I'm so confused

bloomingfreesia

I weight 303lbs atm I started using MFP 3 days ago. MFP says that I need to eat 2500 calories per day. However in the past 3 days I have only eaten 1200 to 1500. I'm not going hungry or anything either. But I find it hard to believe that I was eating more the 2500 calories a day before I was gaining weight.

Apparently my body needs 4000 calories to main the same weight. So is eating 1200-1500 a day okay?

Before all I would eat was cheese, tons of soda and bread. That was my main diet. Pizza used to rule until I was told that I was pre-diabetic with high colesterol that is.

Also I'm writer so I spend tons of time sitting on my butt in front of the computer. Will I still loose weight eating my recommended calories or below it?

I guess I need to know if I ate 1200 calories in the day do I need to eat more? Do I need to get to the recommended 2500?

Sorry for all the noob questions (:

susanswan

EAT what MFP TELLS you to do! Don't cheat your body. This will be a learning adventure for you. Yes, you ate crap before so that was so heavy with calories. Don't crash down to 1200 calories. Your body needs a certain amount (BMR) of calories just to have your heart beat, your lungs breathe, your kidneys function. You have a big body now, but you will lose weight healthfully if you do it the MFP way. TRUST them. You are already cutting your calories in half, right? Your body has to adjust and may not originally like what you are trying to do, so do give it a month to settle in. Also you gradually need to get used to eating less. Let MFP guide you. YOu don't want to fail by jumping into the deep end before you can swim!

Please consider easing into real food that you cook. Plants from the ground and not packages. You will see better results if you cut back as much as possible on packaged (processed) food that is so heavy with chemicals, salt and sugar.

That is my 2 cents!
Best of luck to you!
Susan

P.S. I sit on my butt in front of the computer most of the day, too. My main exercise has been walking the dog for 30 - 45 minutes twice per day. I don't do any crazy exercise. I'm 54 and it has taken me 5 years to adjust my brain to finally lose the last of my 70 pounds. It isn't a race. You must learn to be successful, grasshopper! = D

KareninCanada

Great advice! And yes, you were absolutely eating at least that 4000 calories/day, even though it's hard to believe.... if you keep a complete and honest food journal for a few days without changing any of your habit, you'd be amazed.

Thriceshy

MFP says you need 2500? To lose, not maintain? Unless you're very, very active, I can't imagine 4,000 calories a day to maintain. When I first started here, I was over 370 (probably over 400), and I ate 1860 calories a day for few months, which took weight off me at a pretty good pace. When it stopped working, I reworked the numbers through MFP and dropped to 1,600 calories a day, which worked for another six months or so. When it stopped working, I redid the math, set down to 1,430 calories, and I'm once again losing.

Don't drop down too far. Give the MFP numbers a chance to work.

Kris

mallory3411

With your current weight you are definately NOT eating nearly enough if the highest you go is 1500. I weight 195 and I need to eat 1400 per day to lose. My BMR is 1700 -ish.

If you don't eat enough everyday you can actually GAIN weight! Opposite as what we usually know about weight loss but it does happen.

Are you sure you are counting your calories right? Don't just eyeball portions - usually what we believe is a portion is much bigger than what it actually is. Are you using the nutrional information on the site in the database or using the ones provided on the items you are eating? I found a lot of the calories in the database are off and I also tend to rely on packages so I know the proper portion sizes. Weigh everything you eat to ensure you are recording things properly. You may be eating more calories than you think you are... I know I was at the beginning.

Eat more!! That will help with weight loss!

twanthe1

I would stay around the level MFP advises - along with moderate exercise you should be well on your way.

BelleHeart

Always eat over 1200 calories so you don't go into starvation mode. But other than that I don't always eat what MFP tells me to... sometime I eat under... it happens

bloomingfreesia

I guess because my food was so unbalanced before I used to feel hungry all the time. Now that I'm balancing stuff I feel fuller with much, much less. In fact it's hard to believe that I ate over 4000 calories before. I wished I had done a count before I started

I measure everything that I eat precisely to make sure I get the right count and still too low. I guess the type of food we eat makes a difference. I would imagine that my carbs, fat and sugar was on top of the roof before. Now I usually get 60% carbs 20-25%fats and 20-25 protein.
Thanks very much for all the help

ninerbuff

Eating too little LOWERS metabolic rate. That's the rate that you burn energy. The less energy you burn, the slower you lose weight and the easier it is to store energy. This is why dieting alone stalls after a few weeks.
Don't undereat. It's counterproductive to losing fat weight efficiently.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bloomingfreesia

So am I understanding this correctly? Even if I'm not hungry I should eat the recommended 2500 calories? Normally I would replace the food for a higher calorie food but I have to watch my sugar and salt due to pre-diabetes and high-blood pressure and high colesterol. So the only solution is too eat more healthy I guess.

purpleipod

If you can't get up to your goal without feeling like you're eating a ton look at what you're eating. Eat more full fat, non "diet" food. Peanut butter, avocados, nuts, healthy oils, 2% or whole milk, full fat cheese, etc.

Why are you wanting to automatically drop down to 1200? Starting out higher will make you feel less deprived and make it easier to stick to. There is absolutely no reason to drop straight down to 1200 when you have that much weight to lose. The more you weigh the more you can eat and still lose weight. The point is to gradually reduce your calorie intake as you lose weight, not to shock your body into eating so much less right away.