MFP give same calorie goal, no matter what weight goal is?

SolidGoaled

Today I changed my weight loss goal from 165 to 200 just to see what the recommended calories per day would be if I set my goal a little lower. (As I said in a previous post, I am afraid of drastically reducing my cals from the current 2400 to a sudden 1300) Well, MFP still recommended 1300 cals even when I changed my goal weight to 200 instead of my dream weight of 165. Why would that be?

Thank you. I am having a very difficult time understanding where to put my calories per day. Does everyone who wants to lose weight, no matter how heavy they are, start with a 1300 cal a day diet? If so, doesn't the weight come off awfully fast in the beginning? If so, isn't this a *bad* thing? I apologize if this has been talked to death. I have researched the boards and I am still confused.

adhillman01

Your goal weight doesn't determine the number of calories per day that you eat. The amount of weight loss per week determines this (like 1lb/week or 2lb/week. Go into "my home" then "goals" then "change goals". At the bottom there is a drop down menu where you can select how much weight you want to lose per week. If you decrease this the number of calories you can eat per day will increase.

SolidGoaled

So, adhillman - a 400 lb person and a 150 lb person can both lose ONLY 2 lbs per week if they start eating 1300 cals per day? Thats the part that is confusing to me - if you are 400 lbs, and reduce to 1300 cals per day, you can't help but lose more than 2 lbs per week in the beginning - that is considered unhealthy. So, how do you find the cal/day that would allow that safe 2lb/week loss without having it come off too fast? That is what I am looking for - I weigh 245, and want to get down to 165. It takes 2500 (or so) cals per day for me to maintain my weight. So, doesn't cutting suddenly to 1300 per week give me too much of a deficit (if I figure in exercise also, especially)?

I'm sorry. I feel so dense! Eventually I will get a grasp on this.

HeatherShrinking

Your calories are based of your current weight. When I lost 20 pounds, my calories went down too for the same lose 2 pound a week goal (I think they went down about 20 calories). So a person at 400 pounds and a person at 150 pounds would have different calorie levels to lose 2 pounds a week.

If you go through the guided setup, they figure out all the calculations for you. :flowerforyou:

As far as losing more than 2 pounds a week... your first week or two you may lose more than 2 pounds, that pretty normal - just water weight coming off. It is only unhealthy if you lose more than 2 pounds a week consistatnly, but in the very begining not something you need to worry too much about.

SHBoss1673

So, adhillman - a 400 lb person and a 150 lb person can both lose ONLY 2 lbs per week if they start eating 1300 cals per day? Thats the part that is confusing to me - if you are 400 lbs, and reduce to 1300 cals per day, you can't help but lose more than 2 lbs per week in the beginning - that is considered unhealthy. So, how do you find the cal/day that would allow that safe 2lb/week loss without having it come off too fast? That is what I am looking for - I weigh 245, and want to get down to 165. It takes 2500 (or so) cals per day for me to maintain my weight. So, doesn't cutting suddenly to 1300 per week give me too much of a deficit (if I figure in exercise also, especially)?

I'm sorry. I feel so dense! Eventually I will get a grasp on this.

you have to think of it in terms of the individual. There's a lot that goes into determining your deficit and every single person on MFP has different needs and requirements.

You aren't 400 lbs, so don't confuse things by thinking in those terms. MFP uses safeguards to prevent the guided deficit wizard from creating a deficit that's to large. You can, if your body can support it, create a larger deficit, or override the 1200 calorie floor by using the custom option when creating your goals. This is warranted in certain situations where the person's height and/or activity level or age are outside the average AND they are morbidly obese. But generally, if you're in that type of situation, you should be receiving expert help from a registered dietitian anyway. I know they aren't cheap, but RD's are the experts, not doctors, not nutritionists, RD's (at least in the US).

The goals wizard caps the amount of weight you can lose per week to 2 lbs generally because that's what it considered safe for most of the population, but as shows like "The Biggest Loser" can attest, it's perfectly safe, in a monitored environment, to lose more than that if AND ONLY IF you are cleared to do so by the appropriate medical staff and are under their supervision when doing so. Otherwise, there's no real reason besides "want" to do more than 2 lbs a week. In other words, if your life isn't in immanent danger from being morbidly obese (I.E. some folks are in immediate danger of arterial problems due to atherosclerosis or "plaque" that can lead to stroke or cardiac arrest), then yes, it'll take a little longer to do a maximum of 2 lbs a week, but it's generally safe if your body can support it.

One other note, just because MFP allows 2 lbs a week for everyone, doesn't mean everyone should choose that as their goal, for those of us with less body fat, and a smaller amount of weight to lose, consideration should be made to the deficit size (I.E. someone looking to lose 15 or 20 lbs shouldn't be considering a 2 lb a week goal, more likely they should choose 1/2 lb per week).

binabodu

We are the same starting weight and height, I put my goal in to lose 2 lbs a week and 20 minutes of exercise a day and my calorie intake is 1380. That is creating a 1000 calorie deficit in my daily intake, so over the week that is -7000 calories which is 2 lbs per week. Then if you exercise daily, you will burn calories so you can then eat a little more if you decide to eat your exercise calories. I usually eat at least 1/2 of my exercise calories to keep my net over 1200 calories per day. I am eating around 1500 calories per day and am not starving myself at all. It's all about the choices you make. I have really learned that protein and carbs (&water) in the morning help me stay fuller throughout the day. I have lost approx. 3.5 lbs per week these first 3 weeks probably due to water weight and not eating all my exercise calories but I am sure it is going to slow down to 2lbs which I will be more than happy with.

You can friend me if you want on MFP since we have similar goals and starting measurements.

SolidGoaled

Thanks everyone. I have to be honest - I am still confused! But I will keep reading, and trying to get it through my head.