Really???

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carolina_brandy
carolina_brandy Posts: 30
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, i just created my profile today..... and I am new and just learning and trying to do this right. Now... I realize that I weigh a lot and have A LOT to loose....... BUT..... its telling me I need to eat 2500 calories, 375 carbs (really??) and 90 - NINETY grams of fat! Can this be right? Surely I can't eat that much and still loose weight! Anyone have any ideas??
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Replies

  • tara_seay
    tara_seay Posts: 171 Member
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    When I started (3 weeks ago), I was 318lbs and set my profile to 1lb a week.. my calorie goal was 2230. Once you start logging your food, and you might want to even try to log a normal day before you started trying to eat better.. mine was 4000+ calories a day.

    I changed my "goal" to 2lbs a week.. and my goal is 1690 calories.
  • pstansel74
    pstansel74 Posts: 130 Member
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    The right fats are good for you.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I'ts impossible for me to confirm whether or not that is a realistic goal considering we don't know your starting height, weight, BMR, etc.

    If you truly have that much to lose, then that may be accurate.
    (Edit to say: I am 5'3 and weigh 112 pounds... and I eat about 1700-1800 a day and still lose about .25-.5 pounds per week. So it's definitely possible. It may seem like a lot, but you don't need to starve to lose weight!)
  • vmoyer2002
    vmoyer2002 Posts: 35 Member
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    Dang...that's crazy! I set mine to 2 lbs a week & I'm only allowed 1200 calories! :(
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,030 Member
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    Eat the recommended numbers for a month. Log everything. Then adjust if necessary. You can eat less. You don't have to. The problem is getting sufficient nutrition on less. Until you understand nutrition, be careful

    You NEED fats. NEED them to lose weight. Start with getting the total amount of fats and protein, then fill in the remainder with healthy carbs. Fats are needed. Carbs, not so much.
  • TangledUp_InBlue
    TangledUp_InBlue Posts: 397 Member
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    Depending on your start weight, yes. I eat 2000 per day and whatever I decide to eat back on calories earned from exercise and have lost 23 pounds in a few months. Before I was logging my food, I’m pretty sure I was eating 3500 calories plus per day with no exercise. You’ll surprise yourself how much you normally ate before once you start logging everything you eat and drink.

    Good luck…it does work!
  • maddiekidd
    maddiekidd Posts: 15
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    I have to agree. I have adjusted my calories twice. 1200 was not enough, 2000 was too much. Now I am at 1600 and feel pretty good.

    :)
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    If you want, you can go to My Home > Goals > Change Goals > Custom and adjust your percentages of fat/carbs/protein. It wouldn't hurt to increase the protein.
  • poeco76
    poeco76 Posts: 139 Member
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    It could be possible that the number is correct. There are many folks on MFP who eat exactly what MFP prescribes and they lose... that said, it does not work for me to use the predetermined amount of calories. If you can find out what your body needs just to survive (without doing anything, no exercise, etc) - your BMR - and use that as a guide, it might be helpful for you. This link: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm could be a place to start, but I'm sure there are others out there that can be helpful. Often, we need to eat more than we think we do to lose weight. If you look at it this way it may help: If you start out eating too few calories, as you lose your body requires fewer calories to function and live, and if you're already eating a low number of calories, it's difficult to cut them back at that point. It's almost as though you need to "force" your body to lose while eating more calories. Keeping in mind, of course, you want to be eating good calories - things your body can use. For me, this process hasn't been quick, but I hope to keep it off permanently, so I don't mind it coming off a bit slower.

    Best of luck to you as you start this journey! There are many great stories here to read. :O)
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    Depending on your stats and how much you have to lose then yes, it very well could be right...You don't have to starve to lose weight and anything more then 1 -2 pounds a week is not healthy or sustainable.

    I would track what you eat normally for a few days and then see.. I think you will be surprised at how many calories it is.. I was close to 2700..at my weight and activity level that is way too much for me ;)
  • metalvegan
    metalvegan Posts: 133 Member
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    The goals for macronutrients are just automatically set to 55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein. If you're worried about so much fat, just make it GOOD fat. Think avocados, almonds, sesame seeds, olives, pumpkin seeds, and salmon (if you eat animals). Avoid BAD fats like beef, pork, cream, butter, cheese, doughnuts, french fries, and candy bars.

    Basically, go plant-based and you WILL lose weight :laugh:
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    The way MFP works is that it estimated your current BMR, which is how many calories your body needs just to be alive, then it applies an activity factor (that is why it asked you how active you were) to estimate how many calories you actually burn each day. Then, based on how quickly you want to lose weight, it subtracts the right amount of calories from that number to give you your net goal. Based on your ticker saying you need to lose 139 lbs, I'd say it sounds about right. However, like was stated, you can change your loss rate to 2 lbs/wk if it isn't already.

    As far as the carbs/fats/proteins, I'm not sure where MFP gets those numbers but the FDA recommends 60% carbs/10%protein/30%fat. I think the standard MFP settings are 55/15/30 or something like that. However, you can use the custom goals to set the percentages to whatever you like. I think both of those are too low in protein, so I use 40%carb/35%protein/25%fat. A lot of people on here use 40/30/30. Point is, you can change it to whatever you like - it won't affect your weight loss. The calorie deficit is what determines your weightloss.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    The goals for macronutrients are just automatically set to 55% carbs, 30% fat, 15% protein. If you're worried about so much fat, just make it GOOD fat. Think avocados, almonds, sesame seeds, olives, pumpkin seeds, and salmon (if you eat animals). Avoid BAD fats like beef, pork, cream, butter, cheese, doughnuts, french fries, and candy bars.

    Basically, go plant-based and you WILL lose weight :laugh:

    Did you really just lump beef and pork in with doughnuts and candy bars? No distinction in source of beef/pork, just all of it is bad?

    I think I'll ignore that advice and continue eating my local/family-sourced pastured grass fed/finished beef.

    And as for OP, I'd suggest you try what MFP says for a month. What's the worst that happens? You gain a little/don't lose any weight? Then you'll have a baseline from which to make adjustments going forward.
  • ekz13
    ekz13 Posts: 725 Member
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    and depending on HOW you're eating, you'll blow through that quick.. You will realize that a large salad or bowl of veggies or whatnot will be more desireable than the twinkie or whatever when you start loggin everything that you snack on.
  • cavewoman15
    cavewoman15 Posts: 278 Member
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    the reason most people lose a bunch of weight quick (within a few weeks or a couple months) is because they deprive themselves too much, and while that results in quick weight loss, it is simply not sustainable. the consequence is that all the weight is gained back, and usually some more on top of what was lost. personally, i've washed, rinsed, and repeated this cycle for the last decade.

    MFP sets you at a calorie deficit that you can actually achieve and maintain. some days are easier than others, but it's a marathon, not a sprint! good luck on your journey.
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
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    possible....but did you set your exercise goals really high? Also, did you check your settings? If you set it to active it would give you more calories. Your goal settings would also affect your total daily calories.

    Welcome! Good luck!
  • raeleek
    raeleek Posts: 414 Member
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    Mine have gone down as I've lost about that's pretty close to where I started! I don't know what you set your goal to but I set mine to 1.5 a week and I totally eat back my exercise calories!
  • adriadawn19
    adriadawn19 Posts: 174 Member
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    Ok, i just created my profile today..... and I am new and just learning and trying to do this right. Now... I realize that I weigh a lot and have A LOT to loose....... BUT..... its telling me I need to eat 2500 calories, 375 carbs (really??) and 90 - NINETY grams of fat! Can this be right? Surely I can't eat that much and still loose weight! Anyone have any ideas??

    Make sure that when you set your goals you chose LOSE 1 pound per week or LOSE 2 pounds per week because when I first made my account I accidentally set it to GAIN 1 pound per week and it set my goals pretty high.

    But as others are saying if you really do have a lot to lose than your goal may be higher depending on if you chose lose 1/2 pound per week, 1 pound per week or 2 pounds per week. Hope this helps
  • mocha106
    mocha106 Posts: 64 Member
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    It is healthy to lose 1% of your body fat per week so if my weight was in the 300s, I would set my profile to lose 3 lbs per week. There is no reason that you should only lose 1 lb per week. In any event, sometimes you have to play around with the numbers to see what works for you.
  • wolfpack77
    wolfpack77 Posts: 655
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    If you have very high body fat percentage this can throw off some calculators which dont account for it.

    Try taking a body fat reading using manual or digital calipers. Then use this calculator:

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Under the "advanced options" and select Katch-McCardle. Plug in your body fat percentage.

    What this does is account for very high BF percentages and calculate your maintenance and weight loss calories based strictly on lean muscle mass. It is definately more accurate.

    I think you will find that when your BMR is based solely on lean body mass, your mainteance calories will be much lower than you expected especially if you are obese. Which makes sense.

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