Caloric Needs

bluroses
bluroses Posts: 90 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, all!

So, I have had some upheaval in my personal life recently and have not been doing so great and getting regular meals in. I managed 1200 most days, but sometimes just barely. That has led me to gain a few pounds in the past month. Even before that, I had been on a huge plateau. (I started this journey in September 2006, but have lost almost nothing in the past year.) My dr suggested that I should probably consumer more calories. MFP suggests 1450 a day for me, but the dr seemed to think that was a little low. (She also suggested that although I am, terchnically, still overweight, this may be where my body wants to be.)

I definitely wanted a range from somewhere, so I started doing some searches. WedMD has what appears to be a great new "Food & Fitness" tracker. Actually... I take that back. The actual food tracker seems to have very little in it and I couldn't get the fitness tracker to recognize my burned calories.

BUT, what I liked was the tool that evaluated how many calories one would need (http://www.webmd.com/diet/food-fitness-planner). My results showed thatmy RMR is 2244 so my "daily target caloric intake" is 1774 (to lose one pound a week). Truly, I am good with losing even a little slower, so long as I get healthier and do not gain!

The tool also said, "Your BMI is higher than what's considered healthy, but your waist-to-tallness measurement indicates that you're healthy."

So, I guess my question is... What do y'all advise? Try the 1744 for a while and see what happens? (I am afraid I will start gaining more if I go too high!) On days I burn 300 calories exercising, does that mean eating 2044 calories? (I know that in general eating back exercise calories is a GOOD thing, but over 2000 seems high...)

Thanks in advance. I've been really discouraged in general, but want to get back on track!

Replies

  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    MFP has all of this. Are you very active?
  • HeatherMN
    HeatherMN Posts: 3,821 Member
    MFP tells me that I should be eating 1200 calories per day to lose weight. When I drop down this far, like you, I start to gain. I personally use Dailyburn.com to calculate my calories; it tells me I should be at about 2075 calories per day. I then manually adjust MFP so I can track on this site. This has worked really well for me so far. I would definitely listen to your health care professional if they're telling you that you need to eat more!
  • Ryhenblue
    Ryhenblue Posts: 390 Member
    I don't think it would hurt to bump up your calories for a month or two and see what happens. I could be the kick start your body needs to start losing weight.
  • odessa_raven
    odessa_raven Posts: 31
    In the little time I've been on here one thing I've seen repeatedly is that you shouldn't ever go lower than 1200 NET calories and the main way you're going to get past a plateau is increasing both your exercise and your calories. So in that respect over 2000 isn't really that bad.

    MFP has a BMR calculator under the Tools section here and I think that helps put things in perspective.
  • bluroses
    bluroses Posts: 90 Member
    Thanks for the feedback so far. My job has varying levels of activity - many days fairly sedentary, others running around. I try to exercise for at LEAST 30 minutes 6 times a week, some days more (burn an average of 300-400 calories according to my heart rate monitor).

    I am aware that MFP has these tools, too, but my concern is that the numbers they are giving me might be too low, which is why I went looking for other possibilities. I checked in on dailyburn and they recommend daily calories ranging from 1764 - 2014. So, I guess I will try to start edging up toward 1750 and see what happens... With everything else that's been going on in my life lately, it's just a little scary to add food and expect to lose, even if I know - rationally - that's what it might take.

    Thanks again! I appreciate getting feedback from other MFP members! :flowerforyou:
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    Hi Kat,

    I would encourage you to read (or re-read) the two posts by banks1850 that are pinned to the top of Message Boards/General Diet and Weight Loss Help. The posts have a lot of great information and are relevant to your questions.

    I'm not a nutrition expert, but I would think that trying to edge up your calories would be a good way to test this theory. You mentioned having difficulty meeting the 1200 calories recently. Consider including more healthy fats as a way of increasing your overall calorie intake - use real salad dressings, add avocado to sandwiches or salads, etc. We all need healthy fats to be, well, healthy!

    Good luck!
  • mom020305
    mom020305 Posts: 33
    I have sine increased my cals since starting with MFP. I first went up to 1750 and that week lost 3.4, not sure if it was a coincidence and now I am at 1914. Which seems to be right for me. Last week I lost 2.2. Right now my cals are set at a 500 cal def so that any exercise I do is above and beyond that!
    Some days I have trouble eating that much and other days I have no problem!
    I say increase your calories, especially since your Dr recommended it.
    Good luck!
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