ok..enough is enough..suggestions please

leomom72

so, my daily calorie intake is 1200..i am usually below that ( even when i work out and eat those cals ) but my progress is slow going. i have been googling what my intake SHOULD be and i have gotten anywhere from 1446-2416..do yall think it would be wise if i took the 4 i got, added them together, and took the average, and manually put that into MFP, instead of letting it do calculate for me ? i already took an average, and it gave me 1946 intake..my stats are 5'3'' 170 lbs, i work out with my program 4 times a week about 35 minutes a day, and the other 3 days i work out about 15-20 mins, along with housework and taking care of the family..i look forward to your comments, thanks

tanniew78

Without seeing your food diary I couldnt begin to figure out where you may be going wrong or something you are doing right, that might need a tweak.

Shellndub

I know that if your calories are too low your body will go into starvation mode. You will hang on to the weight. I eat every 3 hours or so. Never going longer than 4 in between a snack or a meal. This worked for me previously (before I was stuck in bed daily with migraines and put the weight back on ugh!) Anyway, so I do know this works. I eat within an hour of waking and every 3 hours until i go to bed no matter what the time!! At least 60 oz of water too.
Good luck hope this helps.

nickyb632

I'm 5'2 166, lightly active & my calorie intake is at 1470, so maybe you'd be good at 1500ish. Hope that helps a bit!

JinnJinn

MFP told me I should be eating 1100 calories a day. I bumped mine up last week to 1400. That actually has helped. It is different everywhere you look. You know your body the best. You have to do what is good for you. However, if it were me, I would add a little for a week and if that doesn't work, add a little more the next week. Good luck!

givprayz

I would recommend trying 1500 calories for several weeks, then slowly decreasing the calories by about 50 every 3 or 4 weeks. I think suddenly dropping to 1200 is a shock to most systems, while slowly decreasing over time is more natural, and keeps your body from jumping into conservation mode.

Nikstergirl

I'm 5'2" and started at about 180 and MFP set my calorie net at 1360, which has worked well for me. I try to eat most of my exercise cals back, and work out 3-5 days per week on top of my normal work and wife and mommy duties. I set my goal to lose 1 lb per week, but sometimes the scale is extra nice to me (lost 1.8 this week). I'm not in a hurry, but want to do this for life, and I find it's pretty easy to eat that much and not go over. I personally think 1200 is too few, but 1500 is pretty good. I'd settle for anywhere in the middle for a modest yet consistent loss!

Good luck!

taso42_DELETED

Are those your maintenance calories or maint minus some deficit. I just plugged your #'s into an online calc and got 2275 as maintenance. So somewhere around 1775 should put you on a path to lose about 1lb per week. If you're nervous about making the change so drastic, maybe go to 1400 or 1500 for a few weeks and re-evaluate.

chaney_nic

I would honestly stick to 1200 calories/day at the least. If you work out then you need to increase your calories to probably about 1500. NEVER eat below 1200 calories because your body will go into starvation mode and try to conserve your calories for energy. The extra calories on workout days should include protein, since that is what builds and repairs body tissue that you are using when working out. Try to eat about 6 small meals a day, spacing them out evenly, and also drink a lot (at least 80 oz) of water daily. Hope this helps!

jrt9999

What about just changing you weight loss goal to 1 or 1.5 pounds per week. Both my wife and I are set at 1 pound per week and we both actually lose around 1.5 to 2 pounds per week.

We both eat 1,500 calories a day, we both eat 2,200 calories each Friday (my guesstimated maintenance goal) and we both lose weight consistently.

Definitely makes it easier to keep up and almost never have binge moments.

Good luck!

kellytaylor13104

I agree, I think your calorie allotment is too low...and your body is likely storing those calories. As you lose weight, your calories needed will go down. In fact, MFP will prompt you to reset your goals every time you lose 10lbs (I just did this, and my daily calorie assignment dropped about 90 calories).

On a personal note, I am working on losing weight after my third child. When I started MFP, it took 6wks for the scale to move. I was extremely frustrated, but I kept doing the right thing. For me, losing one pound a week is a victory...at this pace, I know the weight will stay off.

Good luck to you and start eating some extra healthy calories!

aeckels616

Your progress may be slow going because of the kinds of food you're eating. It's not just about counting calories, and there's nothing magic about the number 1200. That number came from a study in which active men were put on a "starvation" diet, and the technical term for "starvation diet" is 50% of your daily caloric needs - which was 1200 for these men. It's absurd to propose that 1200 calories applies to everyone. The only reason doctors and trainers hammer the 1200 is that it's very difficult to get the actual NUTRITION your body needs on less than 1200 calories through food alone - especially if you're working out. So do some research on nutrition and be sure you're on adequate supplements.

Now with that said, it sounds like 1200 is probably too few calories for your daily needs, based on the info you supplied. According to the calculator I used, your BMR/REE is around 1400-1500, which is the calories you consume each day just sitting around (I guessed on your age, so that might not be completely accurate - here's a good resource to calculate yourself: http://www.korr.com/products/predictive_eqns.htm) . Add daily exercise to that and you're burning even more.

Regarding foods that may be slowing you down, check out a glycemic index chart and start fueling your body with low gi foods - green veggies, apples, protein, dairy. Skip things like white bread, white rice, carrots, pastas, starches and anything that contains any kind of sugar or corn syrup.

Be sure you're getting enough protein - your body needs it to build and maintain your muscles since you're working out. Eggs are a good, low-calorie option if you don't want to eat a lot of meat.

Also, don't totally avoid fat. Eat cheeses, butter, avocados, etc, just makes sure you're not eating sugar-laden fats.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

hemlock2010

I eat 1900 calories and lose about a pound a week.

hemlock2010

Sorry, forgot to say anything about workouts. I workout about 6-8 hours a week. The ones that really affect my weight loss are Turbo Jam (4-5 days a week) and the elliptical trainer (3-4 days a week). I also take a karate class and do some technique work at home. Those are not about calorie burning, but they do get me up and moving.

Now that the weather is decent and the days are longer I'm planning to add biking (2-3 days a week, I hope) and road running (2-3 days). I usually do Turbo Jam and karate practice in the morning before work, so that frees up evenings for the other stuff.

I eat 1900 calories and lose about a pound a week.

backinthenines

i work out with my program 4 times a week about 35 minutes a day, and the other 3 days i work out about 15-20 mins,

What does this mean in real terms? What does this 'program' involve?

johnnya2

You do not give enough information to give any real advice. When you say progress is slow what are your expectations? Are you losing a half pound or pound a week? Are you trying to lose more than that? Are you losing sizes? These are important questions. If you are working out and shifting weight from fat to muscle that is not a bad thing. Have you dropped in the waist, or neck?
As far as this "starvation" mode concept. Get the idea out of your head. This concept is just silly. The body does not "know" to store calories for survival when it is not in a pure survival mode. If the body were that "smart" it would just lose the excess calories people eat as waste like it does most vitamins and leave you at an ideal weight no matter what you eat.
The other question needs to be time. How much time have you done the program before deciding it was slow?
Finally, I think you may have some bad numbers when you put things in, because MFP does not give me your numbers when I put it in the program.