Just to make sure I'm doing it right....1200 cals

I would go with at least 1500 personally.

If that is what MFP gave then that is fine, 1200 is the minimum it gives BTW

You may find you will need to be a bit more creative with meals, avoiding a lot of processed stuff due to high calories, but I am on not much more [1250] also mainly sedentary, but walk, just shops & back, not over moors or Downs

I find with plenty of fresh veg & fruit, including salads, I am mostly not hungry, sometimes I am though so perhaps a Ryvita or such like

Hi there,

I'm new to all this fitness stuff and I've tried reading up on the forums and I'm worrying myself more than helping because of things like starvation mode or metabolic damage etc! So I was hoping you guys could take a look at my stats and let me know if you think I'm on the right track or not!

Female
4ft 11"
26 years old
Starting weight 8st 8.
Very sedate in terms of activity
Excerise:30 mins of Pilates 3x a week (Mari Windsor, band, circle, accelerated)

Goal weight 7st in 9 months.

MFP calories recommend : 1200.


Bonus info (not that I know what it means exactly!?!)
TDEE-1607
BMR-1339

Do you guys think this is enough calories?

Your help is much appreciated!

What did you select as a weight loss per week goal on MFP? With so little to lose it should be .5 lbs a week, no more than 1 lb a week.
Don't forget that MFP expects you to log those exercise calories and eat them back, which would put you over 1200 calories.

Or you can do a modest deficit off of your TDEE, subtract 10-15% which would put you just over your BMR.

ETA - what activity level did you choose for TDEE?

I'm 38 years old, 4'11", 111 lbs and my daily calorie goal is around 1600.

I have a desk job 3 days a week and I'm not overly active at home the other 4 days (regular housecleaning, laundry, etc).

I do yoga and some strength exercises a few times a week, and I take the kids on walks or bike rides. I also do gardening. Any time I do something out of the norm, I log it as exercise and I don't always eat those calories back.

I'm losing weight eating between 1200 and 1700 a day. I zig zag my calories (not on purpose, I'm just naturally more hungry some days--alcohol is also factored in). Sometimes I even go above 1700 and it's all good.

Don't starve yourself. 1200 is probably way too low for every single day, but some days it's going to be fine if you're not hungry enough to eat more.

So I think most people think I should be eating more?

That is correct. Look up the link IN PLACE OF A ROAD MAP 3.0. Its a very helpful link that will help you understand what number you need and why.

My suggestion is eat a very small deficit off your TDEE (like maybe 10%) and see how your body responds. Like a friend of mine always says, "why would you want to put the bare minimum gasoline in your car and expect the best results?" Good luck on your journey!

So I think most people think I should be eating more?

That is correct. Look up the link IN PLACE OF A ROAD MAP 3.0. Its a very helpful link that will help you understand what number you need and why.

My suggestion is eat a very small deficit off your TDEE (like maybe 10%) and see how your body responds. Like a friend of mine always says, "why would you want to put the bare minimum gasoline in your car and expect the best results?" Good luck on your journey!

IN PLACE OF A ROAD MAP 3.0 is gone. Use this.. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974598-the-basics

Typically horrible advice given here.

Your margins are going to be exceptionally small. And you are dealing with rough estimates of your TDEE. These calculators cannot and do not account for everything though they are pretty accurate. But when someone tells you to eat within 100-200 calories of your TDEE, be very skeptical.

This is because there is significant difficulty in getting your eating right down to the calorie. And if you eat just a bit over without realizing it and your calculated TDEE Is off by a small amount, then you aren't going to lose.

Give yourself some room. Don't buy the hype about starvation mode or the like. As a small person, with a small total daily energy expenditure, you are not going to see flashing red lights if you dip below that magic 1200 number. This is not to say that you should stop eating. It's just to say that any people who tell you to eat at such close proximity to your TDEE are ignoring human and system error, and they are setting you up for failure. In a controlled environment with perfect data, they may be correct. But that is not the system in which you will operate.

I'm just a couple inches taller than you & I think I weigh about the same.
I can't say 100% if you *should* be eating more than 1,200 a day, but you *could.*
I'd vote for about 1,400. I usually eat 1,250-1,450 a day.
I only have activity when I exercise, since I have no work/ school/ home/ living things right now. If I didn't actually get up & work out I'd literally be in bed on my laptop all day.
I also eat pretty darn healthy. So even though my cals are low, I'm actually stuffed with good food & pretty much never hungry. Totally happy with my eating habits.

I would eat 200-300 cals under your TDEE. Never eat indeed your BMR

Based on your stats and your activity levels, your maintenance calories look to be about 1,800. I would eat to 1,500 gross (no eating of exercise calories back), see how you do over a 4 week period and adjust accordingly. About 1/2 a lb a week loss is reasonable based on how much you have to lose.

that's about right what is your bmr? Like 1200?

Typically horrible advice given here.

Your margins are going to be exceptionally small. And you are dealing with rough estimates of your TDEE. These calculators cannot and do not account for everything though they are pretty accurate. But when someone tells you to eat within 100-200 calories of your TDEE, be very skeptical.

This is because there is significant difficulty in getting your eating right down to the calorie. And if you eat just a bit over without realizing it and your calculated TDEE Is off by a small amount, then you aren't going to lose.

Give yourself some room. Don't buy the hype about starvation mode or the like. As a small person, with a small total daily energy expenditure, you are not going to see flashing red lights if you dip below that magic 1200 number. This is not to say that you should stop eating. It's just to say that any people who tell you to eat at such close proximity to your TDEE are ignoring human and system error, and they are setting you up for failure. In a controlled environment with perfect data, they may be correct. But that is not the system in which you will operate.

I actually don't totally disagree with you.
Ideally OP would start with a number try it for a few weeks then adjust up or down (which i admittedly failed to mention) would still suggest starting with the averages instead of dropping lower right off the bat.
1200 isn't a magic number for anyone. It is low for the majority but you are right, it may not be for the OP. I just prefer to start at the top and move down instead of eating as little as possible out of the gate.