my calories are preset to 1,200? to lose weight?... : (

gracesmile166

Quick question. Is that accurate? i'm 5 4' and 147.5 .. just wondering because from looking at all the girls public diaries I noticed their's run from 1,400-1,900... and mine is at 1,200. And i made my mom a profile and her's is set to the same amount 1,200, and she's 4 11' and only 115 lbs.... does MFP set every girl's to 1,200 cause one of my gf's made one and she's 5 6' and it set her weight loss calories to 1,200 too.

misslyssx

That number has to do with you height, weight, and age. If the calculation comes out to under 1200, that represents your daily metabolic rate and then it subtracts some to adjust it depending on how much weight you want to lose per week. It will be set at 1200 if the calculation is actually lower than that automatically because it's not healthy to have under that amount.

IndigoFlowers

Mine orginally had it set at 1200 too, but I found it was too low, so I manually entered mine at 1500.
For my body 1200 is far too low, and I'm constantly hungry even if I eat all my exercise calories back, it put me at a plateau! But you have to find out what works for you!

DeterminedMomNeb

Mine is1300 a day but I am a bigger girl and shorter. I think misslyssx explained it.

woja9640

Some people may be set to maintenence if it is that high. Also, when you exercise you get calories added to your day so you have more calories to eat per day.

adrivarmel

Mine too

issabishie

Its worked out on a number of variable such as your age, height, activity levels, how much you want to lose and what rate you want to lose it. I'm 5'8 and exercise at least 3 times a week, I have several stones to lose and am set at a target of 2lb per week loss. MFP has given me 1510 calories.
hope that helps you x

RaeN81

1200 is the minimum daily setting for calories.

Angela4Health

Keep in mind that when you exercise you earn back calories, so many people start with the 1200 but when they workout and burn say 300 calories, that 300 gets added back to make it a goal of 1500 for the day.

CraigIW

Mine is 1200 and I'm a guy. I think it's fine for me as I don't get much exercise and it doesn't leave me feeling hungry. Eat the right foods and you'll be fine.

SarahRuth♥

It's based on your goals as well. It calculates what your body needs to sustain daily activity based on your height, weight, and that activity level you set in the beginning. Then if you set your goal to lose 2 lbs per week, it subtracts the calories you need to cut out of your diet in order to accomplish that goal. One pound is 3500 calories, so 7000 calories, divided by 7 (days in the week) will be subtracted from your normal daily burn. If you are already small, it will automatically set you to 1200 if that calculation takes you below 1200 because 1200 is the minimum that you should not ever go below. If you change your goal to 1 lb per week, your calories may go up a bit.

gracesmile166

ahh..... -_-;; I see.... my friends always laugh cause i went from eating out an eating a whole chipotle burrito an chips... to only eating 1/2 a burrito subtract the chips and soda... an i'm hungry a lot but this time around i don't wanna fall off the wagon so i'm basically eating whatever i crave but counting the calories... because i used to body build an i hated chicken breast and egg whites and got tired of brown rice and broccoli and asparagus.... still love my protein shakes though! : )... but still always hungry LOL.... it's weird how when i'm counting my portions and calories i'm hungry all the time haha even when i eating extra healthy ... food is always on my mind. so these days i go hiking a lot and try to do some activities...

Purple_Orchid_87

i made the mistake of eating small portions of the old foods i loved, but ive now changed and am eating larger portions of healthy food, so im not hungry anymore, in fact, sometimes i find it hard to eat my suggested net, even before exercise

obviously i could eat half a mcdonalds burger, or a gorgeous grilled chicken and spices and veggies for roughly the same kcals, but i know the chicken meal keeps me fuller for longer as there is physically more food

aippolito1

Most people start with wanting to lose 2 lbs and 1200 is the lowest any woman should go so it basically sets anyone at 1200. I lost 20 lbs fine on 1200 + exercise calories then increased to 1400 and lost fine, switched jobs that made me more active so now I'm on 1600 + exercise calories and am set to lose 0.8 lbs per week.

PJilly

1,200 is the lowest it will go. When I see someone has a goal of 1,200, I see it as a red flag. It usually means someone has chosen a weight-loss goal of 2 pounds/week, which in my opinion is entirely too aggressive for most people. Also, your calorie goal doesn't factor exercise into the equation, so if you are working out, you should enter your workouts into your Exercise Diary, and MFP will add the appropriate number of calories to your daily goal. At your current size (not very big), I'd encourage you to set your weight-loss goal at 1 pound/week — at the most — and then eat back all your exercise calories. Try it for a few weeks, and see how that works for you. It may seem like too many calories to be true, but I think you might be pleasantly surprised. :flowerforyou:

gracesmile166

thanks for all the advice yeah sometimes i'll go jogging or something to burn a few hundred more calories in order to eat some more : ) lol

gracesmile166

it's hard too cause i'm korean and my family is eating white rice and my favorite kimchi stew with pork! or i love COD cause we got some from my mom's fiance from alaska.... : ( korean food is healthy but i like to eat alot of rice when i eat any type of meat..

PJilly

Can't blame you there. Rice is yummy!

KeriA

Yes as you are closer to your goal weight the lower the calorie goal but I want to emphasize that it has to do with how fast you want to lose. They recommend 1 pound a week. I find I lose at 1.5 pounds a week. Try 1 pound a week and if that doesn't work then set it for faster. If you put it for more it will give you less colories. I plan to set mine for 0.5 pounds loss when I get down near my goal weight. Good luck. Oh about the rice my husband is Chinese but he has finally started to love brown rice. It has taken 30 years and being overweight to get him to try it. My brother in law got Type II diabetes and lost weight by putting all his chinese food on lettuce. I heard he's back to the rice now. Hard to stay away from carbos in Hawaii.