Over 300lbs, how many calories are you eating?

lamp4387
lamp4387 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
The more you weigh the more calories you get but when you are significantly overweight I think the numbers are off. I'm supposed to be eating 2800 calories a day! No way, I'll never lose weight eating that much.
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Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    The numbers get weird when you're on the high end of the scale because your body fat % is so high and you really don't need to feed the fat. You can probably safely drop down to the 2000 calorie range and see how it goes. You'll lose huge amounts the first couple weeks but then it will level off.
  • lissavlog
    lissavlog Posts: 55
    when i was over 300 i was eating about 1800 calories a day.
  • 3saLarson
    3saLarson Posts: 23
    I'm in the same boat. I changed my goal to 1.5 lbs. and increased my activity level to light, since I now have the energy to get off the couch. It seems that I was not eating enough. Who knew??? :wink: I haven't updated my weight ,but this morning I was down another 2 lbs. I just don't believe it, so I'm waiting to update. I still don't eat all my calories, and a real work out isn't in my near future, chronic pain, but I'm feeling better. I just keep moving. :smile:
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    800 calories a day.. I'm on a supervised VLCD though so it's not something you should just do on your own.... When I counted calories in the past I tried 1800-2000 and I didn't lose at ALL.. I am also hypothyroid which doesn't help matters.
  • Weezoh
    Weezoh Posts: 171 Member
    When I started I was 320 and eating 1800 on the advice of my Dr. That got me down to about 260 or so and then i've hit a plateau for the past 6 or 8 months. For exercise I was walking and biking. In the last month or so I've increased my calories first to 2200 and currently at about 2100 using the "in place of a roadmap" spreadsheet and figures from the HRM I got a couple months ago.

    Also I've started adding strength training in the form of dumbbell workouts trying to lift as heavy as I can and adding weight regularly and cut the cardio down some. I've started to see some loss on and off but still a lot of re-treading of the same 10 pounds. (Also I've noticed body changes in added strength and some loss of inches). So I'm continuing on this pace for at least another month to evaluate how it's going.
  • Proyecto_AN
    Proyecto_AN Posts: 387
    When i was 324lbs i consumed 2000. Now at 280+lbs i consume 1800.
  • Chelle_Davis
    Chelle_Davis Posts: 241
    I'm at 389 and am eating 1600 calories a day. I just try to eat like a normal person my size would.
  • trackercasey76
    trackercasey76 Posts: 781 Member
    I have dropped from 420 to 303 and currently I eat 1980 and try to only eat about one third of my exercise calories back.
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    2200-3000+ Depends on how active I've been, hunger, etc etc.
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    it really depends on your activity level and you would be in better hands to calculate your BMR and TDEE...however 1800-2000 is a good number to start with...if you aren't losing ....or are losing too fast you can always adjust that.
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    The more you weigh the more energy it requires for you to just live. So yes, you will eat significantly more calories than someone who weighs 200 pounds that's trying to lose weight. And yes, you will still lose weight, the point is to drop down gradually.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    when i was over 300 i was eating about 1800 calories a day.

    This I started at 300 eating 1900, now I'm at 240 eating 1740
  • BeingKevin
    BeingKevin Posts: 109 Member
    I am 6'1" and 389 pounds. MFP is set to sedentary and lose 2 pounds a week and I get 2480 calories a day.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
    it really depends on your activity level and you would be in better hands to calculate your BMR and TDEE...however 1800-2000 is a good number to start with...if you aren't losing ....or are losing too fast you can always adjust that.

    This is a good way to go, you will lose weight quickly eating 1800-2000 calories and exercising. Just don't go from eating 4000 calories a day to 1200 because you will be hungry, just cut back on what you do now and you will adjust!

    weight loss isn't a strait line either! You will lose a lot of weight one week and none the week after! It happens!
  • ejk1071
    ejk1071 Posts: 9
    I just started last week so I don't know if it's working yet but I weigh 323 and I get 2210 calories/day trying to lose 2 lbs a week. I don't actually come close to eating that many calories tho. Averaging between 1600 and 1800 per day.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    when i was over 300 i was eating about 1800 calories a day.

    This. Then I went down to 1500... then 1300... then I went back up to 2000... now I'm somewhere around 1900 unless its a lifting day and then I eat 2300.

    You can eat less if you want, but as you get closer to your goal, your body is going to be more dependent on food because your fat stores have been depleted. You will eventually have to increase your cals or be hungry all the time.
  • amann1976
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
    eat more to lose weight... if you want to know how many calories you need to take in go to one of those weight loss centers or hospitals that do body comp test
  • jiggy66
    jiggy66 Posts: 52 Member
    I have dropped from 420 to 303 and currently I eat 1980 and try to only eat about one third of my exercise calories back.

    I am going to try to just eat back 1/3 of my exercise calories. I usually have about 600 at the end of the day and between all the information here on MFP, I never know if I should eat them all or not! Some say yes, some day no. At least you have been successful.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    When I first started I was 305 lbs. Not saying it is right or wrong, but I knew I wanted to weigh about 200 lbs, so I started eating what I should eat to maintain my weight at 200 lbs. Worked for me for the first 40-60 lbs.

    My logic was that underneath this layer of fat, was the body I wanted. So, if I pretended that I was maintaining that body, I'd get there eventually. It works. The only reason I changed things up eventually is to account for LBM and speed things along a little. Still, it has taken me about 2 years and 4 months to get to 185 - right at 1 lb/wk.
  • dizy17
    dizy17 Posts: 236 Member
    i started at 323lbs and im down to 305 and im eating 1650 calories. if i work out i eat more.
  • lbesaw
    lbesaw Posts: 267 Member
    I'm not over three hundred but I calculate 10 calories for each pound of my "Goal Weight" 150=1500 calories 145=1450...and so on.
  • lovechicagobears
    lovechicagobears Posts: 289 Member
    I can eat around 2200 per day, but I usually aim for 1800-2000.

    I've lost at 2200, though, and I do eat 2200 on days I exercise. It just depends on my mood.
  • dimento1993
    dimento1993 Posts: 7
    Im pretty much just like the op, im 6'6 340 pounds, there's no way i could eat 3kish calories, although im not sure if im consuming enough calories to lose more weight, im around 1k-1.2k calories a day, although i lost 5 kilos a month but i was hoping for more because im pretty much giving it all i got.

    i bike 5 times a week at home( and walk 10-30 minutes after meal) ( moderate/intense to keep my heart wild ) and go to the gym whenever im not sore chest press/leg press squats crunches and lift heavy weight, i should of measured my body to see how many inches i've lost =<

    edit: i've lost 5 kilos before joining here ;3
  • Built_Strong
    Built_Strong Posts: 114 Member
    At 350lbs I was eating 1800-2000 calories a day. I'm now 253lbs and eating 1200-1500 per day. I dont eat back exercise calories. I dont track those on MFP.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    When I lost the majority of my weight my target was 2100, and I ate my exercise calories.

    Now, I shoot for 2350 now that I'm more interested in body composition.
  • mrlong78
    mrlong78 Posts: 7
    Still >300 L.B.'s

    Eating on average 1500 calories (range of 1300-1700) a day plus 400-500 exercise a day (6 x week)

    MFP has me set currently for 1980 net calories/day
  • JessyJ03
    JessyJ03 Posts: 627 Member
    Current weight 299

    Calories set at 1650 to lose 2 lbs per week.

    On workout days I eat back 50%-75% of my calories depending on how hungry I am. Those workout days to burn between 1200-2500 depending on my hike (I hike for exercise).
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
    @Dimento - I too am 6'6" and was 340 (actually my highest was 360). I started to become more mindful of what I was eating and worked out "religiously" in the gym 5 days/week. I was overzealous in my calorie deprivation and intensity of the gym. I burned myself out endocrinologically. I was on a plateau at 290 that I could not shake for literally months. I had to quit the morning gym sessions due to a physical problem and early morning meetings. I slept in an additional hour. I found that in the 6 weeks I was off that I had dropped 10 lbs. I then came across MFP and realized I was in too much of a deficit to sustain the loss with the sleep deprivation. I know log all my food and eat back my calories. I have a fitbit One and a fitbit Aria scale that i linked into MFP. My weight has gone down but more importantly my fat lbs decrease weekly. Not as much as I would like but it is fat. Now I am going back to the gym for some more resistance oriented programs. I do about 2000 cals plus eat back my exercise cals.
  • krash999
    krash999 Posts: 476 Member
    I am just over 6 foot and when i started on this site almost 2 years ago, i weighed in at about 520 pounds. my highest weight was 535 pounds. i was given about 3200 cals a day. i didnt always eat that many, and that didnt count the exorcise cals i had. after about 2 years now i am down to 388lbs and my counter still says i should be eating about 2400 cals a day. i have a moderate amount of activity. and all of that is with a 2 pound per week loss calculated(1000 cal a day deficit). on average if i follow that i lose anywhere between 1 to 3+ pounds a week. depending on how much i actually eat and or exorcise...
  • grnygerty
    grnygerty Posts: 4
    My doctor started me at 1750 and then with each visit (I think I was going monthly) he moved me down 100-200 less. I am currently at 1450 but if I exercise I get more calories depending on what I have done.

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