1600 calorie diet...too many calories?

cbm1951

I know the more you weigh, the more calories you are allowed to eat...but MFP has set 1600 calories as my daily goal. I haven't ate that many since I started because I feel like I won't be able to loose the weight. I know about the starvation mode your body can go into, but I really think I wouldn't loose at 1600 calories. My starting weight was 320 but after one week it is now 313. I know seven pounds the first week includes water weight coming off too and I don't expect to loose that much next week. Does anybody else think 1600 calories is too many? I have been averaging 1200 calories daily. Any thoughts on this?

monty619

if you weigh over 300lbs then ur caloric intake should be atleast 3k calories daily to start... if you start low you will plateau and have no where else to drop calories, you need to slowly drop weight in order to maintain steady weightloss and not destroy ur metabolism.

1600 calories is way too little dont drop them any more. please raise them up if anything.

mockchoc

if you weigh over 300lbs then ur caloric intake should be atleast 3k calories daily to start... if you start low you will plateau and have no where else to drop calories, you need to slowly drop weight in order to maintain steady weightloss and not destroy ur metabolism.

1600 calories is way too little dont drop them any more. please raise them up if anything.

^ what he said!

_granola

More would probably be better, but 1600 plus exercise calories is better than 1200, that's for sure.

FlaxMilk

You will absolutely lose on 1600 a day at your current weight. MFP is using equations that will work unless you have a medical problem or some other exceptional factor.

I am in the low 100's and can maintain as long as I'm a little active on 1600. The more you weigh, the more you can eat to lose. Enjoy it!

florymonde

1200 is very low; even 1600 seems low to me. I just started here a week ago (at 224lbs.), with a recommended 1820 calories a day. And, even going over sometimes, I'm losing already. You need to remember that when you are overweight, it's not all fat. It's also additional muscles, blood vessels and other tissues that are supporting your excess mass. It takes time for your body to reabsorb these tissues, so don't try and rush it too much! I say try to stay close to 1600 calories of quality food; take your time.

tyraskanks_

Oh my goodness, I feel like that is such a low amount for you weighing 300+ pounds! That would be like eating a pea! And peas are gross.


anyway, here is a good site. I've struggled with this for such a long time, but I've finally come to conclusion that you do not need to starve yourself. You need to nourish your body. If you go any lower than your BMR, which is how many calories you burn if you were to be in a coma, you are probably not getting all the nutrients you need!

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

This is such a wonderful video--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYi9xjIRvbY&list=PL09917F53B3B517FF&feature=g-user-a

It really got me on the right tracks to what I should be eating. Eating such a low calorie deficit will allow you to lose weight, but you are most likely going to lose muscle tone. You don't want that.

I'm not an expert, but that is what I've come up with based on my research.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I think I'd starve on that--I'm quite small too!

LosingWeight64

I cycle my calories. according to this site i am supposed to eat 1500 cals per day. I weigh 308 lbs. some days (like today) i ate 1300 calories cause i wasnt very hungry. tomorrow i could eat 1700.. it goes back and forth.. i only joined this site 3 days ago, but have been eating this way for 14 days... and i have lost almost 9 lbs.. thats 4.5 per week. i only exercise 30 -60 mins per day and that is only walking as im so big atm it's hard to do anything else. i do try to have a weekly average of 1600 per day.. and it has been working. i have read that if your cals are too low, you will lose at first, but then plateau very soon.. body kinda goes into starvation mode.

cbm1951

Thanks for all the replies. I forgot to mention that I do try to exercise three times a week at the "Y". I am only able to do the recumbent bike for 30 minutes and I also do strength training...the weight machines...especially the ones for my arms since I have terrible arthritis in my knees. I really depend on my upper body strength to be able to get up and down.

By reading all the posts, what you are saying makes sense to me. I think I will try to eat at least the 1600 calories that MFP has chosen for me. Hopefully I will at least lose 2 pounds a week. I know I want it to come off quickly because I have soooooo much to lose...but I guess I had better learn what the word patience means. LOL!!! I don't want to do this wrong...and I don't want to harm my body by not getting enough nutrients.

Thanks for all the responses. They really did help a lot!!! Wish me luck!!!

RiverManUK

Hopefully I will at least lose 2 pounds a week. I know I want it to come off quickly because I have soooooo much to lose...but I guess I had better learn what the word patience means. LOL!!! I don't want to do this wrong...

I fear you are setting yourself up to fail. You didn't arrive at 320 pounds overnight, why do you feel the need to lose it quickly.
MFP recommends a controlled weight loss of 1 pound per week. You have set yourself up to lose double that and still feel that the calorie allowance offered by MFP is too high. At your weight I believe 1600 calories is too low. For long term success I strongly urge you to follow MFP recommendations, i.e. 1 pound per week and whatever calorie allowance that results in (probably around 2100).

I would add that I am not a dietician so what do I know, just adding my two-penneth.

Whatever you chose to do I certainly wish you luck.

mmapags

Hopefully I will at least lose 2 pounds a week. I know I want it to come off quickly because I have soooooo much to lose...but I guess I had better learn what the word patience means. LOL!!! I don't want to do this wrong...

I fear you are setting yourself up to fail. You didn't arrive at 320 pounds overnight, why do you feel the need to lose it quickly.
MFP recommends a controlled weight loss of 1 pound per week. You have set yourself up to lose double that and still feel that the calorie allowance offered by MFP is too high. At your weight I believe 1600 calories is too low. For long term success I strongly urge you to follow MFP recommendations, i.e. 1 pound per week and whatever calorie allowance that results in (probably around 2100).

I would add that I am not a dietician so what do I know, just adding my two-penneth.

Whatever you chose to do I certainly wish you luck.

This is accurate. You did get to weight that much overnight and it is not the right way to try to lose it fast. It is a marathon not a sprint. With the reserves you have right now, it is OK to be a LITTLE more agressive than normal but 1600 is very agressive and I would not go below that. I'd likely go a little higher and slower with the loss. What is the rush?? Do it right not fast.

cbm1951

Maybe I should tell my age too. I am 61 years old and if I try to lose 2 pounds a week, it will take me 1 1/2 years to reach my goal. I know I didn't gain it overnight. I have been overweight all my life and I know I waited too long to start...but at least I have started...again. As well as being overweight all my life, I have also been on many, many diets. I even tried acupuncture once and hypnosis. On one diet I was counting calories and lost 76 pounds...only to gain it back due to a life trauma. I just gave up and am now trying it again. I also have diabetes with complications along with it.

I know I sound like I am trying to give excuses, but I'm not. I am just trying to let everyone know how desperate I am and how very very much I want to reach my goal. I am 5' 9" tall and want to get down to at least 170. That's 143 pounds to lose. I try to set small goals. My first goal is to get below 300. That would be a plus for me!!!

I realize that 1 pound a week is better than gaining...so...whatever I lose will be a plus whether it be one pound or more. I appreciate all the input I received. It really made me think differently.

Thanks again!!!

kcoftx

I weigh 134lbs. 1600 is my maintenance. Really it is more like 1750-1850 once I factor in exercise.

As hard as it can be sometimes, and believe me when I say I need this reminder all the time (body composition goals at the moment), it is best to focus on the journey.

My advice:

Reflect on what you are doing throughout your journey.
Build mini goals and building up habits. It doesn't have to come all at once.
Don't rely on one form of measurement. Use all the tools you can. Examples: body fat calculation, scale, progress pictures (perhaps the most important one), how your clothes feel, how YOU feel, and multiple body measurements).

I know you want to get there overnight, but the key to being happier with this process is to remind yourself where you've been and how much you've accomplished along the way. I know you just started so this part has not yet kicked in. Be proud you have started.

Another thing you always want to keep in mind is that whatever you do, you are working towards not only loss but maintenance of that loss. In order to maintain it, you have to be building lifestyle habits. That's what makes it actually a good thing to lose a bit more at a reasonable pace even if it seems like forever. I promise you, a year goes by like a blur. Relax. Use this time to educate yourself, learn a bit more about yourself and how to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise.

letlethugo

don't go to starvation. the more you starve yourself then you will eat more. try to drink water in between meals. this way you will eat less.

otrlynn

I will not weigh in on whether you are eating too many or too few calories, but I just wanted to encourage you to stick with MFP and learn what you can. Whatever amount of calories you decide to eat, try to make them healthy calories with minimal junk food (refined carbs/sugar and fried foods). I used to eat a lot of sweets (which is how I ended up weighing more than I wanted to) and now I eat very few of them. I don't find that I crave them constantly either.

Keep it up at the gym and just do what you can. In addition to the recumbant bike, swimming and/or gentle water aerobics would be a good way to burn calories without stressing your knees. Do they have a pool at your "Y"? You are right that you need to cultivate patience, but just celebrate the little successes that you have along the way.

kazzsjourney

When i lost my weight (started at 380 pounds) I ate 1800 calories till i got under 200 pounds

cbm1951

Keep it up at the gym and just do what you can. In addition to the recumbant bike, swimming and/or gentle water aerobics would be a good way to burn calories without stressing your knees. Do they have a pool at your "Y"? You are right that you need to cultivate patience, but just celebrate the little successes that you have along the way.

Yes they do have a pool at the "Y".

cbm1951

Yes they do have a pool at the "Y". I tried that, but the chlorine in the water made my legs break out in water blisters. I had to stop because I didn't want my legs to become infected, being a diabetic. I do the recumbent bike for 30 minutes...usually reaching just about 2 1/2 miles in the 30 minutes. I am going to try to increase it to either 45 minutes or try to increase the mileage within the 30 minutes. I feel like the weight machines are toning me up as I try to lose the weight. At least I hope that's what they are doing.

cmeade20

Yes you will lose at 1600. And you will lose eating 1600+ exercise calories. It's all up to you but let me put it like this. You can do the low calorie thing but if someone tells you, you can eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight why wouldn't you want to?

stephdeeable

I started at 320 as well and my calorie limit is 2100, and that's for a 2 pound a week weight loss. Obviously yours is lower due to other factors (age, height, activity level, etc) but 1600 is not too much. Eat up!