Changing calorie goals?

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SenoraMacias
SenoraMacias Posts: 305 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey ya'll. I'll start by giving my stats- 5'6", 148lb. My goal weight is 140-143. My calorie goal was set at 1200/day, which calculated a loss of 2lb per week. I follow the guidelines pretty strictly, but I'm only seeing a 0.5lb-1lb loss per week. This tells me that maybe a 2lb/wk loss is too aggressive for my body? I've lost 5lb, so I'm down to the last 5lb. Today I changed my goals to 1lb per week, which upped my calories to 1280. Do you guys think this is a wise choice? There is a delicate balance between not eating enough and eating too much, which I am still trying to perfect...

Replies

  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    If you're down to the last 5 lbs, I'd definitely set to .5 lb or 1 lb per week. So, yes, you are on the right track and I'd do the exact same thing..

    BTW, 2 lbs/week is VERY aggressive for a lot of folks.
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
    At your current weight you will probably only lose about 0.5lbs a week and your specific food choices are going to be more of a factor rather than just focusing on calories in vs calories out. I would also recommend focusing more on strength training than cardio which will help you body composition more.
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
    The reason you were only seeing 1 lb a week is because 2 lbs a week in your case would have been 780 calories a day, which is not recommended, and which MFP will not do automatically.

    MFP has a hard lower limit of 1200 on its automatic calculation. You should just leave it at 1 lb a week.
  • marchegt
    marchegt Posts: 156 Member
    Hey!! I am 5'6 as well and also started out as 148! When I started though, I kept my goals at 1lb/week because I thought that was the healthiest... I was eating about 1350/week (as far as I can remember) and it worked wonderfully for me. After awhile I dropped it down to 1200 for a bit, lost some more, then stopped losing. I bumped it up again to 1350 and lost some more. I am now close to my goal weight, or IN my goal range (currently 127 hoping for 125 OR higher weight with more muscle) and I bumped my calories up to 1400 which is 0.5lb loss/week. This has been working for me!

    Hope that helps! I just play around with my calories until I see some results!
  • marchegt
    marchegt Posts: 156 Member
    Also, I just started the brown rice diet (very controversial) but made major modifications (allowed myself more than the diet does)... basically cut out processed foods and ate a lot of fish, chicken, veggies, nuts, nut butter, fruit etc... and lots of brown rice. I lost weight and my stomach looks fantastic. It definitely helped, so I would suggest reducing your levels of simple carbs, white bread etc. and you will see quick results!
  • PalmettoparkGuy
    PalmettoparkGuy Posts: 212 Member
    Calories aren't your enemy. You can still eat healthy and increase them.
  • BJC78
    BJC78 Posts: 324 Member
    I am also 5'6" and have been stuck at 145 for a month! I have my calories set at 1200 and with exercise I burn about 325 a day...I have a hard time netting 1200 but am getting better at it. Im just wondering if ill ever lose this last damn 5-10 lbs! Grrrr. Im also on level 2 of 30Ds so im hoping to see some inches lost on Wednesday when I.measure and weigh...ill be happy with inches :) but still VERY frustrated with the damn scale not moving :/
  • shannonkk
    shannonkk Posts: 192 Member
    im in the same boat, trying to figure out how many calories to eat. 1200 calories stalled me for a few months
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