Calories

jilliankristina

Hi community!!

I was given a daily goal of about 1300 calories but I am wondering if I should drop that down or just stick with this plan? Its only been a week since Ive started and I am up two, mainly because I went over calories a few days... I just want to start dropping pounds. When I did the 17 day diet I was losing a pound a day but of course that weight came back double. Need some motivation :-/

erickirb

No reason to go lower that is your daily goal intake to reach your weekly weight loss goal. Just remember when you exercise you also get to eat more.

mrcst15

Staying around the calorie limit has helped me drop over 10 pounds. Give it time. Losing 1 pound per day is not healthy, it should be more like 1 or 2 per week.

scircle

I wouldn't suggest going any less, especially if you've already had days where you are over. You will likely find that you can't stick to anything lower and get discouraged. A 'quick fix' 17-day diet will almost always cause you to bounce back. Proper weight loss and maintenance is a complete lifestyle change. The first couple weeks can be frustrating. Remember:

Weigh yourself no more than once a week.
If you are going over your calorie goals try exercising to burn off the excess.
Drink plenty of water, especially if your problem is snacking! Always drink water before you eat.

Buhbeee

Hi Jillian!

I have seen so many people posting success with their assigned calories on this site, that it's really been amazing. I think the biggest struggle for me has been learning to eat back my exercise calories; I haven't lost anything yet, but it is very early in the game for me as well. Control your portions and calorie intake. Smaller meals throughout the day go much further than huge meals once or twice a day. Hang in there and I'll hang in there with you! I'm only on my second week, but I cannot believe that I won't see results when so many around me have. It may just take time for our bodies to adjust. Patience!!!

papastu

stick with it, Rome wasnt built in a week either

ginique

Welcome!

You've only been at it a week; give your body some time to adjust. Losing weight via calorie monitoring is not a quick fix.

PeeTeePee

I agree, stick with the limit, don't try to lose too much too quickly. A loss of 1 or 2 lbs a week is best and more likely to stay off.

marywilsoncline

Hi, You definately don't want to go any lower considering you have already had a couple days were you've went over your calorie goal. Log your exercise and you will get more calories. :flowerforyou:

ladyphoto

Exercise is your friend! It will allow you to eat more and have treats now and then- not to mention all the other health related benefeits.

MariaWalker70

I have been battling this for sometime now.Its been a roller coaster ride for years. I have lost 100 pounds eating only 1000 calories a day back 10 years ago and slowly put back on 65. I was than ready to get gastric bipass and decided to go to weight watchers instead and lost 30lbs at a good pace but couldnt keep up with the meetings and points it was alot of work. Last summer I decided to just change the way I was eating and stopped eating "bad". I was able to lose 40lbs and was feeling great! 2 months ago I quit smoking and I got married a month ago and just fell back off. I have gained back 16 lbs. So as you can see this is a life long battle for some of us.Recently I have gotten back on track and I am counting my calories but thats not the whole thing. When I started counting calories on here I still was not eating all the right foods so I was not full enough and that can make you feel like the calories they tell you to have is not enough. I was recently told Protein and Veggies! Especialy women trying to lose. Higher protein will help you feel full longer. My therapist recently lost 30lbs increasing her protein and veggies less fruit because it has lots of sugar. So I hope it helps a little WATER, PROTEIN, VEGGIES,EXERCISE! Your not alone... So many of us battle with this every day. Just dont give up.

Mom2M_and_O

When I first plugged in all my data into MFP, it put me on 1300 also (for 1lb loss/wk). After doing some reading on these forums and elsewhere about BMR vs TDEE, I decided to adjust my calorie intake up to 1600, and I've successfully lost a pound a week so far. It's early still but so far so good.

I don't profess to understand all the science and mechanics of weight loss and this is only the third time I've intentionally tried to lose weight, but having known so many people who eat so little and may or may not exercise and still are really heavy and continue to get heavier, what I've read on these forums about BMR and TDEE finally made mathematical sense to me.

My understanding is that BMR is the estimation of how many calories your body burns just to keep you alive. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the estimation of how many calories you burn each day staying alive plus doing everything else you do in a day. Somewhere between these two numbers is the number of calories you should eat to lose weight so that you ultimately burn more than you take in.

My BMR estimated between 1400 and 1500 calories, so eating fewer than that felt wrong to me. I figured I needed to at least be taking in that much for my body to function well on a basic level. And I found some calculators online that estimated my TDEE (total daily enery expendture) at 2100-2200 calories, depending on whether or not I factored in extra exercise. For me, I think they were accurate. A friend of mind thought her TDEE calculated too high. But, I figured, for me, 1600 allowed enough of a deficit to lose weight and not be hungry. It feels backwards to eat in order to lose weight, but mathematically, those numbers just made sense to me.

So do some research. I found several threads on these forums discussing BMR and TDEE and there are numerous calculators out there to Google. At first I didn't know if I'd be hungry enough to increase to 1600 a day because I was satisfied at 1300 while I was trying it. But incorporating a couple of small morning/afternoon snacks must be increasing my metabolism, because now I find myself genuinely hungry for them now. I'm thinking that MFP put my TDEE at 1800, resulting in the 1300 daily goal. I was wiling to risk the experiment and so far it's OK.