Advice on Calorie Intake....

kym117

Hi I am looking for a bit of advice from my fellow MFP members....

I started MFP in January 2011 on 1200 calories per day, I weighed 11st 7lbs each to their own but I am not a great fan of the gym and upped my excercise by walking a lot more, occasionally swimming etc on the 90% Diet 10% Excercise theory and that for me appeared to work having lost around 38lbs last year my weight since then has more or less maintained itself naturally gaining only maybe 1 or 2lbs but loosing it again easily.

My problem now is this year although the weight has not varied apart from what I explained above, I am having a real difficulty sticking with 1200 calories I am finding myself really hungry at night and it's not that I dont eat filling meals as I after a year have worked that out but I think its partially just being fed up sticking to 1200 cals a day. I now go over my allowance and then have the feck it attitude of "ah well I blew it now, I might as well have something else" I am proud of myself for coming so far but I am scared I might be sliding down the previous road!

Do you think it would do me any harm to up my calories to 1350 calories a day? just to give me a little bit more but an allowance none the less? Or does anyone else have some advice for me? (apart from give yourself a kick up the bum! I say that to myself enough.) I am only 6/7lbs off my goal weight and am not really in a hurry to get there now but dont want to gain.

s50s

When you filed out your goals how much did it say you should eat?

s50s

oops. filled

kym117

for 1lb a week it only ever gives me 1200 cals regardless of if I have 45lbs to lose or 6 lbs to lose :indifferent:

2hobbit1

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

Read through this link and see how to determine you calorie targets.1200 is too low! You need to eat more than your BME and less than you TDEE
Also since you have been at the 1200 level for so long you may need to reset your metabolism by eating at TDEE for a few weeks before you go to a 15020% cut below your TDEE.

If you are close to goal weight then your cut should be lower - 5-10% below TDEE

laurie858

I upped mine to 1350 and did ok, but I exercised it off to keep it low. Then I lowered my goal to 1325. I'm thinking of lowering it another 25 just to keep things moving in the right direction.

Try it at 1350 for a few weeks, maybe a month.

deevatude

i eat 2100 calories and lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week.

i dont eat my exercise calories back

AnvilHead

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

Read through this link and see how to determine you calorie targets.1200 is too low! You need to eat more than your BME and less than you TDEE

^ This. Why suffer and starve if you can eat the right number of calories and still lose weight? Do Dan's calculations and try it.

LadyIntrepid

I've lost more quickly netting 1300-1400 calories a day than when I was netting 1200 (or less). Looking at your profile, you don't have much to lose, if any, and you don't say how tall you are (at least I didn't see it). Certainly when there's little to lose it can take a loooonnnnggg time. It could also be that your body is happy where it is and/or you've eaten too little too long, your metabolism has slowed, and is hanging onto every single calorie you're consuming.

Your diary isn't open so there's no way to tell if you're netting 1200 or just eating 1200. If you're netting under 1200, you need fuel. Fuel = food. You'll have much more success if you feel better. Eat a little more. And enjoy it!

bullisnn82

1st off, GREAT JOB losing all that weight! I've had the exact same thing happen to me, as far as doing great and losing the weight, then never feeling satisfied, or full anymore. You just end up with this deprived all the time feeling and I think that makes the desserts, and chips, and 2nd or 3rd helpings all the more appealing. The way I see it (after failing many times) is - if you aren't sticking to the goal you've set because it's just too strict you end up eating a LOT more than a couple hundred extra a day, so raising it up enough that you feel like you can eat will actually save you from extra calories.

rhonniema

for 1lb a week it only ever gives me 1200 cals regardless of if I have 45lbs to lose or 6 lbs to lose :indifferent:

Because you don't have much to lose.

invisibubble

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

Read through this link and see how to determine you calorie targets.1200 is too low! You need to eat more than your BME and less than you TDEE

^ This. Why suffer and starve if you can eat the right number of calories and still lose weight? Do Dan's calculations and try it.

Thirded. I'm less than 5lbs off my goal weight now and I follow this. Lost last week too, and I eat. A lot. (That said I work out 4-6 times a week)

kym117

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

Read through this link and see how to determine you calorie targets.1200 is too low! You need to eat more than your BME and less than you TDEE
Also since you have been at the 1200 level for so long you may need to reset your metabolism by eating at TDEE for a few weeks before you go to a 15020% cut below your TDEE.

If you are close to goal weight then your cut should be lower - 5-10% below TDEE

Great and very informative article thank you for linking to that, it would appear that I am eating way under at 1200 cals.

1st off, GREAT JOB losing all that weight! I've had the exact same thing happen to me, as far as doing great and losing the weight, then never feeling satisfied, or full anymore. You just end up with this deprived all the time feeling and I think that makes the desserts, and chips, and 2nd or 3rd helpings all the more appealing. The way I see it (after failing many times) is - if you aren't sticking to the goal you've set because it's just too strict you end up eating a LOT more than a couple hundred extra a day, so raising it up enough that you feel like you can eat will actually save you from extra calories.

This is exactly how I feel!

Also to answer LadyIntrepid I am only 5ft tall.

s50s

i eat 2100 calories and lose 1 to 1.5 pounds a week.

i dont eat my exercise calories back

Did you start out this way? I started a week ago today, and I was eating 1200-1400 calories a day. MFP said to eat 1500, but that website said I should eat 1936 (thats subtracting 20%). Yesterday I ate 1886. I am up 1.5 from yesterday. Water weight?, or just a fluck it still makes me nervous about eating that much. I exercise 5-6 days a week and average 300-500 calories burnt. Advice?????