Let's talk calories. MFP vs. other weight management apps

lmr2526

I'm 4'10 (Yeah I know. Go ahead get it out. laugh if you must haha) and currently 134lbs. I started out about a week ago at 136 and before I found MFP, I was using the "lose it" app which gave me a 781 calorie intake limit daily. So once I came across MFP I was given a daily limit of 1200 and I assumed I was given way too many calories and I wouldn't lose anything. So I took the calorie intake from "lose it" and applied it to MFP for a bit. Then I read something or other about my body possibly going into starvation mode and slowing my metabolism. So I upped my intake to the suggested 1200 calories a day and I feel super guilty about eating the extra calories. I guess I'm somewhat doubtful that this will work at all. Another failed diet attempt perhaps..idk. My weight is fluctuating every other day or so, so I'm not quite sure if it's working for me or not...Maybe it's too soon to tell? Any thoughts or personal experiences out there?

YMaloylo

One thought is to not weigh yourself every day! Go for once a week as a more accurate gauge of whether your weight is changing or not - day to day fluctuations are far too complicated to give you any sort of clue.

lmr2526

I'll try doing that because the scale is driving me nuts lol

Pebble321

781 sounds incredibly low calories - even though you are a short person, it stills seems way too low.

I'm not a professional but my best suggestion would be to eat what MFP recommends (1200 plus the calories you burn from exercise) for one month and see how your weight loss progresses. If you aren't losing, you could take your cals down by 100 and try for another month.

There is no hard and fast rule about what is "right" - I think the best way is to start at a conservative level and try it out and see what happens. Don't weigh yourself every day, that isn't a good indication of long term change, it's going to fluctuate all the time due to hormones, water retention etc. Weigh in once a week but only pay attention to the total after a month.

Do you have any option to see a dietician to get advice that is customised for you? MFP seems to me to be a good place to start for most people, but as you are so small you may not want to be following a standardised system.

FYI, I'm 5'4" and lost weight very steadily eating 1600 net calories/day (that means eating 1660 plus the cals I burnt exercising) so it seems very possible that you could lose eating 1200 net cals.

AnvilHead

You might want to read this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Read the entire first post in the thread. He explains daily weight fluctuations, how to set your macronutrients, why it's not a good idea to habitually eat below your BMR, etc. IMO, this is one of the most useful posts here on MFP. Helloitsdan did a great job putting it together and explaining everything.

lmr2526

Continuing for a month sounds like a good idea. I guess the only way to know for sure is to stay motivated and stick with it right? Never really factored in being so short...surely something to consider though.

lmr2526

That was very informative and helpful! Thanks for the link!

FlaxMilk

Your weight will dictate your caloric needs more than your height. At 134 pounds, you will lose weight on 1200. I'm at 109 and still steadily lose on 1200.

ChristyRunStarr

I was using loseit before coming to MFP and loseit has NOTHING on MFP. They were off on so many things (calories in things, how many to eat, ect.) I think you'll have a better chance here but give it time. And like others said-give up the scale (as much as you can) and use measurements instead

lmr2526

Thanks for the Advice! I think I'll stick to the 1200 calories and you're right.. loseit has NOTHING on MFP