GRRRR CALORIES. (Yes, I'm frustrated.)

lucky2beinlove
lucky2beinlove Posts: 32
in Food and Nutrition
I've tried losing weight before and have always succeeded but put it right back on again. MFP tells me to eat 1200 net calories, but a sedentary person at my age, height, and weight is supposed to eat 1800cals/day (according to every other website I've ever found ever). I'm literally SUPER HUNGRY and am quite active. I work out every day unless something comes up (right now I have an injured hip).

What should I do? Stick with MFP? I'm so confused! And hungry. I'm really hungry. :(

Age: 18
Height: 5'3.5''
Weight: 147.5lb

Replies

  • Aviflora
    Aviflora Posts: 85 Member
    If you're hungry, eat.

    Who wants to be hungry all the time? I get cranky when I'm hungry!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Mfp doesn't tell you to eat 1200, it tells you to net 1200. So when you work out and it adds calories in, eat those. You'll be closer to 1800 then.

    Also make sure you didn't set yourself to sedentary (if you're not) and that you selected an appropriate weight loss goal (eg 2 lbs/week is not really appropriate if you don't have a lot to lose).
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    MFP is really crappy with their calorie allowances. I would go with the 1800. Don't starve yourself.
  • hungryhobbit1
    hungryhobbit1 Posts: 259 Member
    MFP is a great tool for food and exercise logging, and community. Its recommended calories for short women, however, blows. Feel free to use any other reasonable system to calculate your recommended caloric intake and change your goals accordingly. (Which MFP will let you do.) There's a great post that's a sticky somewhere in the forums"In place of a road map" or some such thing, that has a bunch of links to great sites you can use to calculate your recommended intake.

    Also, keep in mind MFP really does intend that you will eat back any exercise calories.

    I've had mine set at 1390 as a base from the beginning, it wasn't until a month or so ago that I realized this was only because I didn't change the default height to my 5 foot 0 stature. I'm keeping it there though because with exercise I usually get to eat 1500-1800 calories a day, and that's in line with what other methods of calculating my recommended intake say I should be eating.

    Hope that helps.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I've tried losing weight before and have always succeeded but put it right back on again. MFP tells me to eat 1200 net calories, but a sedentary person at my age, height, and weight is supposed to eat 1800cals/day (according to every other website I've ever found ever). I'm literally SUPER HUNGRY and am quite active. I work out every day unless something comes up (right now I have an injured hip).

    What should I do? Stick with MFP? I'm so confused! And hungry. I'm really hungry. :(

    Age: 18
    Height: 5'3.5''
    Weight: 147.5lb

    So eat more. Set yourself to 1800, don't each back workout calories, call it a day.
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Mfp doesn't tell you to eat 1200, it tells you to net 1200. So when you work out and it adds calories in, eat those. You'll be closer to 1800 then.

    Also make sure you didn't set yourself to sedentary (if you're not) and that you selected an appropriate weight loss goal (eg 2 lbs/week is not really appropriate if you don't have a lot to lose).

    Are you suggesting that the OP is gonna to earn anywhere near 600 calories via exercise on a daily basis? :huh:
  • lucky2beinlove
    lucky2beinlove Posts: 32
    Mfp doesn't tell you to eat 1200, it tells you to net 1200. So when you work out and it adds calories in, eat those. You'll be closer to 1800 then.

    Also make sure you didn't set yourself to sedentary (if you're not) and that you selected an appropriate weight loss goal (eg 2 lbs/week is not really appropriate if you don't have a lot to lose).

    But the 1800 is for a sedentary person who isn't exercising... if I burned 600/day to reach the 1800 intake, wouldn't it still not be enough because I'd be exercising so much?
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  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Mfp doesn't tell you to eat 1200, it tells you to net 1200. So when you work out and it adds calories in, eat those. You'll be closer to 1800 then.

    Also make sure you didn't set yourself to sedentary (if you're not) and that you selected an appropriate weight loss goal (eg 2 lbs/week is not really appropriate if you don't have a lot to lose).

    Are you suggesting that the OP is gonna to earn anywhere near 600 calories via exercise on a daily basis? :huh:

    Nope. I'm suggesting that her goal is set too aggressively and that she's not eating exercise calories. Fix both of those and she'll end up closer to the 1800.
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    Change MFP from trying to lose 2 lbs a week to losing something manageable like 1 lb a week and your calories will magically appear.
  • reddaddie
    reddaddie Posts: 121 Member
    cant see your diary ... if you have significant high cal - low bulk foods you could keep the calory count and alleviate some of the hunger.
  • Nicolee_2014
    Nicolee_2014 Posts: 1,572 Member
    If you're hungry, eat.

    Who wants to be hungry all the time? I get cranky when I'm hungry!

    Yes! And I'm the same - HANGRY:laugh:
  • tworthen79
    tworthen79 Posts: 1,173 Member
    When you don't have much to lose, 2lbs a week is to aggressive. Go with .5-1lb a week.

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    When I entered your stats, if you are sedentary ......your BMR is 1417 and TDEE is 1701. 1701-250(.5lbs) equals 1451.

    But then you say you work out everyday, which is it?
  • glitterstreet
    glitterstreet Posts: 144
    Please do not go with such an aggressive deficit. It is not worth your health and since you are finding yourself hungry, tired etc that is a sign that your body feels the same way. Maybe you should try netting 1300 calories and eating at least half of your exercise calories back. It is not about the extremity of the deficit, it is about how long you can stick with it.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    those other sites include exercise, MFP assumes you will eat back what you burn. On top of that most likely you chose a much too aggressive weekly weight loss goal on MFP, other sites usual put you at a 20% deficit, if you chose 2 lbs/week on MFP you may be at a 40ish% deficit.

    change your goal to lose 1 lb/week, and eat back what you burn from exercise and I bet for the week you cals will be similar to other site.
  • denisegunnels
    denisegunnels Posts: 43 Member
    If you are hungry it could be that you are not eating enough but it could also be that that is what you are focusing on, especially if you are currently sedentary with your hip. My physician set my calorie rate at 1100. MFP tells me this is too low but it seems to be working for me. Additionally, I do let myself earn exercise calories. Some days I don't use them but sometimes I count on them. (Like tonight. Local Taste of Newnan. Yum)

    Bottom line is that if you don't set something reasonable for yourself you are setting yourself up to fail. Talk to your Dr. about your approximate base metabolic rate and go under that # by a couple hundred calories.
  • Staciaj08
    Staciaj08 Posts: 19
    I get that you should be eating around 1400 calories for a sedentary lifestyle. You can go back through MFP's guided goal thing again and then if it doesn't set you around that then go through and do it custom and set your calories where they need to be. I've noticed most of us shorter girls are always set around 1200 calories. Here's the calculator I used for you.

    http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    I started out doing the guided goals and the more I researched the more I changed and customized my MFP goals.
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,000 Member
    Mfp doesn't tell you to eat 1200, it tells you to net 1200. So when you work out and it adds calories in, eat those. You'll be closer to 1800 then.

    Also make sure you didn't set yourself to sedentary (if you're not) and that you selected an appropriate weight loss goal (eg 2 lbs/week is not really appropriate if you don't have a lot to lose).

    But the 1800 is for a sedentary person who isn't exercising... if I burned 600/day to reach the 1800 intake, wouldn't it still not be enough because I'd be exercising so much?

    This calculator has you at 1800 to maintain at sedentary. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Which calculator are you referring to?

    You shouldn't be hungry. I'm 5'2" and wasn't hungry at about 1400 a day. You might need a little more than I did, but I would think still under 1800. Like maybe 1600 while you are resting from the hip injury.

    Also, It might be what you're eating is not filling enough, ie, not enough vegies for fiber.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    Echoing what others have said:

    Try changing your weight loss goal to .5-1 pound a week.
    NET the calorie goal. (Which means you eat back your exercise calories. * many people only eat back 50-75% because MFP seems to over estate calories burned)

    OR use a TDEE method, custom set your calorie to goal to approx 1700-1800 and do not log exercise as calories burnt. (Update your TDEE numbers when you lose 5-10 pounds)

    I like to custom change my macros. MFP doesn't give me nearly enough protein. I set my macros to approx 40% carbs, 35% fat, 35% protein

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