Question for the day...

cldaughe
cldaughe Posts: 40 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
How many pounds do you have selected "to lose" each week in the MFP goals section of your profile? I just realized this GREATLY ADJUSTS THE CALORIC INTAKE FOR EACH DAY!!!

Now, I am uncertain about my goal. Do I set my goal as losing 1 pound, 1.5 pounds, or 2 pounds per week... Any advice is appreciate as always! :)

Replies

  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    right around 2lbs a week is what I selected
  • MariaATX
    MariaATX Posts: 14
    You will play around with the calories to see what works for you. What i learned is to keep the calorie allowance an amount I will stick with long run because it is a journey. We are here to change habits so i like to adjust to an amount where i am not hungry while making healthy choices.

    Maybe start with 1 pound and adjust from there.
    Good luck! you will do great! :)
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
    Personally, I am set for 2 lbs. However, I play around with my calories. I'm set for 1200 net calories, but I allow myself to fluctuate between 1200-1400 net.

    (My calorie intake before exercise is usually between 1300-1500, which is still under my BMR for my goal weight, which I think is important to take into consideration so that you can maintain your weight when you're done losing!)
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
    When I started out in JANUARY with 40+ pounds to lose, I had it set at 2 lbs. a week and typically succeeded. As I progressed with my weight loss and hit a few plateaus, I have worked my way down to .5 pounds per week because that is just more realistic for me at this point. So I would suggest gauge it for where you are in your weight loss and at the calorie intake that seems most doable for you.
  • ron2282
    ron2282 Posts: 2,760 Member
    Mine is set to lose 1 a week, but I'm losing anywhere from 1.5 to 2 each week. I don't know how that's happening because I eat all my calories, but I'm not complaining! :laugh:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    if you give your height, weight, activity level, exercises, and open your food diary up I can give you a rough idea of what you probably should set it at. There'll still be some tweaking to be done, but generally, our deficit should depend on where we are right now, everyone is different so relying on other people's numbers probably won't work well for ya.
  • Precious_Nissa
    Precious_Nissa Posts: 416
    I dont have a weekly goal....weight fluctuates due to water and hormones etc so i dont set a weekly loss goal.......i just stick to my daily routine of eating and working out and when i see it drop, i'm happy and when i dont, i look to see if theres something i need to change or work out a little more....
  • xxgoriexx
    xxgoriexx Posts: 39
    Well, just between the goals I've set, I'm supposed to be loosing 1lb per week, which is alright. My PERSONAL goal, without the site's help, is 2-3lbs a week.

    Depending on your current weight, you could loose 5-10lbs a week. Heavier people tend to loose more weight a week, depending on their efforts.
  • cldaughe
    cldaughe Posts: 40 Member
    if you give your height, weight, activity level, exercises, and open your food diary up I can give you a rough idea of what you probably should set it at. There'll still be some tweaking to be done, but generally, our deficit should depend on where we are right now, everyone is different so relying on other people's numbers probably won't work well for ya.

    My food diary should aleady be viewable. If not, please let me know. One thing for sure, I need to cut back on the sugar (but I <3 fruit!)
  • cldaughe
    cldaughe Posts: 40 Member
    if you give your height, weight, activity level, exercises, and open your food diary up I can give you a rough idea of what you probably should set it at. There'll still be some tweaking to be done, but generally, our deficit should depend on where we are right now, everyone is different so relying on other people's numbers probably won't work well for ya.

    My food diary should aleady be viewable. If not, please let me know. One thing for sure, I need to cut back on the sugar (but I <3 fruit!)
  • cldaughe
    cldaughe Posts: 40 Member
    if you give your height, weight, activity level, exercises, and open your food diary up I can give you a rough idea of what you probably should set it at. There'll still be some tweaking to be done, but generally, our deficit should depend on where we are right now, everyone is different so relying on other people's numbers probably won't work well for ya.

    My food diary should aleady be viewable. If not, please let me know. One thing for sure, I need to cut back on the sugar (but I <3 fruit!)

    Ok, now it is public... Hey, I've got nothing to hide, right? :)
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
    Mine is set for one a week. I'm pretty close to my goal - and 1270 calories isn't very many so there is now way that I would go below that.
    I might ever bump up to 1/2 a week before I go to maintenance. Adding calories is scarier to me than taking them away! I know I can exercise them off if I have to! Haahaa!
    Good luck! I hope you find a good balance.
    Steph:flowerforyou:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member

    Ok, now it is public... Hey, I've got nothing to hind, right? :)

    great, but without your height, weight and activity level, can't really do much besides analyze your micro nutrient intake.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I see that you've only been logging for about a week (before the 15th it was blank for a week, that's as far as I went), but I can say that the only really bad thing I see is that you are averaging only about 1 to 2 servings of veggies a day, that's pretty low, you should probably be trying for 4 or 5 servings.
  • sweetoblivion314
    sweetoblivion314 Posts: 55
    if you give your height, weight, activity level, exercises, and open your food diary up I can give you a rough idea of what you probably should set it at. There'll still be some tweaking to be done, but generally, our deficit should depend on where we are right now, everyone is different so relying on other people's numbers probably won't work well for ya.

    My food diary should aleady be viewable. If not, please let me know. One thing for sure, I need to cut back on the sugar (but I <3 fruit!)

    go ahead and eat fruit! fruit is great for you. lots of nutrients and a healthy form of sugar that our bodies are designed to eat. It is cane sugar and refined sugars that our body does not process well because humans are not designed to eat them. That is coming from a family friend who is a diabetes researcher.
  • oats4breakfast
    oats4breakfast Posts: 225
    I've played around with 1, 1.5 & 2.
    2 was just unrealistic for me as I was constantly hungry. It was just too unsettling for me.
    1.5 was fine, but then I lost 10 or so pounds and MFP adjusted my goals to like 1700 cals or something. I was stuck in constantly hungry mode again!!! That had to go.
    I then set it at 1 pounds which was perfectly fine, but my weight loss slowed after another 5 pounds lost, it was at about 2100 cals then.
    So, I've adjusted my goals to simply be 2000 cals a day for now, which seems to be perfect. It's attainable both now and in future, suits my lifestyle, and I can eat well with this number. I'm loosing between 0.5-1.2 pounds a week since making that change - which is perfectly fine for me, because I'm also working on muscle/strength at the same time.
    PS: I'm 6'2", large frame (think linebacker) and 230 and sit at a desk all day. My BMR is approx 2600.
  • cldaughe
    cldaughe Posts: 40 Member

    Ok, now it is public... Hey, I've got nothing to hide, right? :)

    great, but without your height, weight and activity level, can't really do much besides analyze your micro nutrient intake.

    Height: 5'4
    Weight: 219
    Activity level: Sedentary (at work) and the plan is to exercise 4 times per week for at least 45-60 minutes. Hope that helps! :)
  • cldaughe
    cldaughe Posts: 40 Member
    I see that you've only been logging for about a week (before the 15th it was blank for a week, that's as far as I went), but I can say that the only really bad thing I see is that you are averaging only about 1 to 2 servings of veggies a day, that's pretty low, you should probably be trying for 4 or 5 servings.

    I normally always eat a med/large salad for dinner (I may be forgetting to log those) and some other type of vegetable. I usually take more vegetable in, so thanks for noticing that I need to increase... Any and all help, advice, motivation, etc. helps!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    ok, that's more like it. :tongue:


    so, first, i debate whether you're really sedentary (sedentary is REALLY inactive. I.E. you sit at a desk all day at work, you barely get up, drive home and immediately sit on the couch for the rest of the day), unfortunately there's no setting for "1/2 way between sedentary and lightly active" so I'd say just keep that in mind and maybe allow yourself a few extra calories per day (unless that IS what you do, in which case, get moving lady :wink: )

    that said, you can afford 2 lbs a week no problem, and you could probably even afford to eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of your exercise calories back. I'd say you can continue like that until you got down to about 205 or 200. At that point I'd probably recommend gradually ramping up your exercise calories until you are eating most, if not all of them. And definitely all of them by the time you hit 190.

    This is all just educated guess work on my part based on very limited numbers, but assuming you don't have any medical conditions that will interfere with weight loss (diabetes, thyroid issues...etc.) then this should work for you. Just don't rely too heavily on the scale, take measurements, log your weight training and if you run, your running time and distances, take note of how you feel and how difficult daily strenuous activities are (and maybe write them down for a record later), health isn't just about weight loss, it's about finding a place that makes you happy, and staying there!

    if you have more detailed questions, feel free to PM me.

    Best luck to you.

    -Banks
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