You said you've cut back on coca cola good for you, my hubby is a huge Pepsi drinker and I'm trying to get him to cut down because the empty calories and sugar is not good. Also watch your sodium, it works for me.

Use other forms of measurements. Take pictures I wish I had when I started I had already lost 25 before I started keeping front, back, and side pics. Take your measurements you'll be glad you did because the scale can lie about your progress and shouldn't be your only means of measurement.

Eat more, this is something you want to be able to sustain throughout your weight-loss journey and then shift into maintenance.

Don't restrict foods just be careful of your portion sizes and fit it into your day.

If you have a bad day, acknowledge it, learn from it, and move on.

I learned I didn't have to do a cardio queen to loose weight I do Zumba 2-3 days a week bc I love it and lift

Good luck to you

Thank you so much for the tips and well wishes! I just bought a food scale and I'm excited to use it to track more accurately. Yes, Coke has been the hardest thing yet! Not only physically as far as caffeine withdrawal but I guess force of habit. I guess I'll have to see in a few weeks and reevaluate based on that. Oh and I like Zumba for the Wii

likewhoa712

OP: you might want to consider opening your diary so we can give you more specific advice.

Okay, I will try to do that, thanks! This is only my second week on here this time around

likewhoa712

I'm also 5'2" and started this at 248 lbs, but set my goal at 1 lb a week event though we're in the range where 2 lbs is okay. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, but maybe you need to try playing with the numbers a bit.

Check the links people post here, they all have great info. :drinker:

Thank you

Ehecatl915

I am going to up my calories from 1200, cause I am losing too fast. 4 pounds each week and I don't feel good, feel tired all the time and sometimes dizzy. I think you have to go with what your body responds to. I don't want to lose that much that fast. I started two weeks ago at 244 and now I am 236. I am 5'5 and 50 yrs old.

Raynne413

If you want to lose weight, you don't want to take in enough calories to live on. You need to create a deficit in order to use your body fat. It is up to you to decide how much of a deficit you can live with.

What? 1200 calories is probably a HUGE deficit.
And yes, you DO want to take in enough calories to "live on" because you have to LIVE while losing.

I wish there was a like button for this post.

dopeysmelly

I'm the same height as you, bit older (ahem) and had less to lose to start with (I was around 190 lbs).

I did 1200 calories a day for the first couple of months while I figured stuff out. I found it motivating to lose quite quickly to start with, and I had a lot to go so I wasn't worried about damaging myself. I found I could live with it, but only for a while, and honestly, it taught me how to juggle macros to achieve a calorie and macro target. Other than the first week or so, I learned to choose foods so I didn't feel hungry apart from the odd day. Since then, I've progressively increased (I'm at 1400 now) and will continue to progressively increase as I move away from weight loss towards improving fitness and other goals.

Bottom line for me, it did me no harm, was motivating and I learned a lot about healthy habits and my body.

Bottom line for you may well be different, but you need to decide for yourself.

MVY_

Weight loss takes time. If you are eating 1200 cals and exercising you would be able to lose est. 2 lbs a week.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

likewhoa712

I am going to up my calories from 1200, cause I am losing too fast. 4 pounds each week and I don't feel good, feel tired all the time and sometimes dizzy. I think you have to go with what your body responds to. I don't want to lose that much that fast. I started two weeks ago at 244 and now I am 236. I am 5'5 and 50 yrs old.

Congrats on the good start! I feel okay physically, just hungry most nights but I realize that I haven't let myself FEEL hungry in a very long time due to eating while bored etc, so I'm letting myself adjust to that too.

likewhoa712

I'm the same height as you, bit older (ahem) and had less to lose to start with (I was around 190 lbs).

I did 1200 calories a day for the first couple of months while I figured stuff out. I found it motivating to lose quite quickly to start with, and I had a lot to go so I wasn't worried about damaging myself. I found I could live with it, but only for a while, and honestly, it taught me how to juggle macros to achieve a calorie and macro target. Other than the first week or so, I learned to choose foods so I didn't feel hungry apart from the odd day. Since then, I've progressively increased (I'm at 1400 now) and will continue to progressively increase as I move away from weight loss towards improving fitness and other goals.

Bottom line for me, it did me no harm, was motivating and I learned a lot about healthy habits and my body.

Bottom line for you may well be different, but you need to decide for yourself.

Thanks for the info! I guess I just need to give it some time and see how I adjust

SamLD88

Coke is / was a huge addiction for me. there's no easy way to leave it. And no, I don't mean cocaine. Something about Coca Cola hits all of my buttons in such a nice way. Good luck. I've found moderation through not buying soda for the house, and basically only drinking it when we go out to eat.

As for weight loss, I agree with other posters: play with the numbers. Up it to 1 lb a week and see if it helps. Consider weighing daily -- I know my weight spikes every few days, so if you started on a low day and ended on a spike day, you might not see a difference, even though there is one.

tag624

Nope, I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, yesterday I ate 4000 haha, I am 218 lbs 5'7, and do about 5 hours of cardio and strength training a week.

brocej

No.

tag624

No, you are not eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

Agreed!

Censor76

Sometimes it's not the fats that keep you from loosing, it also can be the sugar

This is false. All that is required to lose weight is a calorie deficit. I eat candy every day. It has not stopped my weight loss in the slightest, as you can see.
<

---

In a non sexual way I love you. Candy and still muscular? Amazing.

AliceDark

It seems like your settings are off somewhere. At your current stats, you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still lose. Keep in mind that you're going to have to drop your calories again (maybe more than once) as you get smaller. If you start off at 1200, what are you going to do when you've lost your first 50 pounds? You can't live on air, lettuce and skinless chicken breasts while you lose the next 50.

likewhoa712

Coke is / was a huge addiction for me. there's no easy way to leave it. And no, I don't mean cocaine. Something about Coca Cola hits all of my buttons in such a nice way. Good luck. I've found moderation through not buying soda for the house, and basically only drinking it when we go out to eat.

As for weight loss, I agree with other posters: play with the numbers. Up it to 1 lb a week and see if it helps. Consider weighing daily -- I know my weight spikes every few days, so if you started on a low day and ended on a spike day, you might not see a difference, even though there is one.

Lol it's almost like cocaine! Yes that is def the hardest thing to give up... I'm down to 1 a day, seeing the impact it makes on my whole day is very motivational since 1 alone is almost the daily allotment for sugar, tho water with a meal is not satisfactory in the least.

likewhoa712

It seems like your settings are off somewhere. At your current stats, you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still lose. Keep in mind that you're going to have to drop your calories again (maybe more than once) as you get smaller. If you start off at 1200, what are you going to do when you've lost your first 50 pounds? You can't live on air, lettuce and skinless chicken breasts while you lose the next 50.

I double checked them, all my info is correct... I chose "sedentary" because I work a desk job, and even "lightly active" says you spend a whole day on your feet which I def don't. I put 0 for exercise because I had no fitness plan set. I started the gym yesterday but it was only for about 45 mins yesterday and today. Maybe If I go all next week I should change that?