Adjusting your calories?

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faireplay
faireplay Posts: 126
in Health and Weight Loss
For those of you who have adjusted your calories to a higher number than what MFP gave you, how did you decide on the number that works/is working for you?

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  • hazelnut_
    hazelnut_ Posts: 7 Member
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    Trial and error. I'll stick with the recommended calorie limit for a month. If I'm not losing at the rate I want to by then, I'll lower it, or if I'm losing too fast for comfort or if I'm hungry all the time, I'll raise it. How many calories you need to eat to lose/gain/maintain depends primarily on your personal body chemistry and your activity level.
  • mrsbraun88
    mrsbraun88 Posts: 7
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    I'm tyring to figure that out...I just don't think I can live on 1400 cals per day...1800 seems more realistic for me, but I'm not sure if this will yield the results I'm aiming for :(
  • kaypat09
    kaypat09 Posts: 130 Member
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    I second trial and error. I started eating less and less thinking it would help me lose... but it didn't. Now I use what MFP gives me, I just adjusted my weight loss to 1lb per week instead of 2lb or 1.5lb per week. I was at a plateau eating ~1300 calories (less some days), and finally decided to try upping my calories. It worked really well! I now eat ~1600 calories a day and I started losing again.

    EDIT- I was EXTREMELY nervous to up my calories, thinking I would gain. But I gave it a couple days (I think it takes longer for some people)- and my body adjusted and actually started losing again.
  • allnaday
    allnaday Posts: 54 Member
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    i increased my cals and started losing
    until Thanksgiving that is
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    It depends why you want to up them. If you eat well with lots of protein, veggies and real food it's not so bad to be lower. If you want to eat a lot of empty carbs and processed foods it's hard to feel satiated.
  • Danni3ll3
    Danni3ll3 Posts: 365 Member
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    I figured out my TDEE with exercise and took off about 20% from that. Eating 1200 calories and eating part of my calories back from exercise didn't seem to be working for me. My net often ended up below my BMR and my weight was yo-yoing all over the place, probably because I was miscalculating either my food, exercise or both. So I am going to stick to 1500 calories and continue my daily exercise without logging the exercise. And if there is a day that I don't exercise, I am still below the TDEE for that day as I figured out the TDEE for a sedentary day as well. Time will tell if this works.
  • tigs728
    tigs728 Posts: 18 Member
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    Hi, it took me a while to find but In Place of a Road Map is really worth a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12.

    And to work out your calorie goals - this page is great! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm.

    Both links above also have groups on here.

    After gaining weight back I decided I was not prepared to put the energy into low cal eating that is simply unsustainable. This approach - eating between BMR and TDEE - is a much more enjoyable way to go. AND the results follow.

    All the best! :flowerforyou:
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I purchased and started wearing a BodyMedia Fit armband and discovered I NEVER burned as few calories as MFP thought I did - I had it set to sedentary, turns out I am Very Active.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    For those of you who have adjusted your calories to a higher number than what MFP gave you, how did you decide on the number that works/is working for you?

    You can always notch up or down by 100 or so. It's totally up to you. Gradually changes are best, in either direction.
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
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    according to here im supposed to have 1240 a day..of course that number goes way up when i exercise .. im comfortable at about 1300-1400 a day if i have good workouts. today i havent quite managed that 1200 and i ate good today . i really try hard to listen to my body
  • Mpol2
    Mpol2 Posts: 442 Member
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    I'm tyring to figure that out...I just don't think I can live on 1400 cals per day...1800 seems more realistic for me, but I'm not sure if this will yield the results I'm aiming for :(

    Don' t be afraid to try 1800 for a couple of weeks to see what happens . Slower weight loss with macros you can live with is way better than faster weight loss at a calorie level that makes you give up or miserable.

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