Former 1200 girl needing help

MsJulielicious

So, lost over 20 lbs by NOT Calorie counting. I just stopped eating nothing but deep fried foods and started exercising. when i started i was doing 5ks/7wk and light weights... now im doing 10k's/5wk, 2k rowing and moderate weights. I am 5' 2 and i weigh 132. my goal is 125. my question is that i started mfp to lose the last ten lbs and am not.. Mfp has me eating 1200/ wtf? why? i did a calculation and it says i need more like 2100/day calorie wise. I'M pretty crappy at math can some please tell me (nicely) iF I HAVE DONE THE MATH CORRECTLY?

honkytonks85

If you put 1 or 2lbs per week then MFP will put you at 1200 because it will subtract your TDEE (your maintenance calories, how many you burn in a day including activity) and subtracts the number of calories you need to eat in order to create a deficit. To lose a lb you need to create a deficit of 3000 calories which is something like 500 calories a day. This is why MFP has put you at 1200. It may have put you lower on other sites, but MFP does not go lower than 1200 calories a day as it is not recommended.

2100 is probably your TDEE (activity + Basal metabolic rate in simple terms) - if you ate at this level and didn't exercise you would not lose weight, just maintain.

Anyway, if you think 1200 is too low you should reset your goal to 1/2 a lb per week or something. Or you can manually enter in your calories. Some people think it's a good idea to set your calories at maintenance and use exercise to create a deficit.

MsJulielicious

IF you need more info, on my off days i just incorporated pilates with a balance ball. i am a housewife, so my normal day is filed with cleaning... baseboards< laundry, dog walking, dinner cooking, Bathroom cleaning, etc... I am not sedentry..

PikaKnight

If you want, check out this link by MFPer Heliotsdan - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

It'll give you a detailed walkthrough (with pictures even) on finding your TDEE and calculating what you should be eating.

MsJulielicious

Thank you for replYING. I do FEEL hungry and have stopped losing so i must not be eating enough? I have a pretty seroius hourglas shape that mi happy with... idk, i guess its just that im at the high end of my weight class for my height

MoreBean13

With only 7lbs to lose, the absolute maximum deficit you should be at is 1/2 lb/wk (250 cals per day). There's only so much fat a person can lose per week, and it's relative to how much excess fat you have on your body. You do not have much excess. If you try to push it, you're risking doing more damage than good, and dipping in to your LBM to make up the calorie difference.

MoreBean13

Thank you for replYING. I do FEEL hungry and have stopped losing so i must not be eating enough? I have a pretty seroius hourglas shape that mi happy with... idk, i guess its just that im at the high end of my weight class for my height

For sure. You'll feel much better and start losing again once you adjust your calories appropriately.

MsJulielicious

Ok, I thought so, i mean, when i lost the first 20 i relied on a "are you hungry'? eat some fish, or chicken plan... i never counted before, just ran my butt off, i vow to no longer be afraid of food. thats where problems start right? and i never had one to begin with... hell I am at 36, 26, 36 now.. thats badass movie star right there

MsJulielicious

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

MoreBean13

Ok, I thought so, i mean, when i lost the first 20 i relied on a "are you hungry'? eat some fish, or chicken plan... i never counted before, just ran my butt off, i vow to no longer be afraid of food. thats where problems start right? and i never had one to begin with... hell I am at 36, 26, 36 now.. thats badass movie star right there

Just a thought....if you like your figure as it is, where are the last 10 lbs (7, whatever) going to come from?

I would not let the BMI scale determine your goals, at all. It's extremely flawed and says very little about any individual's physique. If you like your body, and you're healthy, don't let BMI bully you. It sucks.

MoreBean13

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

I manually set mine to what I want because I don't like their default options.

MsJulielicious

I like my hour glass figure as stated, but didnt mention have large thighs.. i went from looking like i had 3 lbs cottage cheese stuffed in a 1 lb sack to normal pp thighs. really bad cellulite. that why i started squats and leg presses and leg curls. i am overly very pleased with my figure and weight loss but i am going to school soon for kinselogy and feel i should look the part more. also my cellulite is mostly gone is just a giggly mass now

MsJulielicious

The point of the post is.. im bad at math.. does 2100, like i did on a web tdee sound correct for a fit, hourglass, 5 ft 2 woman?

MsJulielicious

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

I manually set mine to what I want because I don't like their default options.

MsJulielicious

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

I manually set mine to what I want because I don't like their default options.

right? yes! WHAT IM SAYING IS I HAVENT FIGURED OUT HOW TO MANUALLY DO THIS? CAN YOU TELL ME hOW? SORRY I SEEM STUPID, ITS JUST? HOW ELSE WILL I LEARN IF I DONT ASK

MsJulielicious

also sorry didnt realize caps was on

MoreBean13

The point of the post is.. im bad at math.. does 2100, like i did on a web tdee sound correct for a fit, hourglass, 5 ft 2 woman?

Yeah that sounds about right for maintenance. I'm 5'3" and a bit bigger and mine is about 2250. I would cut a max of 250 off that, so something around 1850 would be my target.

mockchoc

I'm the same height as you and yeah I can eat 2100 if I've done a reasonable amount of exercise that day and still lose slowly.

MsJulielicious

Ok, awesome. im going to attempt manual reset tomorrow then, i had a strong feeling i wasnt eating enough.

MoreBean13

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

I manually set mine to what I want because I don't like their default options.

right? yes! WHAT IM SAYING IS I HAVENT FIGURED OUT HOW TO MANUALLY DO THIS? CAN YOU TELL ME hOW? SORRY I SEEM STUPID, ITS JUST? HOW ELSE WILL I LEARN IF I DONT ASK

From the "my home" tab, choose the "goals" sub-tab, and choose the option to custom set your goals, from that screen you can set your calories and macros to whatever you want.

While you're there, consider customizing the macronutriets to whatever suits your goals. The default is really low protein (15%), too low IMO for someone strength training.

MsJulielicious

New question, now that we know im not eating enough calories, how do i change this for mfp?.. i SWITCHED TO 1/2 LB/loss a week and its still no enough? is there a trick?

I manually set mine to what I want because I don't like their default options.

right? yes! WHAT IM SAYING IS I HAVENT FIGURED OUT HOW TO MANUALLY DO THIS? CAN YOU TELL ME hOW? SORRY I SEEM STUPID, ITS JUST? HOW ELSE WILL I LEARN IF I DONT ASK

From the "my home" tab, choose the "goals" sub-tab, and choose the option to custom set your goals, from that screen you can set your calories and macros to whatever you want.

While you're there, consider customizing the macronutriets to whatever suits your goals. The default is really low protein (15%), too low IMO for someone strength training.
[/quote

I cannot thank you enough! This is exactly the advice i was searching for. Ty, ty. my goals have been changed now, i just honestly didnt know how that worked, ty again

MsJulielicious

I just set it to 1800 calories with high protein. i do cardio and strength training like mad and eat back my calories.. THIS makes more sense. I appreciate the walk thru on how to manually update

MsJulielicious

Last bit of info is i am at 55 beats per minute at resting heartrate and when i run i maintain between 165-180. sometimes the machine says my heartrate is higher but not for long, from what i have read at 28 years old this is a good thing

Nerdy_Rose

I'm 5'2" and I can eat 1900 total (not eating "back" exercise calories to lose weight)..
Maintaining right now. Eat between 2100-2500/day.

Edit: also hourglass, currently 125 lbs.

DebbieLyn63

So, lost over 20 lbs by NOT Calorie counting. I just stopped eating nothing but deep fried foods and started exercising. when i started i was doing 5ks/7wk and light weights... now im doing 10k's/5wk, 2k rowing and moderate weights. I am 5' 2 and i weigh 132. my goal is 125. my question is that i started mfp to lose the last ten lbs and am not.. Mfp has me eating 1200/ wtf? why? i did a calculation and it says i need more like 2100/day calorie wise. I'M pretty crappy at math can some please tell me (nicely) iF I HAVE DONE THE MATH CORRECTLY?

So why did you title this thread "former 1200 girl needing help" if you haven't been eating at 1200 cals? Don't understand the reasoning there.

As to why MFP recommended 1200 cals, it was based on your height, weight, and age, and on the activity level you entered, as well as the number of pounds you wanted to lose each week. If you entered your activity level as sedentary or lightly active, and wanted to lose 2 pounds a week, then that is why it gave you the minimum calories. So up your activity level to match your actual level, and enter only 1 pound or 1/2 pound loss goal, and it will give you more calories to eat.
Or you simply enter your exercise, and it will give you more calories to eat from that.

Just because MFP recommends the minimum 1200 amount, doesn't mean you HAVE to eat that many calories. If you have been losing weight on higher calories, then simply eat more food to continue losing at a rate you want to.

The calculators only give you ballpark figures to work with. You have to adjust according to your own personal experiences and caloric needs.

DebbieLyn63

The point of the post is.. im bad at math.. does 2100, like i did on a web tdee sound correct for a fit, hourglass, 5 ft 2 woman?

Various women at your height and weight will have different TDEEs. I don't know of many women at 5'2" that can LOSE weight eating 2100 per day, but there probably are some that will say they do. It all depends on how many calories you are burning a day. Someone your size who is fairly sedentary, might maintain on only 1500 calories, and need to eat at 1200 to lose.

If you have been tracking your food accurately, and haven't lost ANY weight in several weeks, then you apparently are not eating at a calorie deficit. Simply eating more food will not cause you to magically start losing a lot of weight. If you are tired and sluggish from too few calories, then you will not be exercising as much as you would be if you are eating enough to fuel your workouts. In this case, more calories, combined with higher calorie burns, could cause weight loss. If you simply eat more without increasing your calorie burns, then you will quite possibly not lose any weight, and might even gain. You have to see what your body responds to. Calculators can't give you the perfect number.