Tell me I'm doing it right....

Little about me. 6'1" 325 pounds. 47 years old. When I started I did the real smart thing of cutting calories down to 1400 per day . I started dropping the weight. Then I stopped losing. I changed my daily numbers to what MFP says. It shows me eating 2000 calories a day. I am sticking with this a while. Does this sound like the right thing to do?

Desk job with little exercise besides the occasional walk.

Replies

  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
    I think for your weight, the 2000 will be to drop weight, so keep at it for a while and get some more walking in, go for a nice long walk after dinner each night, walking after meals helps burn the cals your eating, plus what are you eating./
  • jivitasa
    jivitasa Posts: 150 Member
    How long were you eating 1400? That is a large jump. You could see results on that, but I would start incorporating them more slowly. Working your way up 100 calories at a time every few days. And 2000 without exercise may be a bit high. If you are going up from 1400 you may see better results in the 1750-1800 range. Also try to sneak in some exercise, even if it is just walking.
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
    I ran your numbers with a spreadsheet and this is what it came up with:

    "Mifflin-St Jeor
    (FOR MEN)"
    BMR 2,086
    Maintenance 2,712
    Cut (@ 15%) 2,305
    Cut (@ 20%) 2,170
    Build (@ 15%) 3,119

    Good luck! if you need more help, let me know and I will help out however I can!
  • Guggz
    Guggz Posts: 17 Member
    Try it. You will never know unless you do. How ever do try to fit greens into your diet. If you dont like them, make smoothies with water, frosen berries and spinach, (any combination will do just as long as you incorporate leafy greens in it.). Eat leafy greens with your dinner also. No fatty dressings though. Try to walk 5 times a week if you can, or alternate with bicycling or swimming if possible. All gentle on the body but make good workouts. Take a swimming class if you cant swimm properly. I can run today, becouse I started swimming regularly. Crawl/freestyle swimming does wonders for your body and back.

    Good luck
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
    1400 calories definitely sounds WAY too low. First off the American Heart Association says that an adult male should not eat fewer than 1500 calories per day....so you were already eating below the recommended amount.

    Second, MFP would already adjust your calories for you to lose weight based on what you said you wanted to lose per week and your current weight, height, etc. 2000 sounds way better than 1400 for your current size.

    And I agree with Guggz....add in lots of green leafy vegetables into your day; try to get 1/2 of your calories from vegetables at every meal (1/2 of breakfast can be fruit, but limit high glycemic fruit such as bananas, pineapple and dried fruits)
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    2000 is fine for you. You should be able to lose at least 100 pounds eating 2000 calories I would think, as I weigh about 190 now (from 260) and I eat between 2300-2500 when cutting.
  • chrisb75
    chrisb75 Posts: 395 Member
    I am 5'10, 217 lbs. I work at a deskjob and lift heavy 3X a week. I am losing weight on 2400 calories a day. Upping your calories was a good move. There are lots of information out there to help set your calories to a good amount. My favorite is from a poster right here on MFP:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Lecterman
    Lecterman Posts: 97 Member
    Too low IMHO. I started at 310 and have been eating 2500 per day, working out 5 days a week at MMA/Jiu Jitsu and things are melting away.

    Go too low and you risk it being counter-productive.

    Edit: Sorry, I reread. If you are not exercising much, 200 should be fine for you. Good luck! :)
  • Energizer06
    Energizer06 Posts: 311 Member
    2000 is absolutely fine for you! Your tall and have more than 100 lbs to take off. Stick to the 2000 cal/day. Try to work in 1-2 mile walk a day. Don't worry about eating extra calories....just stick to 2000, if you happen to go over for a day or two ....no worries, just get back on track. Give it a few months and you'll start losing at a decent rate. Your health risk is of larger concern right now than how fast you drop the excess weight....Keep up the good work!
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  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    Eat leafy greens with your dinner also. No fatty dressings though.

    What's wrong with fatty dressings? Fat doesn't make a person fat, and fatty dressings like olive oil are amazingly good for the heart.