Too low?

dkent2009

:flowerforyou: Hi there!
A few times I have read on here that MFP under estimates the amount of calories that we need to be eating. I have recently manualy entered my calorie goal a little higher (1500) because I found that 1290 cals/ per day was a little low and wasn't seeing much results. I even compared on a couple of websites and it did seem a little low. Just wondering if anyone else had this issue and increased their calories and saw better results!
Thanks!

ryanchemist

I lowered mine. It was 1960 and I am fine at 1850.

TaraMaria

MFP has me at 1200 calories but my BMR is 1390. I have had almost zero weight loss in the past 2-3 weeks. I kind of wonder if should eat more. Its so darn hard! My mom and sisters, if they want to loose weight, they stop eating. I stop eating, I basically either maintain or GAIN. This is so freaking hard!

jennbissonnette

im wondering also! I know i like to eat but my last week has gone a little something like this....
fri over ate by even
sat over ate by 187
sun over ate by 3
mon over ate by 157

But im a little confised because i feel like when i was eating right on the dot (amount of calories) i did
lose a pound of week. but at the same time i didnt over eat that much. i also never include or counted my basic activity through the day. i do hair and im very busy, always running around and on my feet. I know i burn more calories this way. Either way, i think because im on my last 10 that its just going to get harder to lose it. IN PUT?!?! PLEASE!!!!

jenn

wks7777

how did u change it, cuz i need to as well!

lemonllama

Mine says 1210 and ive noticed i lose the most weight if I eat 1200ISH one day, then 15ish the next, then low then high, just kind of change it up from 12-15 and i lose weight! I think if I eat only 1200ish then my body just thinks its starving or something and keeps all the weight!! I also was able to maintain for the first time ever the weight I had lost because I think my body was used to having more calories, so if i do go OVER it didnt pack the weight on!!

Also, I like to have a "naughty" night once a week, like eat pizza, spaghetti, mcdonalds.. haha whatever!! Just one night a week, keeps me motivated during the week and makes my lowest weigh in about 2 days after (after 1 day of eating back to pure healthy, the next day im always at my lowest!) So I really think it helps to not let your body get used to only 1200 orrr however much it "told" you to eat!!

TaraMaria

lemonllama - I think that makes the most sense. Afterall, I've heard when you hit a plateau they say to mix things up a bit. With your theory, you kind of always keep your body guessing! I love it! I have a question for you: is the 1210 the MFP recommendation or your BMR recommendation? Sorry for being nosy! :blushing:

dkent2009

I went into goals located at the top and then changed it through there!! I think thats a good idea to change it around between a couple hundred calories a day that way you keep your body guessing!

samwal81

I was eating around 1200 calories a day and working out 6 days a week. I saw no changes in my weight. I recently upped my caloreis to around 1400 a day and have starting seeing changes on the scale.

If you don't eat enough calories you will never see a change. Try upping them about 100 calories at a time and see how it goes.

lemonllama

1210 was my MFP reccomendation... Whats the bmr rec.?? Orr is it on here?? Im kinda new to this site hehe...
The OLD site I was on told me to eat like 1750 (thats with NO exercise) I like to use exercise as an EXTRA, soo -500 from that would be 1250 so they're about the same...
But MYYY personal goal per day is 12-15ish.. usually try to stay around 13, and if it goes too low one day (like the other day it was 9 but I was stuffed, had a lot of home made soup that day..) then i dont force myself to eat food, and make up for it the next day by eating higher calorie things like peanut butter orr egg w/ yolks...

TaraMaria

Sam - That seems like a good idea! And small easy goals seem more obtainable!

lemonllama - If you go under tools they have a BMR calculator! Your whole thought process seems a lot better then mine. I think I keep track WAY too closely and don't ever end up hitting 1200 calories. I do spend a LOT of time on the couch due to some medical issues so I think I blame that alot for my lack of appetite. I sure wish I could be a skinny sick person and not the sick person who actually GAINS weight from not eating! (

barbiecat

:flowerforyou: I stayed at 1200 for a long time, then went to 1200 plus half my exercise calories, then went to 1200 plus almost all of my exercise calories and lost 1-2 pounds a week for months. It worked for me.

lauraa0411

I am having this problem, If I follow MFP I should be eating 1200 a day plus my exercise calories, I know this sounds really foolish and kind of fake but I have a very hard time eating more than 1000 a day (and don't even think about my exercise calories). Two months ago I could eat 2500 calories a day without blinking but know it just seems like such a betrayal when I eat to much. I am guessing that due to this, I am losing weight but not inches. I really don't know how to do this, I guess is a bit psychological but when I eat to much my stomach gets really upset. Please, advice me on this. Thank you.

weaklink109

MFP has me at 1200 calories but my BMR is 1390. I have had almost zero weight loss in the past 2-3 weeks. I kind of wonder if should eat more. Its so darn hard! My mom and sisters, if they want to loose weight, they stop eating. I stop eating, I basically either maintain or GAIN. This is so freaking hard!

If you eat too little, your body will go into starvation mode and hold onto your weight. If your weight loss history is different from your other family members, that can make a difference in how your body responds. Specifically, If you have a history of eating minimally, your body is going to react differently than someone who eats higher calories and then all the sudden lowers them dramatically and shows a loss.

lemonllama

Okay I guess my BMR is 1382!! Thanks for that info...

akb2006

Are you logging in your excersize and eating those calories too? The way that MFP is set up is that you really do need you eat at least 1/2 to 2/3 of your excersize calories. Try it for a few weeks I bet you'll lose!

madmama

I stopped recording my food intake and stopped exercising in December because I found I was just to busy to try. When I decided to get back on the scale I was surprised to find that I had lost 2 pounds. Sometimes a rest is necessary and a change is good. It is said that you need to have a 500 calorie deficiency everyday to lose 1 pound a week. I find that I need about 1900 calories a week to maintain my weight so this would mean 1400 calories a day to lose that pound. MFP wants me at 1200 calories and exercise calories but that is too low for me so I customize my goals.

pannellkat

I was eating around 1200 calories a day and working out 6 days a week. I saw no changes in my weight. I recently upped my caloreis to around 1400 a day and have starting seeing changes on the scale.

If you don't eat enough calories you will never see a change. Try upping them about 100 calories at a time and see how it goes.

When I started this site I was eating 1200 calories a day, rarely less and working out 5-6 days a week and I did see a big change. I lost about 11 lbs the first time around. When you say if you don't eat enough calories you will "never" see a change, I don't believe that to be true. Everyone is different. Now that I have been on this site for a few months and have a better understanding of how weight loss works with regard to food, calories, exercise, etc. I try not to eat less than 1200 calories a day.

With that being said, this time around I am generally sticking to minimum 1200 calories a day and working out the same amount as I did the first time around but losing much slower so I will try your advice and try upping my calories 100 at a time to see if that gives me better results.

samwal81

I was eating around 1200 calories a day and working out 6 days a week. I saw no changes in my weight. I recently upped my caloreis to around 1400 a day and have starting seeing changes on the scale.

If you don't eat enough calories you will never see a change. Try upping them about 100 calories at a time and see how it goes.

When I started this site I was eating 1200 calories a day, rarely less and working out 5-6 days a week and I did see a big change. I lost about 11 lbs the first time around. When you say if you don't eat enough calories you will "never" see a change, I don't believe that to be true. Everyone is different. Now that I have been on this site for a few months and have a better understanding of how weight loss works with regard to food, calories, exercise, etc. I try not to eat less than 1200 calories a day.

With that being said, this time around I am generally sticking to minimum 1200 calories a day and working out the same amount as I did the first time around but losing much slower so I will try your advice and try upping my calories 100 at a time to see if that gives me better results.

You're right Pannellkat, I shouldn't have used the word "never". The changes will be slow if you don't eat enough.

Just as weaklink109 said your body will go into starvation mode and try to 'hold on' to any food you eat.

SHBoss1673

you guys should be checking your goals. If you set your goals too high then it stands to reason you won't lose weight like you would like because your not giving your body enough calories to function properly, it's not necessarily because of the site, it could be that you're being to aggressive with your weight loss. 2 lbs a week isn't for everyone.