calorie question

Im fine with that amount, I was just wondering about going that low to begin with and then once I lose how far would I have to drop down from that, I was always told by other sites that I needed like 1600 to eat.

MFP won't set your daily goal to less than 1200, even if it means you won't lose as fast... eating less than 1200 will stall weight loss, so the idea is that some weight loss is better than no weight loss, therefore you won't ever be "told" to aim for under 1200 calories a day... so as you lose weight and your BMR decreases, eventually MFP will hit the 1200 calorie "limit". (Does that even make sense? Reading over it sounds confusing to me... sorry if it's not a clear explanation!)

And, welcome!!

No your not eating enough calories go to the tools tab, click bmr, follow the prompts and it will tell you the right amount. Im 183 pounds and i need to eat 1500 a day so you will be alot more

No your not eating enough calories go to the tools tab, click bmr, follow the prompts and it will tell you the right amount. Im 183 pounds and i need to eat 1500 a day so you will be alot more

It says my bmr is 1883. So is that right? hummm im confused now

your BRM, your basal metabolic rate, is the amount of calories your body needs simply to survive and function. That's not including any activity during the day, including walking, typing, sitting, etc. In order to lose weight, you need to have a calorie deficit. 3500 calories is equal to one pound. This means if you cut 500 calories from your intake per day (or cut 250 and exercise worth 250, etc), you will lose one pound per week. However, as others said, you can't let your body intake less than 1200 calories (including exercise calories - so eat those back!) or you'll go into starvation mode and not lose anything. So MFP took how many calories you should intake during the day (your BMR PLUS the calories you burn doing daily activities) and subtracted 500 or 1000 from that, depending on whether you set your goals to -1lb or -2lbs per week. I hope that makes sense!

This is the post that I read that I got my info from


Question #1:

Should I eat all my calories?

Yes. MFP is already figuring a deficit for you to lose weight. This deficit is based on what you need to eat based on your everyday activity, not counting exercise. In the end, it's all about "net calories" (you can view yours under reports)

Example: you need to eat 2,000 calories to maintain your current weight (random number)
MFP will tell you to eat 1,500 to lose one pound per week (500x7=3500=one pound loss).

Let's say you exercise, and burn 500 additional calories.
UH-OH, now you are at a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. You need 2,000 calories to maintian, are already restricted to 1500, so now your net calories are a 1,000 a day. This is starvation central. Your body, which is very good at keeping you alive, will store and save calories. You WILL stop losing weight. You WILL want to throw your scale out the window.

Eat your exercise calories. At least eat most of them.

Question #2:
I'm eating 1200 calories, I feel like crap and I'm not losing weight. What gives?

Answer:
Run, don't walk, to "tools" and use the BMR calculator. Please, please, please, eat at least your BMR calories every day. You might lose weight more slowly, but you will still lose, and you will not longer feel a sudden urge to fall over every time you do, well, anything.

Question #3:
I'm doing "everything right" and the scale won't move.

Answer #1: The scale is the devil. Step away from the scale. Buy a tape measure, notice how your clothes are (probably) fitting better. Muscle is more dense than fat, and takes up less space on your body. More muscle on your body will make the scale freeze or (gasp) move upward.

Answer #2: You're not being honest. In order for this to work, you must record every morsel of food that goes in your body. Also, if you ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes and barely break a sweat and can still chatter on your cell phone (OK, that's my personal gym pet peeve) then you're probably not working "vigorously". Don't overestimate your exercise calories. (this was a big mistake I made in the past.)

Answer #3: Your body might be re-adjusting. How you feel is the most important mark of progress. It's very easy to fixate on numbers, but feeling better really should be its own reward.

Question #4:
So, if I'm eating my exercise calories, what's the point of exercise?

Answer: (warning: extremely opinionated answer ahead)
You don't. You can lose weight through diet alone. But, then you will be skinny and flabby. Is a model skinnier than me? OH, YES! Is she healthier than me? probably NOT. She couldn't survive the hour-long spin class that I take three times a week. Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person. (this is a generalization. I don't hate models, but this is their lifestyle. . .I used to be a "dresser" at shows, and I saw a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff.