Really???

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Replies

  • dearhilary
    dearhilary Posts: 1 Member
    I dont know. I just joined about a week ago, and it set mine to 1200, but after looking it over, I customized it to 1500 and now its a more realistic daily goal, I think. At least, for me it is.
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
    Thank you all very much for your replies. I just did a quick run down of what I normally eat on a daily basis...... and WOW. Just wow. I guess you REALLY dont realize how many calories, fat, carbs and such you eat when not actively thinking about it... Hence, I have 140lbs to loose. LOL So, OK... I will follow the recommended intake here for now and then as most of you said.... adjust the numbers. Again, thank you all VERY much!

    So true! I never thought I could eat this much and lose weight, but it just goes to show me how much I must have been eating to get to the point was at before. Now that you have a good perspective, you can eat those 2500 calories, healthily, lose that weight and adjust the numbers as you get closer to your goal. Good luck! I'm sure you'll do great.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    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.

    I'm glad I didn't see this before I started. I would be hungry every day and probably would have given up. It has me down at 1600 maintenance calories. I was eating more than double that to gain weight. I am now eating more than that (net 1750) and losing.

    Twenty-eight pounds in 32 days.
  • daking639
    daking639 Posts: 37 Member
    I started in January with 2700 calories. Now I'm closing in on 100#s lost. If you're honest with your diary and stick to it it works! I'm down to 2100 calories now and usually eat a little less.
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
    Your gonna need more calories because you're bigger (no offense, don't want to sound mean). Start with what it suggests and then tweak your numbers a bit after some time to get a good balance of weight loss and energy. I started at 1200 calories, was exhausted and not loosing weight. Gave myself a little more and weight started coming off and I felt better.
  • Donnaakamagmid
    Donnaakamagmid Posts: 198 Member
    Dang...that's crazy! I set mine to 2 lbs a week & I'm only allowed 1200 calories! :(

    Me too! :grumble:
  • trishgrace
    trishgrace Posts: 279 Member
    I have lost 54lbs with about another 130 to go. Add me if you'd like.
  • warpedlogic
    warpedlogic Posts: 30
    Carbs are not evil, they are what our bodies run on. Also good fats (omegas, nuts, unsaturated, etc.) are good for you and essential. Aside from that, calories seem right to me. When I started at 319, I was taking in only around 1600 cals per day and exercising with a trainer 3 days a week for an hour each. Now THAT'S a deficit. lol. But now that I'm at 218, it doesn't work like that and I need to eat more to lose...especially when I exercise I need to eat most of it back, I've found.
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    It's probably wrong. Go back in there and tell it you are sedentary and plan no exercise at all, except the 1 minute it forces you, then you will get a more accurate picture of the lowest amount you can eat. If you exercise more, you'll be able to eat more and still lose weight.
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    Eat and lose weight without starving yourself, sounds like a win for me!!

    Soooo many people here eat around 1200 a day, but you do not have to eat so little! If you log everything how you eat now I imagine you will find you are eating a lot more than what they give you to maintain your current weight.
  • Cmonnowguys
    Cmonnowguys Posts: 361 Member
    It's probably wrong. Go back in there and tell it you are sedentary and plan no exercise at all, except the 1 minute it forces you, then you will get a more accurate picture of the lowest amount you can eat. If you exercise more, you'll be able to eat more and still lose weight.

    You shouldn't be aiming for the lowest amount you can possibly eat.

    You should be honest about your activity levels, and stick to them and the calorie amounts you are given, and that will give you the best results.
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    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??

    Fat isn't bad at all. In fact good sources of saturated fats help hormone balance and stave off hunger.

    The carbs are super high though. This could lead to stalling if not checked.

    I would suggest about 1g of protein for every pound of lean body mass.
    The rest you can split between fat and carb. I'm more partial to low carb because of the insulin control. Fat doesn't make you fat. In fact it helps curb the appetite and satiate longer. This is a big help for me.

    You can create a larger deficit if you wish. Around 1600-2000 calories consumed should be fine. The MFP calculator isn't very good and doesn't take into account a lot of things.

    You can also consider diets like Paleo, Keto, and adopt an Intermittent Fasting eating schedule to help fat burning.

    There are plenty of options out there. I just don't suggest blindly follow MFP suggestions.
  • mocha106
    mocha106 Posts: 64 Member
    Sorry, I meant to say body weight.
    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.

    But 1% of your body fat per week wouldn't be 3lbs per week unless your body was 100% fat (pretty unlikely). To use this method you'd need to have a pretty accurate idea of your body composition.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Dang...that's crazy! I set mine to 2 lbs a week & I'm only allowed 1200 calories! :(

    Me too! :grumble:

    I strongly recommend that you consider setting it to something less ambitious, like one pound per week (especially if you find the two pounds per week setting to be a horrible experience).
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    My husband has 50 pounds to lose and they set him a calorie goal 1000 more than me (he's at 2300) to lose one pound a week. When he follows that, he does lose it.

    If you are 140 pounds overweight, you probably could start at 2 pounds a week. But I think the person above was wise when they said log what you're doing now and then see how hard it is to eat what they recommend for one pound a week.

    It will take you a long time to lose that much weight (though lots of people do it and you can too!) You want a calorie goal you can stick with for the long term.

    As you get thinner, your calorie allowance will get smaller.

    Good luck!

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