New kid here with some questions

ChickenmommaMich
ChickenmommaMich Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all,

I just joined MFP a few weeks ago and have been lurking on the boards since. I have a few questions; hopefully some of you can answer my questions.

First of all, MFP set me at 1200 calories a day to lose about 2lbs a week, but from what I've seen on the boards...1200 calories is some kind of joke. What is wrong with 1200 calories? I've bumped my calories up to 1300 manually just yesterday but I'd like to know what is wrong with 1200 calories.

I also bought a Polar FT4 due to the suggestions I've seen in the forums here. I wore it for a day just doing my normal activities and it said about 2400 calories for 24hrs. I know that it's not totally accurate for all day but it makes me wonder...when I wear it just for my activities, some of the calories calculated would have been lost anyway, just doing nothing. So if it says I burned 500 calories, should I log only 400?

Thanks for any advice you can give!

Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    1200 calories is as low as MFP will allow due to nutritional and energy need guidelines for a normal female human to function while losing weight. It's the bottom of the bottom, and generally not viewed as appropriate for most people, especially those who have 60+lbs of weight to lose. It is also generally not correct for another reason due to this, let me explain using myself as an example.

    I maintain my current weight on 1800 calories a day, in order to lose 2lbs a week, I'd have to consume 800 net calories. This is scary low and dangerous, but if I set my goal to lose 2lbs a week on MFP, it will put my calories to 1200, so I wouldn't really be losing 2lbs a week.

    I'm sorry to tell you this but wearing a HRM all day does not give you an accurate view of your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), they are meant to be used during cardio exercising only. There is usually a little room for error when using a HMR, so yes I would agree to maybe take 400 of the 500 and apply it to your calories to eat in addition to your goal.

    If you need help figuring out what you maintain your weight on you can go to this website:

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Or you can simply change your settings on MFP to lose 0lbs a week and see how many calories it give you.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Unless you have more than 100 pounds to lose the 2 lb a week setting is too aggressive. Google BMR calculator, figure out your BMR and eat at least that much. That's the calories your body needs to function in a coma, you don't want to eat under that.

    A HRM is only for use during steady state cardio exercise. That's how the algorithms are set up. Wearing it all day will give you wildly exaggerated numbers unless you keep your HR is in the aerobic zone all day long. If you want something to track your burn all day you need something like a FitBit.
  • ChickenmommaMich
    ChickenmommaMich Posts: 60 Member
    I went to http://www.bmrcalculator.org/ and it says that my BMR is 1627. Would I still lose weight if I ate that much?!
  • eblakes93
    eblakes93 Posts: 372 Member
    What is your current weight and height? How active are you during the day (do you have a desk job, or are you on your feet, like a teacher?) How often/hard/long do you work out. Think about those questions and then use this to calculate how many calories your burn each day. http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    To lose weight you need to eat UNDER your TDEE. If you are consistently eating under your TDEE, you will lose weight. How much weight you lose per week depends on how much less than your TDEE you consume. I try and eat between my BMR-TDEE so I don't eat too little.
  • ChickenmommaMich
    ChickenmommaMich Posts: 60 Member
    Okay, according to this site: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    my BMR is 1627
    my TDEE is 2237

    I've been eating 1200 calories for a few weeks now so more than 1600 is going to feel like a lot. Since I put in that my exercise level is 3 times a week, should I not record 3 exercises (and eat back those calories)?

    Thanks to all who have responded!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    TDEE means you just eat that amount. Exercise is already included.
  • tworthen79
    tworthen79 Posts: 1,173 Member
    I do my TDEE with a 20% deficit. And our numbers are around the same. I eat 1700 calories a day and I don't eat my exercise cals back.

    My BMR is: 1624
    TDEE: 2233

    2233-20%=1787
  • jmadams111
    jmadams111 Posts: 145 Member
    A lot of people use TDEE minus 10% or 20% as a guide to losing weight as long as it puts you above your BMR.

    Check this link out:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • ChickenmommaMich
    ChickenmommaMich Posts: 60 Member
    So I'm thinking it would be best to calculate my TDEE using the 'no exercise/desk job' option and eating back the calories I actually expend in my workouts. I don't know how much exercise it calculates for '3 days a week'
  • janimei
    janimei Posts: 105 Member
    I'm old enough to remember when diet companies gave clients "500 calories per day" regimens. I had to plead to be bumped up to 900. So 1200 doesn't seem way too low for me.
    My exercise raises the 1200 up to 1300-1500, and that's a lot of food, if you are eating healthy foods, with some sanity-saving exceptions now and then.
  • funkim55
    funkim55 Posts: 216 Member
    While I wondered about the 1200 calories per day, I went to WebMD; according to my age, height and light activity level they said I should not eat more than 1239 calories per day. Check it out for another opinion.

    I think your Obesity classification has something to do with how many calories you should consume. I am currently a Class II Obese person. Maybe that's why I have so few calories I can consume.

    Check out calculator.net for your BMI, BMR and anything else you want to know.

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