Calorie question for those who lost 75+

PaigeAnderson100

First of all, congratulations to those of you who have had success with your weight loss!

I have been confused since day one about calorie intake. I have heard people have more success with 1200 calories and other's with 2400 calories! What has worked for those of you who have lost a lot of weight? How long did it take you to lose what you did?

As for exercise calories- Do you eat the calories burned? I don't and I have so many mixed messages.

Basically, what has worked for you?! Thank you!

collingmommy

I eat 1600 calories a day, and exercise 4 hours a week.. I try to split it up where i do exercise 5 nights a week. I'm fixing to up it to 6 days a week to see if i can break a plateau. If u want u can message me. I think I'm pretty good at helping ppl.

debs6

I followed the MFP recommendations and from memory started at about 1650 calories per day when I was at my heaviest ..... As I lost weight it gradually adjusted to only 1200 calories and then for my last 10lbs I moved up to around 1400 net calories and lost very slowly. I have been on maintenance now fo a full year at net calories of 1590 per day. Good luck with your journey

toomuchbootyindapants

I've lost 67 lbs so not sure I qualify for your research here....but the majority of that weight was lost eating 1600-1900 cals a day (the low end on days I didn't exercise, the higher end on days I did exercise). In essence - yes I ate my exercise calories as MFP defaulted me to 1200 cals a day since I was a little aggressive in my settings of wanting to lose 2 lbs per week I now know that this is not feasible long term and eventually adjusted it to 1 lb loss per week. At any rate, I'm 5'5 and started at 220 lbs. The closer you get to goal weight, however, you have to pay closer attention to your intake and quality of foods (I'm finding) if you want to continue losing. This is, of course, due to many factors such as a slower metabolism (if you dieted off a bunch of lean mass because you weren't eating enough protein and doing strength training to help retain it), less energy required to move your smaller body, etc. A lot of people, especially in the beginning, tend to "over exercise" - doing too much, thinking they're gonna lose faster. This might backfire on them, so be careful. You don't need to workout 6-7 days a week. Heck, most people are good with three days a week at a moderate intensity. It comes down to diet though - you cannot out train a bad diet.

Jennvandemark

I don't try to eat my exercise calories and I eat some where between 1600-1900 I workout 6xs a week about 8 hours a week. I ate at what MFP tells me to eat at can't go wrong with that number. I know eating at 1200 would never work with me but we are all different. You have lost weight so you are on the right track. Good luck.

wwgirl83

Do what works best for you. I was on weight watchers for the majority of my weight loss. It wasn't a calorie based weight loss though, it was more based on carbs and fat. It worked well for me.

I would see what you average calorie intake is now and gradually reduce your intake gradually (if you are on 2400 cal diet now and go to a 1200 a day limit- you are more than likely to fall off the wagon) weight watchers does something similar with their point system where once you lose 10 lbs you get 1 less 'point' per day.

As far as eating calories burned-I would say it depends on your intake, me personally I do eat the calories I burn, each persons body is different though. I would try to stick to something for at least a month to see what your results are, like a 1400 cal limit 4 hours gym time and eat your cals burned, etc.

Good luck!

mogletdeluxe

The vast majority of my loss occurred before I discovered MFP - so I wasn't really counting calories. I would say I started off at 1200 (too low for me, on reflection), then as I stepped up the exercise would aim for 1500 - 1700 (eaten back).

Now, for maintenance and muscle? Around the 1700 - 1900 mark, mostly eaten back.

To be honest, there hasn't been an exact science for me. Now comes the difficult part when it's easier to take your eye off the ball!

xampx

I am currently about 203 and I eat 1400 a day plus most of my exercise calories (I always net over 1200). I try and do about 5 hours exercise a week, and I drop about 1-1.5lb a week

I have just lost my 51st lb

kazzsjourney

I lost mine (187 pounds) over 6.5 years and still have 15-30 pounds go. I have pretty much eaten at 1800 cals...i have at different times tried higher and lower....but my most consistent losses have been when eating around 1800 cals

beckysiz

check this out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

I lost 87 pounds and gained back 15, all while eating 1200 cals. and working out.

I found the link above and started eating 1800 cals a day (sometimes more) and the fat is totally disappearing, as well as weight. I have more energy now; I can lift heavier, do more cardio; I am focused all day long; I am happier; and my horomones are more balanced which = less hot flashes and night sweats!