New and confused :)

LuluBiscuit

Hi folks,
I'm in here for 3 days now and I still find this calories-thing confusing. Other sites tell me that my daily goal is about 1800 or 1400 calories, MLP says 1200. Wondering which one's right!?

jjelizalde

I'm also new and felt confused by the 1200. My daughter who has been doing MFP for some time now told me 1200 calories are for if you have a lot of weight to lose. She suggested that I stay around 1385 and exercise correctly and the pounds will come off. That's what I'm going for. Good luck!!!:flowerforyou:

dianefisher47

I guess it all depends on how you answered the questions, did you loose weight at 1800 and 1400 if not maybe that is why and maybe 1200 will do the trick....and how active are you that also plays in when you entered your goals in ''Tools'' good luck:flowerforyou: :drinker: feel free to add me as a friend if you want

samntha14

for most people 1200 is too little. Go back and see how you answered the questions. You really don't want to loose more than .5-1 lb a week for healthy weight loss. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html check out his website to figure out your true BMR, the Lowest amount of calories your body needs to keep our organs going, because you really don't want to be below it unless you have Significant weight to loose. You'll find a lot of conflicting information on here so it's about finding what works best FOR YOU! I'm 32, 5'6' and I eat 1660 a day and have consistently lost.

kobiemom

I'm at 1250. It goes up to 1700 when I go to the gym. I figured it would encourage me to exercise.

LuluBiscuit

I'm also new and felt confused by the 1200. My daughter who has been doing MFP for some time now told me 1200 calories are for if you have a lot of weight to lose. She suggested that I stay around 1385 and exercise correctly and the pounds will come off. That's what I'm going for. Good luck!!!:flowerforyou:

Wondering now what is "a lot" I want to loose 8kg, don't think this is a huge amount.

ladyraven68

I'm also new and felt confused by the 1200. My daughter who has been doing MFP for some time now told me 1200 calories are for if you have a lot of weight to lose. She suggested that I stay around 1385 and exercise correctly and the pounds will come off. That's what I'm going for. Good luck!!!:flowerforyou:

Wondering now what is "a lot" I want to loose 8kg, don't think this is a huge amount.

What loss have you set as your weekly goal?

1lb, 2lb?

Purple_Orchid_87

I'm also new and felt confused by the 1200. My daughter who has been doing MFP for some time now told me 1200 calories are for if you have a lot of weight to lose. She suggested that I stay around 1385 and exercise correctly and the pounds will come off. That's what I'm going for. Good luck!!!:flowerforyou:

Wondering now what is "a lot" I want to loose 8kg, don't think this is a huge amount.

i weight 292 and want to lose 100lbs - this is A LOT

LuluBiscuit

for most people 1200 is too little. Go back and see how you answered the questions. You really don't want to loose more than .5-1 lb a week for healthy weight loss. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html check out his website to figure out your true BMR, the Lowest amount of calories your body needs to keep our organs going, because you really don't want to be below it unless you have Significant weight to loose. You'll find a lot of conflicting information on here so it's about finding what works best FOR YOU! I'm 32, 5'6' and I eat 1660 a day and have consistently lost.

I'll try the site, thanks for that.

And that was a good point to mention...we're al different, so I guess I have to find out what works for me.

LuluBiscuit

What loss have you set as your weekly goal?

1lb, 2lb?

1lb

sharleengc

It depends. I started at 208 and want to get to 140. That's only about 16lbs from now...whoot

Anyway, I've changed my calories a few times in the year I've been doing this. I started at 1200 but i lived in an area where I went to the gym once or twice a day so with exercise I ate 1500-1600. That was a 2lb a week goal.. Then I moved and have no access to a gym and only run for exercise. i changed my goal to 1lb a week and that was 1370 for calories...I lost slower but not getting the same amount of exercise, it worked better for me.

However, a few days last week i realized I was getting about 1200-1250 without really trying to stay there so i changed my goal back to 1200 and have been doing that and feel fine...not too hungry or anything...if there's a day i'm still hungry after 1200, i eat more...

Also, sometimes if you do a little for one way and it doesn't seem to be working then try mixing it up by more/less exercise or changing your calories or goal. Sometimes a change, even if only for a month or so, it can jump start you again.

sharleengc

PS. If you'd like to add me, you're more than welcome to!

jaqiswany

i followed the info and link on dans profile , heres the link

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/

he tells you to enter the details in here then do the same with the BMR Calculator , i did both and it gave me all the info i needed , hope that helps

Lupes_friend

Also New, also Confused. Found MFP last night, had to join to get in. Calories recommended: 1400. That's okay, but I do *not* want to eat the amounts of food that come up in the calculations. I would like to have a *little* oatmeal and an egg for breakfast...not a whole cup of oatmeal. How do I calculate a smaller amount?

therealkittymao

If you eat 1/4 a cup of oatmeal, for example, you would add .25 to get the accurate amount.

Captain_Tightpants

Dear everyone who is new and confused. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea if you're a limey), turn off the telly, set aside an hour, and read through this:

http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/

leeann788

Also New, also Confused. Found MFP last night, had to join to get in. Calories recommended: 1400. That's okay, but I do *not* want to eat the amounts of food that come up in the calculations. I would like to have a *little* oatmeal and an egg for breakfast...not a whole cup of oatmeal. How do I calculate a smaller amount?

You can adjust the amount in the first drop down box. I always do this also.

Balice57

You'll want to enter a new food, and figure out your calories. I only ate half my oatmeal yesterday and guesstimated my calories.

douglasmobbs

1Lb of fat = 3500 calories.

Your weight change = calories in - calories out.

For a simplified version of calories out: BMR x activity level (see tools) + exercise.

so if you want to lose 1lb a week you should eat 500 (3500/7) calories fewer than your calories out per day.

One of the keys to this is to track everything you eat and your exercise as accurately as possible, if you overestimate exercise and underestimate your portion sizes you will be counting things twice in the wrong way.

Some people just set a calorie target for the day and stick to that.
Some people eat back a %age of their exercise calories, this gives a bit of leeway to incorrectly logging things.
Some people eat back all their exercise calories.

Which ever way you decide to go, good luck and I hope you manage to achieve the weight loss you want.

asia_hanebach

Don't forget that mpf is generally also set up for you to eat back your calories. So once you add in your exercise your allowed calories will go up.

Lupes_friend

This is overwhelming in a very. good. way. Within five minutes I had response and help. Thank you all. I want to do this. A day or so to get myself together and make my plan. (Does that sound okay)? I know you all *get it*. This is the first knowledgeable encouragement and support I have had in years...the whole time I have been gaining for so many reasons. Going to look for that drop-down box now.Thank you all again!