Former 1200 girl needing help

MsJulielicious
MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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?
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Replies

  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    also sorry didnt realize caps was on
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    Ok, awesome. im going to attempt manual reset tomorrow then, i had a strong feeling i wasnt eating enough.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    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
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    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

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