1200 vs 1500 again!

What is your BMR? What is your TDEE?

If you don't know the answer to those questions, then you need to find out. Those are THE most important numbers to know. Not whether you should eat back your calories or not.

MFP works and works great if you know how it works. You will completely understand how it works once you figure out what your BMR is and what your TDEE is.

When using MFP's guidelines, I always ate my exercise calories back. Because you are supposed to with MFP.

Just recently I upped to 1600 calories per day which according to MFP will make me lose 0.5lbs per week and according to TDEE will make me lose 1lb per week. So now I don't log my exercise and eat 1600 per day, if I go over I know that as long as I've exercised like I usually do, I have wiggle room to still be at a loss.

MFP doesn't take much activity into your calories at all, particularly if you picked sedentary. If you did, you'd need to log every walk, etc.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
Use this to work out your calories (removing 20% from the amount it gives you) and that's what you want to be eating after exercise calories are eaten back.

I had the same problem and eventually upped my calories to 1800 and still eat most if not all of my exercise calories back and am finally losing weight! I think when you eat a low amount of calories and add exercise your body holds on to everything. Plus everyones body is different so its a bit of trial and error to find out what works out for you. I know if i go under 1800 my weight doesnt budge. You have to fuel your body! Hope this helps. Oh I also do tdee - 20% which definately works better then what mfp recommends.

Like many, I started at 1200 and the scale barely moved. I bumped it up to 1500 and it supercharged everything. Lost 12 lbs.

I eat back my exercise calories - which for me, is usually about 300-400 after a good run.

I have a similar problem. I am on MFP for 4 month now and have lost only 4 pounds, even I exercise almost every day. In the beginning I was not loosing weight at all. One day it was off the other day it was back on, for a while I even gained weight. From swimming, 4.5 miles runs, spinning, boxing class....you name it. I increased my calories from 1200 to 1400 and l started to loose weight.
I am intending to start a weightlifting and muscle strengthening program. Is it wise now to upper my calories again? Some days (depending on work schedule) I may even run in the morning and swim in the afternoon.

I am definitely not a sedentary person. On some day I eat my calories back and other days I have some to spare without feeling hungry. At the end of the day the entries tell me that I should be "that much weight" in 5 weeks. I haven't been close to even the highest prediction it gave me as of yet.
I try to eat healthy and lots of vegetables and I know that a "bad eating" day once in a while is not that bad.
I can feel the pain of the person who started this threat, because I feel very similar, even I already did some research on TDEE and BMI and had a consult with a nutritionist (didn't help at all/was not encouraging).

Any advise????

I have a similar problem. I am on MFP for 4 month now and have lost only 4 pounds, even I exercise almost every day. In the beginning I was not loosing weight at all. One day it was off the other day it was back on, for a while I even gained weight. From swimming, 4.5 miles runs, spinning, boxing class....you name it. I increased my calories from 1200 to 1400 and l started to loose weight.
I am intending to start a weightlifting and muscle strengthening program. Is it wise now to upper my calories again? Some days (depending on work schedule) I may even run in the morning and swim in the afternoon.

I am definitely not a sedentary person. On some day I eat my calories back and other days I have some to spare without feeling hungry. At the end of the day the entries tell me that I should be "that much weight" in 5 weeks. I haven't been close to even the highest prediction it gave me as of yet.
I try to eat healthy and lots of vegetables and I know that a "bad eating" day once in a while is not that bad.
I can feel the pain of the person who started this threat, because I feel very similar, even I already did some research on TDEE and BMI and had a consult with a nutritionist (didn't help at all/was not encouraging).

Any advise????

I'm not a guru on weight lifting by any means, but my understanding is you really want to up your protein intake before and after each lifting session. For other tips and tricks, hit up www.yourhealthyhedonista.com . She's a fitness model, but maybe you can glean something from all her recipes and work outs.

Wow, found a few TDEE calculators online and they have me eating 1900 calories per day (yikes!) in order to lose 40 pounds in ten months! I just can't do it. I'm having a hard enough time upping from 1200 to 1500 without fear!

You really need to calculate your TDEE and then base it from there. Long term under eating will impact your metabolism. Ask your self, how much fat loss have you had while eating at 1200cals?

There is no cookie cutter number that works the same for all people. You need to figure out the range where you personally lose weight, based on your own energy balance calorie needs.

Also, the amount of weight you need to lose is a key piece of information in how much your body will reasonably be able to lose.

Once you know your TDEE (an estimate as it is with all calculators), you will be able to remove the fear you have of eating more. This is the number where you would stay the same weight, not gain or lose. Take a reasonable deficit from this number and you will lose weight. People with higher amount of weight to lose can take off a bigger percentage from this number than people who are closer to their goal weight.

I started the TDEE - 20% method last week.. and I've had losses the past few days, after having a month of no loss at all. I would try that route.

thanks for all the resources, everyone!

When my PT suggested I up my daily calories to 1800 (from 1350) I was really nervous. But it worked!

It's surprisingly hard to eat 1800 QUALITY calories a day.

If you do the TDEE-20%, do you eat back your calories from exercise??

Wow, found a few TDEE calculators online and they have me eating 1900 calories per day (yikes!) in order to lose 40 pounds in ten months! I just can't do it. I'm having a hard enough time upping from 1200 to 1500 without fear!

According to your original post, you're eating between 1550-1800 after you eat your exercise calories. Why are you so fearful to up to 1500 when you're all ready eating at that level? It's not like you're going to pack on 20 lbs overnight. Bottom line, you have to find out what works for you. You've all ready stated that this ISN'T working for you. Definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over & expecting a different result. If you want a different (BETTER) result, try upping your calories. You're not going to get a different result by continuing to do the same thing.