I need a straight answer from people wit experience!!!!

MrsPeavley

:explode:

Okay... I am 5'6 and weigh 316 I have lost 16lbs in 65 days.... I have 132lbs to go down min. MFP first had me eating like 2290 cals and a few people said that was way to much... But I didnt want to shock my body I was used to cosuming prolly 6500 cals daily... So i dropped them to 1980 and now had them to 1790... I was looking at my settings and placed it on 1.5lb loss a week and that I am aiming for four 60 mins workouts a week and it gives me a daily goal of 2010... Can I eat this amount and loose weight is what I want to know... Thanks My diary is open.

koosdel

Yes.

faiga

usually that should be ok but one thing you need to know when you work out and you put your time in your calorie count for the day will go up try not to use those extra calories

YMTaylor

You will lose weight as long as the 2010 calories/day creates a deficit when compared to your BMR (the number of calories your body needs just to live). It is an estimate but what did MFP say your BMR is? As long as the 2010 is under that then you should see progress, maybe not in a day or two but over a few weeks. I hope that helps.

Elizabeth_C34

Yes. You can choose to eat your workout calories or not. I don't, but others do and we all still lose just fine.

JulieBoBoo

I started at 330. I followed the calorie recommendations for MFP and I also ate back my exercise calories. I lost 100lbs in a year. Good luck!

One thing I would recommend is that after every 10 lbs loss go in and manually reset your goals. Sometimes MFP doesn't compensate automatically.

Articeluvsmemphis

YEP! you seem to eat well, last thing you want to do is listen to people who eat 2 calories everyday and then burn it all off. there are many ways to lose weight, but YES don't be afraid to eat, seems like you got it under control, great job so far.

afigueroa_pr

According to what my nutritionist said: you should put your caloric deficit at -500 from what your basal metabolic rate is. Your BMR will begin to decrease when you lose weight, therefore decrease your caloric intake to keep it at -500 every day till your calorie intake doesn't go under 1200 per day.

I hope this helps!

bregalad5

Click on My Home, then Goals. It'll give you an overview, including "Calories Burned From Normal Daily Activity", which is obviously just an estimation based on your "Activity Level" that you set (Sedentary, Lightly Active, etc). It'll show you your estimated deficit and such.

You can get your estimated BMR by going to Tools. Everything is going to vary person to person based on height, weight, activity level - even how far you have to walk to go to the bathroom will add up over time - so it's really hard to know. You just need to make sure you are eating enough. As strange as it sounds, and I'm sure you've heard this around, you sometimes have to eat more to lose more.

mister_universe

Basic answer is that sticking to your calories goal or below will result in weight loss, provided MFP tells you it will. That takes into account your total honesty about whatever crosses your lips.

16lbs in basically two months is a healthy rate of weight loss...two pounds a week. Can you lose faster than that? Absolutely. Should you? That's a different question entirely. There's a *huge* overwhelming sentiment in the public audience that somebody of your size should be able to drop 2-3 times that amount. It's probably driven in part by shows like The Biggest Loser. I have multiple friends who are very heavy who are disappointed at two pounds a week, and wonder what they are doing wrong. The answer, of course, is nothing! Yet they don't feel successful, because their know it all friends (who are also fat and doing nothing about it) tell them they should be losing faster.

The trouble is that Biggest Loser scenario just isn't real, not for a person doing real life things, not for a person without constant medical supervision and high amounts of exercise. Do the things MFP says will work, and tweak them if you need to along the way. Get some kind of daily exercise (just a brisk walk for you will be enough) in addition to your diet work. Do the basics, do them well, and you will lose weight.

MrsPeavley

My BMR is 2290 I usually do 2 60 minute strength cardio workouts and 3 just cardio workouts a week! I am still learning!

aamon17

Absolutely! I started at 347 in March & MFP had me @ 2120 to lose 2 lbs a week. With my cardio (walking, Wii Fit, & Xbox Kinect) I'm down to 310. Right now, with a Sedentary lifestyle set, MFP has me @ 1990 cals to lose 2lbs/week. I'm at the dreaded plateau. But, my body is definitely changing, clothes all falling off!!!

Granted, I'm taller than you @ 6'2". But, the mass is the same. You will probably continue to lose at a good rate for teh first 40-50 pounds, then may have to switch up your routine to shock the body into the next phase!

Wishing you nothing but success!!!

jedi9393

Your food diary is alright, but I would probably try to cut the sugar out a bit more and less processed food. Cereal is one of the worst things in the world IMO. Full of sugar and empty carbs. Try Braums carb watch bread too. I dunno if you have a braums in your area. Other than that. Work out at least 5 days a week, but thats just my opinion as well. good luck to you!!!

Donners185

Just try it and see. The best bit about logging everything you do is being able to experiment with diet and exercise to see what works best for your body and if it isnt working, look at your diary and exercise and change it again until you finds what works for you. Everyone is different and what works for you now won't necessarily work for you in 2-3 months time, as you lose weight the mechanics of your body will continue to change. You'll always have to go back to the drawing board at some point (plateau) and re-adjust your routine. Good luck. And remember always a lesson never a failure. xo.

bregalad5

My BMR is 2290 I usually do 2 60 minute strength cardio workouts and 3 just cardio workouts a week! I am still learning!

Then you should be fine! The BMR is as if you're just laying in bed not doing anything. Between your workouts and just everyday life, you should be at a decent enough deficit to lose! Keep up your good work and you should see results

AshleyPic

Yes you can eat that much - I went to a nutritionist and she actually gave me MORE calories than MFP did. Good Luck!!!

millionsofpeaches

The system works... That is why so many people follow it. As long as you are making healthy choices, following your calories, and eating back your exercise calories you will loose weight. It may take longer than some crash diet but you will keep this weight off as opposed to putting it right back on.

Good Luck!

p.s. It is with not wit.

raulerson

You can but you'll lose more, quicker if you eat 1800 or so calories. That's a good healthy amount. I'm 165 and I'm supposed to eat 1800 a day.

Acg67

According to what my nutritionist said: you should put your caloric deficit at -500 from what your basal metabolic rate is. Your BMR will begin to decrease when you lose weight, therefore decrease your caloric intake to keep it at -500 every day till your calorie intake doesn't go under 1200 per day.

I hope this helps!

I would suggest getting a new nutritionist, if that is the advice they gave you. You should set your deficit to your TDEE not your BMR

aamon17

There's a *huge* overwhelming sentiment that somebody of your size should be able to drop 2-3 times that amount. It's probably driven in part by shows like The Biggest Loser. And that scenario just isn't real, not for a person doing real life things, not for a person without constant medical supervision.

GREAT point! I'm living witness that it's no real at all!

mrandolph69

Yes. You can choose to eat your workout calories or not. I don't, but others do and we all still lose just fine.

One word of warning about this: if you let MFP estimate your calorie burn during a workout then you will probably be overestimating the number of calories you burned and if you eat them back then you will think you have more to eat than you really did. I have seen a lot of posts on MFP where people said MFP overestimated their calories burned (and some said it underestimated but they seemed to be a small minority.) So, if you are going to eat your exercise calories back then I would suggest you get a heart rate monitor. I got a Polar FT7 and love it. It says my calorie burn for my exercise bike rides are routinely way less than MFP (by a factor of up to 2.5 or so.) For example, I rode this morning for 35 minutes at 21 mph and got a calorie burn from my Polar of 555 but MFP estimated it at almost 1400!

limismith

Wow that does seem really high! I really have no advice. If it were me, I would be questioning it too. I hope you find some resolution, I admire the changes you are trying to make!

YMTaylor

My BMR is 2290 I usually do 2 60 minute strength cardio workouts and 3 just cardio workouts a week! I am still learning!

We all are. When I started out I was 275 and my nutritionist recommended I eat 1700-1900 calories/day and limit my carbs to 19 servings (one carb serving equals 15-20 carb mg). That was assuming I would exercise most days to create a little larger deficit. Now I'm down to 222 so I eat closer to 1500 calories/day since my BMR has gone down. Good Luck to you, stick with it and remember it's a lifestyle change that will have the best and longest lasting results. Don't get sucked into the quick fix mentality. I've been at this for 2 years and I have about 45-50 more pounds to lose.

jam3114

Hi, I currently weigh 247.4 & have 73lbs to lose. My daily calorie intake is 1830 so if I play by the rules I should lose 1lb per week. Sometimes I think 1830 is alot of calories & I have on occasion gone for a lower amount (1200) to lose the weight quicker but all that seems to do was make me tired as I wasn't eating enough & crave the 'naughty' foods which are always my downfall.

Try what MFP suggests & see how you feel - maybe you could chose not to eat back exercise cals
If you eat back your cals make sure you know what your burning - I use a HRM so I know exactly what I burn - MFP usually overstates the cals.

For me I believe that if I follow MFP it will work & when it doesn't work its down to me & the bad choices I make :blushing:

Good Luck with it all

kmbrooks15

If you can afford it, you might want to consider getting a Bodybugg or BodyMedia Fit armband (the Bodybugg is the one the Biggest Loser contestants use). You basically wear them 23/7, and it tracks how many calories you burn throughout the whole day, not just when you exercise. If you only had 25 pounds to lose, it wouldn't be worth it. I have 75 to lose (almost 1/3 of the way there), and I'm finding it to be very helpful information. You do have to pay a small monthly fee to sync your info with their website, but for me, it's money well spent. I found I'm burning about 2100 calories on non-exercise days, and about 2500 on exercise days. It helps to know how much I'm burning so I know how much to eat. Some days at work are more active, too, and when I go home in the evening and sync it, I can see how much more I should eat at dinner and my nighttime snack. I'm not dropping weight in any speedy fashion, but it's coming off slowly but surely, which is the best way to do it.

You can check ebay and craigslist to see if you find one of these cheaper than paying full price. My plan is to use mine until I hit goal weight, then through about 6 months of maintenance so that I have an idea of my maintenance calorie level. I'll probably sell it on ebay or craigslist after I'm done with it. So I'll use it probably about a year and a half.

If you can't afford one of these, at least invest in a good heart rate monitor. That will help, too, in determining what you're burning when you exercise. Often, MFP's numbers aren't accurate (and how could they be, really...it's an estimate based on averages, not on you personally and how hard you work).

Good luck, and hang in there. You can do this!

vjrose

The HRM suggestion is really important, my treadmill seemed really low but MFP seemed high for calories burned so I got an HRM and now use those calories, had to put my treadmill in as a custom exercise and now I just make sure I burn at least that many calories before I stop :flowerforyou:. Although calories burned are usually more than that but I know that MFP includes some of my workout calories in my calories needed.

dakitten2

I never eat my exercise calories. But that is my personal choice and my nutrionist agrees. It works for me, I lose 1-2 pounds a week. I know a lot of people do eat theirs but some of them are into heavy workout sessions, which is something I cannot do. I've had 2 knee replacements (one this year) so I limit my exercise to acquatics classes at the YMCA two times a week. After this week, I intend to add another exercise day as a mini-goal.

In regards to the Biggest Loser, I've always watched and loved the show. However it is not a reality show. I believe when you lose weight at the rate they lose it, you are setting yourself up for disaster later on.

When people ask me what "kind" of diet I'm on, I say "I'm on the original diet plan". Ohhh, what is that, some new fad diet they say. Nope, it's the diet that has worked since the beginning of dieting. It consists of LIFE CHANGES, reduction of calories which I monitor every single bite and some type of physical exercise above and beyond your normal daily exercise of cleaning house, doing laundry etc. In the long run and it will be a long journey for me to obtain my goal weight as I started out at 290 pounds, I'll be ready to embrace the life changes and not revert back to my old ways. Hopefully the life changes by the time I reach my goal will be second nature for me and I wont even think about it when I go into maintenance mode.

MsTanya77

Your diary looks pretty good to me, we all have some type of processed food in our diaires cause we don't always have time to prepare meals from scratch. If I were you I would adjust your diary to show your sodium intake. Sodium can be a HUGE problem in losing weight as it causes you to retain water. I would aim for 2000 mg or less per day. As far as cal intake, it largely depends on the type of workout you are doing. If you are doing intense calisthenic workouts where you are doing a combination of cardio and strength training, then yes up your cal intake. If you are doing moderate exercise like aerobics or treadmill/elliptical training then you can lower your cals. 1790 is good for your weight, you should still be losing with no problem. I would cut down on sodium and up the water and see what happens............

glassyo

You can but you'll lose more, quicker if you eat 1800 or so calories. That's a good healthy amount. I'm 165 and I'm supposed to eat 1800 a day.

And the OP is also close to twice your weight. I'll never understand why people advocate eating less than they *could* eat while still losing weight.

CoryIda

Yes to the OP's question. Eat those calories. Your body needs the fuel. As you continue to lose, that calorie allowance will go down but MFP is pretty good about calculating what you need.

ejtell

check out weight watchers guidelines as they take in to account age, weight, height, gender, etc.