too many or too few calories?

Starkle09

I do bootcamp for 1 hour a day 3 days a week (450-500 calories burned per session) and run 3-4 days per week. MFP calculates that I should be consuming 1280 calories per day. I don’t usually have a problem sticking to that and I eat back most of my fitness calories. I have been losing .5lbs per week. Should I have more calories? less calories? not eat back my exercise calories? or am I being totally unrealistic hoping to lose more than .5lbs per week? Any advise and personal experiences are appreciated. Thanks!

kblue2007

It doesn't appear that you have a lot of weight to lose, so losing .5lbs per week is healthy and obtainable. As you get closer to your goal weight your body is less compliant to let you lose weight and holds onto it, so it may happen slowly but it will happen.
Also keep on mind that the more muscle you build you may not see a loss or might see a gain and as long as you feel and look good the number on the scale isn't all that important.
I would keep on your path continue to exercise and make good food choices. Good luck!

SimplyDeLish

Looks to me like you are right on track. If you want to lose a bit faster try eating back only 1/2 of your fitness cals.

Congrats on your commitment to a healthy lifestyle!

Avalonis

At your weight at fitness level, you are probably not gonna lose much more than .5lbs a week. HOWEVER, If I were you, I would up your calorie intake by 200ish calories for 2 weeks and see if it makes a difference. 200 calories/day x 14 days only = about 1 lb of body weight, so even if you gain, it won't be much.

Its definitely worth a try.

Read this for GREAT advice on plateaus.
http://fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com/2011/05/most-dreaded-word-in-weight-loss.html

ladyhawk00

Here are some threads that may help (hint, yes, it's unrealistic to expect more than 1/2 lb per week if you have less than 10 lbs to lose lol )

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

stanvoodoo

Can't see your diary so no idea how many calories you are eating. If you are down at the 1200 min, and don't lose when you don't eat your calories back then I would try eating half and see if that works.

Make sure your protein is good along with your fiber and water and remember it gets harded the closer to goal you get.

You may need to change up the calorie intake or the exercise routine!

Best of Luck!

heather6910

With your activity level, it seems that you aren't consuming enough calories. I'm not an expert, but I know someone who is. She says to never go below 1500 calories, especially if you are exercising regularly. Your body will go into starvation mode and try to hold onto fat at your current calorie level.
Hope this helps.

Starkle09

Thanks for all the input everyone....i will take all of this into consideration and change up some things.