Should I be eating as many calories as MFP says?

Femmekid

So I used the BMR tool and it says I should be eating 2,154 calories/day. I'm 25, 5'8" and 300lbs. I've been eating 1500 calories or less a day with exercise. I'm assuming that eating less than recommended might hinder my weight loss?

MsMandyGrace

I think mfp is an estimate. It doesnt know your body, your lifestyle, or anything about your metabolism. It just knows your weight and the type of job you have, and thats not enough to decide how much you should eat in a day. mfp says I should eat 1,200 cals a day. When I eat 1,200 cals a day, I GAIN WEIGHT. end of story. I have tried it, and I was gaining weight for months (with excersise). I have switched to about 800 cals a day and am losing weight slowly. I think mfp overestimates, or assumes everyone has a high metabolism.

s1lence

There are lots of subjects just like this and you are going to get a large amount of varied opinions. I wish you luck in finding answers, please try to remember to do what's best for your body and that everyone is different.

Awkward30

I don't mean to sound rude, but that number doesn't seem unreasonably high for you. You should try what mfp recommends for a few weeks and only lower if it doesn't work. If you have been eating low for a while, you might consider slowly upping calories by 100 a week until you are where mfp says

FlaxMilk

MMG, have you checked with a doctor about your thyroid or other possible hindrances to losing weight? You should be able to lose on 1200 calories unless you have something complicating your situation.

bailamulata

totally agree with S1lence.. you will get varied answers on this... If you were used to eating less than what MFP is telling you... you will notice that by eating the recommended amt from MFP you may gain a couple of lbs at the very beginning.. but then your system will adjust... the only thing that I have experienced personally is that if I eat less than what MFP recommends... I do lose weight but end up restricting myself too much and then I binge eat... binge eating + purging was a problem I had sometime ago...
like some of the others said... go based on your body.. specially if you have medical conditions... I have them and I have to adjust my food intake as needed... I wish you the best :flowerforyou:
Mari

cwilli36

My trainer at the YMCA says generally we should have a 1200 diet but if you exercise and then gain the more calories you should eat to get back up to 1200. She said really you should watch the sugar intake and less about the calories if you are eating lots of vegetables and protein with each meal. But with more weigh starting I would say it may be correct, with each weigh in you can adjust the calorie intake i think after ten pounds. I would try what MFP says a week and see what you think. Then adjust. I would try to talk to a trainer or dr. But watch the "added" sugar intake, eat protein and I suggest looking up how much fiber you should have in a day and take a fiber supplement. Hope this helps.

cressievargo

So I used the BMR tool and it says I should be eating 2,154 calories/day. I'm 25, 5'8" and 300lbs. I've been eating 1500 calories or less a day with exercise. I'm assuming that eating less than recommended might hinder my weight loss?

Based on your height / weight, the recommended calories don't sound unreasonable at all. If that is your BMR, don't eat below it - but if you are exercising, you can generally eat above it. Find out your TDEE and eat 15 - 20% less than that but NEVER below BMR.

Glucocorticoid

I think mfp is an estimate. It doesnt know your body, your lifestyle, or anything about your metabolism. It just knows your weight and the type of job you have, and thats not enough to decide how much you should eat in a day. mfp says I should eat 1,200 cals a day. When I eat 1,200 cals a day, I GAIN WEIGHT. end of story. I have tried it, and I was gaining weight for months (with excersise). I have switched to about 800 cals a day and am losing weight slowly. I think mfp overestimates, or assumes everyone has a high metabolism.

How much do you weigh?

MsMandyGrace

Yes FlaxMilk, ive been checked out by some doctors for various other medical reasons. They say nothings wrong with me as far as they can tell. I think if you are already at a healthy weight, and want to get smaller, you have to eat less than mfp recommends. mfp is recomending how much someone who is overweight should eat to lose weight (i think) not how much someone who is at a healthy weight should eat to drop weight.

MsMandyGrace

kenny I weigh 108ish

susannamarie

When you eat at a significant deficit, you're more likely to lose muscle as well as fat.

FlaxMilk

Hi,

That's so strange! I am at a healthy weight (119) and able to lose on 1200 and more with exercise. Sparkpeople had me at a range from 1200-1500, with or without exercise. My BMR at this weight is about 1175, so as long as I stood up out of bed, 1200 is still a deficit.

Glucocorticoid

kenny I weigh 108ish

Have you had your thyroid checked by a specialist? Not just a PCP.

When you eat at a significant deficit, you're more likely to lose muscle as well as fat.

This is true although there are strategies to preserve muscle mass even in a significant deficit.

FlaxMilk

I've actually also been lower, even a bit under 100, and still able to lose weight on 1200.

Glucocorticoid

So I used the BMR tool and it says I should be eating 2,154 calories/day. I'm 25, 5'8" and 300lbs. I've been eating 1500 calories or less a day with exercise. I'm assuming that eating less than recommended might hinder my weight loss?

Since you have a lot of fat to lose, it is less important how significant of a deficit you have. You will not lose much muscle mass. It will become more important when you are lean. So 1500 should be fine. Keep protein intake high.

Katie3784

Though that amount may seem high to you based on what other women on MFP are consuming, you must keep in my that you weigh considerably more than a lot of women on this site. The more you weigh, the more calories you need to consume. So, I don't think that number is too high.

monty619

if ur 300lbs u need to be eating atleast 2.1k calories minimum

MsMandyGrace

yeah I think everyones body is just different. Metabolism wise.. some people just have a higher metabolism than others. lucky *kitten*.

susannamarie

I think mfp is an estimate. It doesnt know your body, your lifestyle, or anything about your metabolism. It just knows your weight and the type of job you have, and thats not enough to decide how much you should eat in a day. mfp says I should eat 1,200 cals a day. When I eat 1,200 cals a day, I GAIN WEIGHT. end of story. I have tried it, and I was gaining weight for months (with excersise). I have switched to about 800 cals a day and am losing weight slowly. I think mfp overestimates, or assumes everyone has a high metabolism.

It is interesting that you think you're losing weight slowly.

Your post of 3/22 has your weight at 117.
Your post of 4/9 has your weight at 112.
Your post of today says 108-ish.

3/22 to 4/9 is about 2 and a half weeks, so 2 lbs/week.
4/9 to today is less than a week more and you've lost another 4 lbs? That is not slow. And that is why you need to eat such low calories to force yourself into weight loss that rapid -- because that is an extremely rapid speed of weight loss for someone who is in the healthy range.

MsMandyGrace

Yeah you are right susanna. I guess I didnt realize how quickly its coming off because ive been weighing myself everyday, so day to day I dont see that much difference. I am unfortunately on a weight deadline for work and need to lose the weight quickly because of this.