Calorie question?

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Selunca
Selunca Posts: 208 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, my daily goal is 1200 calories a day. I'm 5ft, 149lbs. I've lost 8lbs so far.
Now, the first few weeks I was hardcore ALWAYS at or within 2 points of 1200.

However, this last two weeks I've kinda had motivation issues, and start out REALLY strong the first half of the week, then the second half end up going a bit over.

So my question is. How much is it going to effect my loss to be within 50-100 points off either way each day? Mostly over, I only had one day this week I was 50 under, so don't worry, I know its important to eat ABOVE that 1200 because thats MINIMAL BMR..

But just wondering how much I'm shooting myself in the foot by going 50-100 over 3ish days a week. :) Still trying super hard to stay under/right at, but just wonder what damage I've done this last two weeks.

Thanks!
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Replies

  • Bluetrader2
    Bluetrader2 Posts: 2
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    To lose one pound a week you need to drop 3500 calories from your BMR. If you are only going over 300 calories a week, it will slow your weight loss to losing one pound in 8 days instead of 7 - approximately.

    I start my day with 60% whole wheat bread X2, 2 pats of butter and 1/2" thick slices of tomato. Lunch is home made vegetable soup and 7 crackers along with a cup of cauliflower for snacking. Most days I struggle to get over 1,200 calories.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,114 Member
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    To lose one pound a week you need to drop 3500 calories from your BMR. If you are only going over 300 calories a week, it will slow your weight loss to losing one pound in 8 days instead of 7 - approximately.

    I start my day with 60% whole wheat bread X2, 2 pats of butter and 1/2" thick slices of tomato. Lunch is home made vegetable soup and 7 crackers along with a cup of cauliflower for snacking. Most days I struggle to get over 1,200 calories.

    NO. Look up BMR. You need to subtract from your TDEE, not your BMR.

    Read this.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,114 Member
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    To the first poster: You need more calories than 1200, too. Read that link I posted above. With the relatively small amount of weight you have to lose, 1200 is probably too few calories at your age - unless you sit on the couch all day. And if that's your darling baby in the picture, I know you aren't sitting on the couch all day.


  • jeme3
    jeme3 Posts: 355 Member
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    And Bluetrader2, you didn't mention ANY protein in your example- that's kind of worrisome- no wonder you you are having trouble reaching 1200 calories. Read the link in the previous post, both of you. It will help clarify things.
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
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    To the first poster: You need more calories than 1200, too. Read that link I posted above. With the relatively small amount of weight you have to lose, 1200 is probably too few calories at your age - unless you sit on the couch all day. And if that's your darling baby in the picture, I know you aren't sitting on the couch all day.




    LOL! Yes, that is indeed my daughter, whose 6 months. I sure feel like I sit on the floor with her all day, to be honest. I work outside the home for 6 hours a day at automotive shop, and spend quite a bit of it behind the desk, but the rest walking between buildings/up stairs/distributing things between people..

    So I need to up my calories in order to lose weight, basically? Should I try a slight increase, by like 100 or so, and see how it goes?

    The reason I got this in my head is I was watching the biggest loser (Don't make fun, its entertaining and oddly motivational, even if completely unhealthy how they lose that much weight) and Jillian said she thought they weren't eating enough for how much they work out. I work out(Belly dance) for 60 minutes a day, five days a week.

    Going to read the link the other person posted, but any additional input is greatly appreciated.
  • shorty35565
    shorty35565 Posts: 1,425 Member
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    If I were u, I would shoot for eating YOUR bmr. MFP sucks at giving you a calorie range.
    Weight loss is not simple math either, which is how MFP calculates it. Ur gonna b fine.
  • miadhail
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
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    You should try calorie cycling.. say, about 1200 for today, 1500 tomorrow, 1300 the day after, 1200 the day after that, then a little over your cals again... etc. Never anything lower than 1200 and nothing higher that your TDEE per day. So your body doesn't think that it is starving itself, and on higher calorie days, you can enjoy more food!!! Don't forget to exercise too so that it would allow you more cals to take in (a HRM would be a more accurate way of measuring calorie burnt).

    Anyway, eat whenever you feel hungry, within reason of course. drink lots of water. eat slower (studies have shown that once your are full it takes awhile for that signal to get back to your brain, thus many feel sick after finally feeling full).

    Like others have suggested, look at this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/682138-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?page=9
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Back to your original question: Being within 50-100 calories should be fine. If you're ALWAYS OVER by 100 calories, that's probably not a good idea, but assuming there's variance on both ends, I wouldn't worry about it.
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
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    You should try calorie cycling.. say, about 1200 for today, 1500 tomorrow, 1300 the day after, 1200 the day after that, then a little over your cals again... etc. Never anything lower than 1200 and nothing higher that your TDEE per day. So your body doesn't think that it is starving itself, and on higher calorie days, you can enjoy more food!!! Don't forget to exercise too so that it would allow you more cals to take in (a HRM would be a more accurate way of measuring calorie burnt).

    Anyway, eat whenever you feel hungry, within reason of course. drink lots of water. eat slower (studies have shown that once your are full it takes awhile for that signal to get back to your brain, thus many feel sick after finally feeling full).

    Like others have suggested, look at this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/682138-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?page=9

    According to this website, my TDEE is 2100.. which seems like a HUGE number, and using the rest of what other links here are saying I should be eating at 1600 calories, again, which seems huge for a 5 foot nothing person.
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
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    bump. Wanting insight on if a 5' tall person really should eat 1600 to lose!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    bump. Wanting insight on if a 5' tall person really should eat 1600 to lose!

    That's dependent on weight and activity (among other things) and it will vary drastically as those variables change.
  • smokinjackd
    smokinjackd Posts: 341
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    Without getting too wordy, don't worry about it.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Sorry, slightly tangential here: Are you breastfeeding? The reason I ask is that it is recommended to add 300 - 500 calories a day if you are.
  • miadhail
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
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    According to this website, my TDEE is 2100.. which seems like a HUGE number, and using the rest of what other links here are saying I should be eating at 1600 calories, again, which seems huge for a 5 foot nothing person.

    Well if it helps, I am 5'3 and currently 188lbs (Started at 193lbs) and according to the site I gave you, I should be taking in at least 1700 to lose weight (that is without exercise mentioned, i don't know really). I am using MFP's method, and keeping my cals within 1200. However I exercise everyday and lose 300-700 cals a day depending on what exercise I do, I eat most of my cals back making an average of my gross intake 1200-1700 .. so yeah. Change it up abit. I never planned to calorie cycle, it just ended up that way.

    Listen to your body, if you are hungry, eat. make sure you have at least 30 mins of physical activity a day. Even if it is just walking.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    According to this website, my TDEE is 2100.. which seems like a HUGE number, and using the rest of what other links here are saying I should be eating at 1600 calories, again, which seems huge for a 5 foot nothing person.

    How much exercise are you doing? Did you factor that into the numbers for the 2,100 TDEE?
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
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    bump. Wanting insight on if a 5' tall person really should eat 1600 to lose!

    That's dependent on weight and activity (among other things) and it will vary drastically as those variables change.

    Im a 4'11 person and it works for me.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,114 Member
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    You should try calorie cycling.. say, about 1200 for today, 1500 tomorrow, 1300 the day after, 1200 the day after that, then a little over your cals again... etc. Never anything lower than 1200 and nothing higher that your TDEE per day. So your body doesn't think that it is starving itself, and on higher calorie days, you can enjoy more food!!! Don't forget to exercise too so that it would allow you more cals to take in (a HRM would be a more accurate way of measuring calorie burnt).

    Anyway, eat whenever you feel hungry, within reason of course. drink lots of water. eat slower (studies have shown that once your are full it takes awhile for that signal to get back to your brain, thus many feel sick after finally feeling full).

    Like others have suggested, look at this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/682138-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?page=9

    According to this website, my TDEE is 2100.. which seems like a HUGE number, and using the rest of what other links here are saying I should be eating at 1600 calories, again, which seems huge for a 5 foot nothing person.

    ( About calorie cycling: Calorie cycling is a bit complicated and difficult to follow effectively if you have things to do other than pre-plan your meals for the whole week. It doesn't work any better than sticking to a set number every day, and it can lead to overeating on days after your "short" days.)

    ___________________

    Yes, eat the 1600. You absolutely need that much, especially with a baby and a job that has you on your feet 5-6 hours a day.

    But to keep it simple, reset your Goals here with this in mind:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    Set your activity level here to "Moderately Active."

    I'll bet Myfitnesspal gives you right around 1600 calories, instead of that 1200 you gave yourself by being too aggressive in setting up your Goals.

    If you do any planned, sustained exercise other than your regular job and housework, enter it into the Exercise section, and then eat those calories too.

    Jillian is right, if you undereat, you defeat yourself. Also, the Biggest Loser is dealing with morbidly obese people, who really need to be on a Very Low Calorie Diet. You do not need this aggressive approach. You need to eat more, since you have less fat stored for your body to live on. I just watched all the Biggest Loser shows back-to-back, and they are extremely careful not to mention any calorie number. 1200 is only going to work if you are obese. And then it will only work for a while.

    You've figured out your calorie needs. So make it work for you.

  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
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    Thank you thank you so much guys! I'm going to re-do my goals and start over this week :) and see how things go!
  • Selunca
    Selunca Posts: 208 Member
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    I re-set my MFP to "Active" (There is no moderate active, only light active, and active), and I think this will be okay since I work on my feet 6 hours a day, the baby, along with I work out 1 hour a day, and do light weight lifting now (just added this a few days ago).

    MFP set me at 1450 for all of that, at wanting to lose 1lb a week.

    So I'll get this a try and keep playing with it and hopefully things will work out at some point. Thanks ladies/gents!!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,114 Member
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    I re-set my MFP to "Active" (There is no moderate active, only light active, and active), and I think this will be okay since I work on my feet 6 hours a day, the baby, along with I work out 1 hour a day, and do light weight lifting now (just added this a few days ago).

    MFP set me at 1450 for all of that, at wanting to lose 1lb a week.

    So I'll get this a try and keep playing with it and hopefully things will work out at some point. Thanks ladies/gents!!

    That's quite a bit better. You still could eat 1600 and be fine. But it's a start. If you still feel hungry, and can't adjust by eating more protein and better food choices in general, then consider adding another 100. Give this change a month before you abandon it. It's possible you will gain a pound before you start losing again, since you've been under eating.

    Make sure to add in your exercise and eat those calories, too. That's the way this site is intended to be used (don't add work exercise, or "cleaning" or anything just related to everyday life. I mean actual, planned, sustained exercise). You'll read around the forums that you don't have to eat your Exercise Calories - again, that only applies to people who are extremely over weight. At your place in life (age/weight/height/activity) you really need to eat those Exercise Calories. You'll feel better, and you'll still lose weight.

    Good luck! :flowerforyou:

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