is 1300 calories too much?

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Roseisadreamer
Roseisadreamer Posts: 110
in Motivation and Support
So myfitness pal tells me that i should be consuming 1200 calories to obtain my weight loss goals, but this seemed at the time to be ridiculously low so i ended up setting my own goal of 1300 just to top it up a bit. However I am now worried I wont lose anything by eating this much =/ the thing i hate about calorie counting is that it gets into your head ¬¬
also i am feeling like i need to lower the amount because I am having a bad day - so this isnt helping. I dont fit into any of the dresses i thought I did and I just feel lumpy :P I know I sound silly but can anyone shed some light? :)
Also I dont manage to fit much exercise in and this is another stress for me. :( sigh

Replies

  • kvh_1fan
    kvh_1fan Posts: 15 Member
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    With less or not much exercise then the only way to lose would be eating fewer calories. That doesn't mean you won't lose by eating 1300. You may just have to do it for a week or so and see what happens at 1300. Then try to exercise when you can. Even 15 minutes of body weight exercises every day is better than nothing at all.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    1200 is the default minimum. MFP wont tell you to go lower, and if you slow down your expected rate of loss to more reasonable amounts, will set it higher. Mine is 1610. I'm losing just fine.
  • SummerNights32
    SummerNights32 Posts: 86 Member
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    1300 seems low to me too. I do best around 1600, for example....I am set to lose one pound a week and my calorie goal is listed at 1690. I am right on track this week and I just weighed in, I am down 3.1 pounds. I know a lot of that is probably water weight, but I would rather go slow and steady (and not be hungry), instead of trying to go without food.

    Stats: 32 year old female, 5'7, 190 pounds
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
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    What do you have your weight loss goal set as? and yes 1200 is a default min because below that is dangerous territory. Also, how much do you plan on using and your time goal?
    I never went below 1500 and I currently eat between 1800-2200 and lost 18 lbs slow and steady. because it was slow and steady I'm more like to keep it off.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    Many people follow this formula. I eat TDEE - 20% = 1056 calories. it doesn't seem like much, but I am very tiny.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    What did you set your weekly goal to? Set it to a half pound a week.
  • x3kimi
    x3kimi Posts: 12
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    The way fitness pal sets your calorie goal is based on what your weightloss goal is and how much exercise you plan to do. My calorie goal is also 1320 but I workout a lot per day. But just because I workout a lot, it doesn't mean that I eat whatever I want. I eat 3 meals day with healthy snacks in between. I make healthy choices and I measure my meals (before I would overserve myself). No junk foods. I drink lots of water. At least 8-10 cups per day. You'll be amazed at how often you feel hungry but really your body is just thirsty. I feel full everyday. Lol and I don't stress if I go under or over my calories. Just as long as I feel healthy and I'm losing weight and gaining muscles, I'm happy.

    At the end of the day; you need to find what works best for you.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    It sounds like you may have set your weight loss goal too high. MFP calculates your weightloss goal like this:

    Estimating how much you burn without exercise: You fill out your profile on age, weight, gender, height, avg activity. Usually between 1500- 2200.

    Subtracting how much you want to lose per week: To lose a lb you need to burn off 3500 calories you don't consume. That's 500 calories a day for each lb you plan to lose per week.

    So if MFP esitmates you burn, say 1800 calories without working out and you say you want to lose a lb/wk, your goal would be 1300. BUT the lowest it can go is 1200, so if you said 2lbs a week, mathmatically you would need to eat 800 caloires a day to achieve this goal, but that is dangerously low.

    This is the long way of saying you should check out your MFP profile- find out what MFP estimates is your maintence calories (what you could eat without gaining or losing). That way you'll know if you stay under THAT you will lose something, even if it's not the goal you picked when setting up MFP.
  • codylee98
    codylee98 Posts: 37 Member
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    MFP also set mine at 1200 and I reset it to 1350 more for psychological reasons. It was discouraging to log 1190 calories and receive a message that I was eating too few calories, but eat 1225 and get the message that I was not under my calorie goal. I agree that some exercise is a must. I have been losing about 1 lb a week which is what i want to do, and I do it having days that I do not eat very "diet" . I'm in this to change my eating habits for life, not just see how fast I can lose weight.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    The way fitness pal sets your calorie goal is based on what your weightloss goal is and how much exercise you plan to do. My calorie goal is also 1320 but I workout a lot per day. But just because I workout a lot, it doesn't mean that I eat whatever I want. I eat 3 meals day with healthy snacks in between. I make healthy choices and I measure my meals (before I would overserve myself). No junk foods. I drink lots of water. At least 8-10 cups per day. You'll be amazed at how often you feel hungry but really your body is just thirsty. I feel full everyday. Lol and I don't stress if I go under or over my calories. Just as long as I feel healthy and I'm losing weight and gaining muscles, I'm happy.

    At the end of the day; you need to find what works best for you.

    You should know that the exercise you plan to do does not factor into your goals for MFP. Only exercise you log.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    for breakfast?
  • kellyscomeback
    kellyscomeback Posts: 1,369 Member
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    1300 doesn't sound like enough unless you are sitting on the couch all day.
    I'm following In Place of a Road Map which is the same as my Insanity Nutrition Guide and my next project, New Rules of Lifting for Women:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • CarmenSandiegoInVA
    CarmenSandiegoInVA Posts: 235 Member
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    I'm eating a minimum of 2000 calories and I started out on here eating 2500 cals and I exercise and I lift heavy 6-7 days a week. You should eat more. Look up the eat more to weigh less site on google. It can help you immensely. If you eat the right nutrients and food in the right amount you will be just fine. Don't eat that little in food you are starving your body. I've lost 125 pounds and I EAT. and I got 54 pounds to go.
  • sliuba
    sliuba Posts: 28 Member
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    Do you work out consistently?

    If you are doing a lot of cardio or strength training you will definitely start feeling a lot more hungry as time goes on. Your metabolism will start processing food more rapidly in which you will constantly go over your 1300 calorie goal.

    You can start at this amount and see how you feel after a week. When I started personal training, my training made me sign up with MFP and he set my calorie goal at 1600 because I work out every single day. It just depends what you're doing.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    With less or not much exercise then the only way to lose would be eating fewer calories. That doesn't mean you won't lose by eating 1300. You may just have to do it for a week or so and see what happens at 1300. Then try to exercise when you can. Even 15 minutes of body weight exercises every day is better than nothing at all.

    Don't listen to this. Unless you are super tiny, 1300 is probably too low. Learn about your BMR and TDEE, and go from there.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • shanmackie
    shanmackie Posts: 194 Member
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    I'd eat more so you don't fall off the wagon (around 1500?) and then exercise!!! :) You just want to create a 250 deficit daily if you're trying to lose .5 lb per week (500 if you want 1 lb)

    so basically if you burn 250 more than you eat, you're golden, no matter how much you eat.
  • dittmarml
    dittmarml Posts: 351 Member
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    There's no way to answer your question without knowing your height, weight, age, and activity level.

    I'm very small (barely 5' 1"), 55 years of age, and my exercise is very intermittent because of a joint/connective tissue disorder. MFP set me at the minimum (1200) which I bumped up to 1250. The "difference" between my BMR (around 1150) and my TDEE (around 1350) is very small, so 1250 is an estimate as good as any other.

    Previous consultations with nutritionists around weight loss has put me at a recommended intake of between 1200 and 1250, so I have some external validation. I'm losing very slowly, which is about right given a relatively sedentary activity level with intermittent exercise, dietary disruptions as a result of business travel, and my age.

    So if someone just looked at my calorie number (1250) without any of this information and came back with "too low", it's pretty clear they literally wouldn't know what they are talking about.

    As someone else said, lots of folks shoot for 20% below their TDEE. It's important to eat above your BMR. So basically you're in the middle of those two figures (TDEE and BMR) somewhere... if you want to start 20% below TDEE, fine. There are several online calculators, the one I use is www.fitnessfrog.com

    You will need to spend some time figuring out what works for you. For health (not just weight loss) you're looking for a balanced diet - fruits, veggies, protein, whole grains, some fats, etc.

    Hope this helps.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
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    With less or not much exercise then the only way to lose would be eating fewer calories. That doesn't mean you won't lose by eating 1300. You may just have to do it for a week or so and see what happens at 1300. Then try to exercise when you can. Even 15 minutes of body weight exercises every day is better than nothing at all.

    Don't listen to this. Unless you are super tiny, 1300 is probably too low. Learn about your BMR and TDEE, and go from there.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Totally agree. While 1300 or even 1200 may be ok for some, I would say that most people need more calories than this. You should work out your TDEE then reduce by 20% and take it from there.

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