MFP calculations

allysonb80

I am confused about my MFP calories. I am 5'1" tall. When I started I was 268 and I lead a sednetary life. I work a desk job and was never exercising. I was given 1340 calories to eat with setting up for a 2 lb per week loss. (I know some of you will flame me for this. only 1 lb a week is healthy, blah, blah, blah. But this is my journey and my choice and since the option is available I took it.) Now I am down 43 lbs and have recalculated my calories. It dropped my calories to 1200. I am really not having trouble with this number. I eat more and just work out. But I just don't understand how at 225 I am at 1200. What is going to happen whrn I am 200 or 175 or 150?? I can't drop my calories lower. And I have read enough flaming posts to know this is NOT good. But WTH? How is this supposed to work?

On a side note I am NOT a nutrician/fitness guru. TDEE or whatever and all that confuses the heck out of me and I don't know what it all means. When I read about it it makes my head spin. I don't calculate this stuff myself and for this reason I use and rely on MFP to do it for me. That is what this site is here for right?!?!

Toddrific

Well...there is this guideline people pass around and I can't recall the exact numbers

But its like more than 50 lbs to lose 2 lbs
More than 25 lose 1 lbs etc

I think MFP sets 1200 as minimum unless you customize?

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

that will show you how many calories it takes for your body to function (bmr)
and how much you burn doing daily activities including exercise (Tdee)

EEpling89

A guideline that has helped me is, as a bare minimum, you should eat at your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and eat back your exercise cals. That way, your body has the calories it needs to function and it won't start burning lean muscle and holding onto fat. Your BMR will change as you lose weight, so you should recalculate as you go. Hope this helps.

shaycat

Don't worry MFP wont drop your calories any lower than 1200. However if you were losing fine at 1340 I wouldn't lower that.

Tree19

It won't drop you lower than 1200. That's what it had me on to lose 2 lbs a week, and it had the same to lose 1 1/2 lbs a week. I moved to 1 lb a week to get a few more calories (1280). I'm the same height as you and I weigh 172.6. (Just giving you all of the details so you can get an idea of where you might be at different weights and changing your weekly losing goals)