My Caloric intake is wrong...

Options
2»

Replies

  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    900 calories a day is certainly too low even for us girls of diminutive stature.

    I sure would not want to follow what the gentleman earlier said! I would not have enough energy even to breath, let alone go to work. And I have a sit down job!
  • hailzp
    hailzp Posts: 903 Member
    Options
    Don't listen to that dude! He doesn't know what he is talking about. I eat 1800 cals and lose weight! :D
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 646 Member
    Options
    Where are you getting your information from?? Everything I have read says that 1200 is an absolute minimum for someone with a very sedentary lifestyle, and not enough for most women.

    Eating more calories will slow the weight loss down even further. Weight loss is a function of the calories needed to maintain your body at a specific weight. If you weigh more than that but eat the number of calories required to maintain that weight, you will lose weight. Rate of loss depends on how close you are to that weight. Eating more calories will tell your body to maintain a higher weight. Now, you can get away with eating more calories by "purchasing" additional calories through exercise. If, however, you don't eat the extra calories but continue to consume the number required for the goal weight and continue to exercise vigorously, you will lose weight at a faster rate than just dieting alone would do.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    900 calories a day is certainly too low even for us girls of diminutive stature.

    Jeez, ignore this too.

    Where do you people come up with this stuff?!
  • nemont
    nemont Posts: 1
    Options
    I just joined today and i am very excited. Love all the posts so far. Seems rational and helpful.
    :flowerforyou:
  • pstaceyca
    pstaceyca Posts: 306 Member
    Options
    @Kenmunson333 -1200 calories is the minimum a woman should eat per day just to live healthy...not including if she is active!! I seriously suggest you do some research before you start giving out advice!!!
  • MargoPrior
    MargoPrior Posts: 25 Member
    Options
    I am with a lot of the people on the posting here. I eat between 1800 and 2000 calories a day, am 43 yrs old and just over 200 lbs at the moment. I have lost 17 pounds this month eating more calories instead of less, with an average of 3-5 pounds a week. You need to eat the base minimum of your BMI which for a lot of women will run between 1400 and 1800 (mine is between 16 and 1700). Good Luck! :-)
  • Crystalchaos72
    Crystalchaos72 Posts: 531
    Options
    Eating more calories will slow the weight loss down even further. Weight loss is a function of the calories needed to maintain your body at a specific weight. If you weigh more than that but eat the number of calories required to maintain that weight, you will lose weight. Rate of loss depends on how close you are to that weight. Eating more calories will tell your body to maintain a higher weight. Now, you can get away with eating more calories by "purchasing" additional calories through exercise. If, however, you don't eat the extra calories but continue to consume the number required for the goal weight and continue to exercise vigorously, you will lose weight at a faster rate than just dieting alone would do.

    That being said, 1200 calories a day seems like a lot for a woman to be consuming. But that may depend on what your goal weight it. I remember from earlier classes I've taken on dieting and weight control that men should target about 1200-1500 calories per day while women should target for 900-1000 calories per day.

    WRONG!!!!
    First of all congrats o your loss, however I eat WAY more than what mfp says and my ticker says it all. Currently I eat my tdee + exercise which averages out to 3000-3200 a day and I lose. And I am strong and have muscles and am basically at goal. You are sadly misinformed
  • kimmers1027
    kimmers1027 Posts: 122
    Options
    I will stick with my 1472 per day and see how that works for me. I've checked several sites and none of them say to eat only 1200 calories! Thank you all for your advice and concern. I definitely didn't mean to cause an uproar!! Lol.
  • kimmers1027
    kimmers1027 Posts: 122
    Options
    Oh and I am not obese! I am 5'7" and want to lose about 25 lbs. with that, I should be eating 1472 a day!! :))
  • HeealthyMee
    HeealthyMee Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    Kimmers, I learned most of what I now know from the women of the Eat more, weigh less group.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • WildcatMom82
    WildcatMom82 Posts: 564 Member
    Options
    Good luck! I never lost eating 1200 net cals, my "sweet spot" before kids was 1500-1700. Now that I'm nursing my son I eat 2400 net and am losing 1.5 lbs a week (profile set to 0.5 lbs). It's not an exact science, you only learn by experimenting :)
  • happythermia
    happythermia Posts: 374
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    Wow! So 1200 is actually a good number for me? I go back and fourth thinking that it's all wrong, but at the same time really being ok with it! Hell. It's working for me (because I'm a shortie lol) so far
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    Wow! So 1200 is actually a good number for me? I go back and fourth thinking that it's all wrong, but at the same time really being ok with it! Hell. It's working for me (because I'm a shortie lol) so far

    Not necessarily - you should look to calculating your TDEE and taking a reasonable deficit from there rather then relying on a very generic and average based multiplier.
  • PinkKitty724
    PinkKitty724 Posts: 179 Member
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    Wow! So 1200 is actually a good number for me? I go back and fourth thinking that it's all wrong, but at the same time really being ok with it! Hell. It's working for me (because I'm a shortie lol) so far

    Not necessarily - you should look to calculating your TDEE and taking a reasonable deficit from there rather then relying on a very generic and average based multiplier.

    Then I should eat about 1350-1375 calories. That's not too scary. I am literally afraid to eat too many more calories.

    And, what is "TDEE"? I've seen it a few times today and am not familiar with that term. Maybe "Total Daily Expended Energy"? haha, totally a shot in the dark! And not sure about the deficit compared to the calories for height thing. :)
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Options
    Rule of thumb for women: Base calories: 1000 calories for the first 60 inches. Add 100 calories for each additional inch, give or take depending on activity levels.

    Wow! So 1200 is actually a good number for me? I go back and fourth thinking that it's all wrong, but at the same time really being ok with it! Hell. It's working for me (because I'm a shortie lol) so far

    Not necessarily - you should look to calculating your TDEE and taking a reasonable deficit from there rather then relying on a very generic and average based multiplier.

    Then I should eat about 1350-1375 calories. That's not too scary. I am literally afraid to eat too many more calories.

    And, what is "TDEE"? I've seen it a few times today and am not familiar with that term. Maybe "Total Daily Expended Energy"? haha, totally a shot in the dark! And not sure about the deficit compared to the calories for height thing. :)

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure, yup, so you knew :D

    The height thing is crap as it completely disregards weight, lean body mass, age or activity.

Categories