Goal confusion

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lucy9994
lucy9994 Posts: 9 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm loving much about this app and it's definitely helping with the new healthy lifrstle I've adopted. However , I don't understand the automatic guide goal. I set out to lose 15 lbs, (as well as getting toned, energised etc.) however when I input goal for this including 2 lbs a week loss goal and 4 times a week exercise ,it tells me I should have 1200 (approximate) cals per day and on this I wood loose only 4lbs by 19 September . Why so little when trying to do 5 lbs per week (so far worked - 5 lbs in 10 days) . Can anyone help with this?

:-)

Replies

  • lucy9994
    lucy9994 Posts: 9 Member
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    Ps typo - should read trying to loose 2 lbs a weeK - 5 lbs so far in 10 days.
  • italy1677
    italy1677 Posts: 26
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    It's not recommended by doctors to lose more than 0.5 to 2 pounds a week and your less likely to keep it off. What the app is doing is not letting your daily calorie goal go below 1200 calories as anything below that can cause brain damage and other health conflicts. If you would wish to lower that anyways on the website you can go to My Home, then Goals, then on the bottom click Chang Goals, select Custom and change the calorie goal until your projected weight loss a week is what you want, you can also change some other things too. Hope it helps
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Also, keep in mind that even though it asks about your exercise plans when setting your goal, it does NOT take it into account when giving you your daily calorie goal. This is why you need to log your exercise - you'll see that it adds exercise calories burned to what you are allowed to eat for the day. (MFP already has the deficit needed to lose weight built in without the exercise)
  • BrunetteWife
    BrunetteWife Posts: 2,108 Member
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    Welcome first off :) This is such a great support system! Second, losing 1-2lbs a week is very healthy, your first week or so of changing your old habits, you will probably lose a large chunk, like the 5lbs in 10days, mostly due to water weight. You will slow down a bit, so be prepared when it happens, IT IS NORMAL! Also, if you are looking for a quick fix, good luck, there really isn't any out there. Your best bet is to start a lifestyle change to not just lose weight and inches but to be all around healthy. This is a bumpy ride, but it is a learning process as well. There are tons of topics on the how to's and what to do's etc, it will seem like a lot of info at first, but you will get the hang of it. Good luck and welcome again!! Bru
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    It's not recommended by doctors to lose more than 0.5 to 2 pounds a week and your less likely to keep it off. What the app is doing is not letting your daily calorie goal go below 1200 calories as anything below that can cause brain damage and other health conflicts.......

    Eating fewer than 1200 calories MAY cause health issues, depending upon what you are eating, and it MAY also increase the chances of your body holding on to weight due to a drop in metabolism/AKA "starvation mode"--but BRAIN DAMAGE???:noway: :noway: :huh: Come on!!

    I think it is better to refrain from making unsubstantiated statements that could potentially cause needless alarm to someone new to the fitness/weight loss process.
  • weaklink109
    weaklink109 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    It's not recommended by doctors to lose more than 0.5 to 2 pounds a week and your less likely to keep it off. What the app is doing is not letting your daily calorie goal go below 1200 calories as anything below that can cause brain damage and other health conflicts.......

    Eating fewer than 1200 calories MAY cause health issues, depending upon what you are eating, and it MAY also increase the chances of your body holding on to weight due to a drop in metabolism/AKA "starvation mode"--but BRAIN DAMAGE???:noway: :noway: :huh: Come on!!

    I think it is better to refrain from making unsubstantiated statements that could potentially cause needless alarm to someone new to the fitness/weight loss process.
  • lucy9994
    lucy9994 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you. In UK so but of a time delay in my replies. I don't want to loose more than 2 lbs a week, nor do I want to drop below 1200 calories per day - but mfp seems to be telling me that if I eat 1200 calories per day, I can only expect to loose 0.8 lbs per week and only 4 lbs in total by 19 Sept. This seemed depressingly little. I had prior to MFP aimed to loose 2 lbs a week over approx 6 - 8 weeks would get me close to overall goal of 15lbs in total and then work out what i needed to do to maintain. hence my confusion? Are you/mfp saying this original goal is unhealthy? Lucy :-)
  • Matt_S_1978
    Matt_S_1978 Posts: 150 Member
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    Jump on the Team UK August thread Lucy (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/110713-team-uk-august2010) if you want any UK advice too. I joined last week and have been finding this site very useful. My goals are quite strange too but it seems to be doing the job so far.
  • lucy9994
    lucy9994 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you BW - slow to reply coz of time delay - but I'm amazed by responses and the power of such too. Then I see all the signatures including weight lost and your goals and so impressed. Very inspiring. Never taken part in anything online before - and quite taken aback (in a good way) by it all. I've since been reading more on the site re eating impact of eating too few calories, impact of exercise on calorie intake etc plus Bmi's and bmr's! You're right - there's a lot and it's a bit confusing especially the bmr bit which tells me I'd burn off approx 1200 calories by staying in bed! Needless to say, I'm not! Instead have imposed a radical lifestyle change 10 days ago in an effort to kickstart a permanent change. I discovered bodychef which I'm doing for 4 weeks. It delivers a calorie controlled and balanced diet. Seems lazy but my job is quite full on for next 4 weeks. Food is fresh and interesting and actually quite educational - as it's things I'd never have thought of but like. 2nd I started going to gym (been member for ages but never went) and am now really liking and seeing physical changes ("omg is that a tummy muscle!") . Also quite liking it mainly for slightly spa like feeling at end (swim, hot tub, long hot shower etc). Haven't been able to stop drinking water and felt quite bloated for first week. You're right first 5 lbs probably water. And of course MFP which I'm hoping will help keep motivation up as novelty wears off. Taken heed of your warning to not expect same rapid loss over next 10 days but just wish my goal and mfp's were a little mire in sync. Is another 9 lbs over 6- 8 weeks really too ambitious? 4 just seems so low but I take all points about slowly = lasting impact. Thank you again for big support. Lucy :-)
  • patriot201
    patriot201 Posts: 117 Member
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    Eating fewer than 1200 calories MAY cause health issues, depending upon what you are eating, and it MAY also increase the chances of your body holding on to weight due to a drop in metabolism/AKA "starvation mode"--but BRAIN DAMAGE???:noway: :noway: :huh: Come on!!

    In true starvation, the brain CAN be damaged. It might only be minor damage, but it can be damaged. I believe that this happens only in EXTREME starvation, though. I did have some minor brain damage (memory issues, word retrieval issues) from my years of anorexia.
  • BrunetteWife
    BrunetteWife Posts: 2,108 Member
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    Yes, I think 9lbs in 6-8 weeks is possible. Remember though, the smaller you are (less weight you have to lose), the harder it may be to lose it. So you may have to double up on some exercise throughout the week, or make it a little more intense. NO matter what, the calories burned adds to you calories to eat. I eat back at least half of the calories I burned, but when I first started, I seriously thought people were nuts for eating back what they just burned, seemed dumb to me, so I stalled and changed up my food intake and exercise plan. I've had weeks (recently) where I only lost .4lbs and then I've had weeks where I've lost 3.6lbs. I have played around with my calories a bit ( I started out eating no more than 1300 in April-June and stalled, so I upped it to 1600 and lost for a bit, I have since lowered it slightly as needed) . Everyone is different, but I've lost 34lbs since I started in April. Also, make sure you drink plenty of water and really watch you sodium intake as that can affect the scale with water retention. I joined a thread called 'Lose 5lbs a month challenge' (currently for August), all we do is weigh in once a week and show mass support with each other. We motivate as well, I post a small weekly challenge every Monday and it seems to help everyone if they are in a exercise rut. We share as much as we want, sometimes we talk about personal life, sometimes it's a new recipe..we're just there to help as needed. Good luck again :) Bru
  • lucy9994
    lucy9994 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you so much. I've upped the calories as was beginning to get stomach cramp (and severe wind!) today. Yr messages have been very encouraging and inspiring. So a BIG thankyou :-)

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