Finding Calorie Balance

jessiebombshell

Has anyone else had trouble with the beginning of MFP and finding an ok daily calorie goal? When I first signed up it told me 1200 and I realized quickly that not only was that not a sustainable goal for me, but that it didn't really reflect my metabolism either. So I made some alterations and it told me 1,350, and I thought that seemed reasonable, especially since I was generally eating around 1,500-1,600 a day because of exercise calories. And that was about a week and a half ago.

And I don't think I can stay at this level! Firstly, I've lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks. And while there's a part of me that's proud of that, there's a smarter part of me that knows that's probably not the best way to go. I'm not trying to drop a whole lot of weight, just 15 pounds or so (so I'm halfway there-ish... yay?) But even if I'm good and am eating healthy and lots of protein and veggies all day... by 5:00 or so I am HUNGRY. And not like, "man I really want a slice of pizza" hungry, but like getting a slight headache, feel my tummy rumbling, and am feeling more fatigued than otherwise hungry.

I've always had a fairly high metabolism, partly because until this past year I've always been super active. Is it possible that a couple weeks of working out regularly has kicked my metabolism back up from "lightly active" to "active"? I have a desk job, but am working out 4-5 days a week, so does that counter balance it? Basically - is adjusting my MFP goals to allow for a couple hundred more calories going to accurately reflect where I'm at, or is this normal and I should suck it up and have more discipline or something?

I know if I read this I'd probably tell myself to listen to my body and that a number on a website isn't gospel, but it's harder to convince yourself of that, you know? This is the first time I've really taken control of my body in this way - I'm not used to making these kinds of decisions for myself.

baisleac

The only answer is trial and error. Try something for a few weeks, if you don't see improvement, make adjustments as needed.

And no, you're not the only one who has to play with the numbers to find the right balance.

sabrinafaith

some of those 6 lb are probably water weight, since you have only been tracking for 2 weeks. You probably ate a lot more sodium before without realizing it. I'm sure some of what you lost was fat also, but water weight does usually come off the fastest. I think 1350 net calories seems fine and very realistic. The weight will start to come off more slowly soon, but don't get discouraged!

darkdestiny7

It recommended 1200 for me too and that didn't work at all... I was starving all the time and felt like crap. I upped it a few hundred calories and felt better and lose about a pound a week which is good for me since i'm not actually overweight for my height. I just want to lose a small amount like you.

sffre

The only answer is trial and error. Try something for a few weeks, if you don't see improvement, make adjustments as needed.

You have to find what works for you. Have your tried eating every few hours? Do you have good choice snacks that you can eat when hunger hits?

Gary1977

It took me quite some time to find a caloric balance that worked for me. MFP suggested nearly 3500 calories a day for me. If you're wondering, "Why so much?", it is because I'm VERY morbidly obese. I said no way in heck I was going to eat that much, so I started out @ 1200 calories a day. I soon found out this was WAY to little to sustain me. I'm now comfortable around 1500-1800 per day depending on how much I exercise.

dad106

If you think you need to up it, then go to goals and customize goals and then play around with your calorie intake. I'm down to my last 6 pounds after losing 24, and I know that when I got down to last 10-15 I was eating between 1430-1570 a day, if not more with exercise calories. Now I've bumped it up again to 1670 and so far that seems to be working.. so def. play around and see what works for you.

jessiebombshell

Thanks ya'll! I upped it by a couple hundred and will try it out for a few weeks. I already felt much better after having a snack this afternoon. And it's no use making a significant change if I'm going to feel awful all the time anyway.

This whole having a supportive community thing is really awesome

edwacl

Im currently 81 (lost 4kg in 4 weeks so far) height is 169cm, which mean I'm overweight for now. It recommend me 1700 calories which is quite comfortable and I'm usually below that, which is around 1500-1600. I think 1200 is way too little (I accidently ate a bit lower than 1200 at one time so I know how it feel) , probably above 1400 is quite ok. I think workout is the way to go if you are already have good BMI and weight.