How many calories do you eat?

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ymamyma
ymamyma Posts: 227
in Food and Nutrition
Currently, I weigh 335 pounds, on a journey towards 160ish. I started with mfp at the end of July, and have since lost 44 pounds! I'm so excited! However, in the last two weeks, I have lost NOTHING. Partially, this is my fault. While I have stayed below my calorie goal, I have not made the best choices for my body and, while I am not losing pounds, I have lost inches. I know that this, too, shall pass.

My question is this: How many calories do you eat? I currently stay somewhere around 1600-1700, and have been told lately by several people that I am not eating enough. mfp suggests 2,140 for a lightly active person (I work at a grocery store, and spend 10+ hours on my feet a day.) and 1900 for a sedentary person. Either way, that's more calories than I consume!

Have you changed your calorie goals from the mfp suggestion?

Replies

  • kmard81
    kmard81 Posts: 212 Member
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    I shoot for 1500 a day. I came up with this from myfitnesspal's assessment.
  • Papucho
    Papucho Posts: 138
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    I go through about 2000 a day, and am very active. I run and workout at least an hour a day. You could probably afford to up it a little if you're on your feet all day, just make sure you're paying attention to the fats you're taking in.
  • bsexton3
    bsexton3 Posts: 472 Member
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    I try to stay 100 on either side of my given MFP calories. I update my goals whenever I lose 5 pounds because it drops my calories by about 10 a day. When I exercise, I eat less than half my exercise calories. Lost 2 pounds a week for the first 8 weeks. Then 2 pounds over the next six weeks. Then nothing. This week it started going down again.

    I started at 230 with healthy weight for me at 185. So, I am not losing as much.

    Good luck on your journey.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
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    First - watch your sodium and drink lots of water. When Ihave a high sodium week, I lose .4 or .5 a week. Taking the lesser of the two, eat as close to 1900 as you can but eat the majority of calories in the morning and afternoon - lighter at night. I only have 1200 a day to eat (without exercise) so we are different - but it works for me. It does help your metabolism to eat small meals every 2-3 hours. Often I eat 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches and one dinner - with snacks too. Helps me to change up my exercise too - I have found various DVD's,Wii Fit Plus, water aerobics, Zumba, bike riding, walking - all on different days - works for me. Good luck!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
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    Yes, it is definitely possible that you are eating too few calories. Eating too few calories (whether you are below 1200 or not) can cause "starvation mode" (I hate that term but most people seem to get it better then the technical stuff.) where your body isn't getting enough to maintain your muscle mass and activity level so it starts storing everything it can as fat to use later to fuel those activities. I'd recommend going up to the MFP recommendations to see if you don't start seeing some more movement on the scale.

    Personally, I am currently set to 2198 calories per day (I'm 5'6" and 199 pounds at my last weigh in and extremely active). I actually refigured my calorie intake based on the formula we use in my exercise physiology bachelors program because it is based on lean body mass instead of overall body weight and entered it instead of letting MFP give me a recommendation. Due to health reasons, I also adjusted my %'s of macronutrients, too. By figuring it myself, I actually ended up with more calories then MFP was recommending. I'm currently not able to do the intense exercise I use to do because of a knee injury, so I haven't weighed in for a while (need to redo that today) but I'm still seeing improvements in my waist line so I'm sure I have continued to lose.
  • bikerbiz
    bikerbiz Posts: 179 Member
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    Your prescribed MFP calorie goal will go down along with your weight, when you update the goal section. Follow the planner--it's based on your sex, weight and activity level, which determines your BMI. Different for everyone...
  • moespaws16
    moespaws16 Posts: 59 Member
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    I just start MFP about 2 weeks ago. I was already somewhat monitoring my calorie intake but i like really keeping track and seeing it at the end of the day. MFP assessment put me between 1400-1600 cal/day which seemed like alot to me since im not very active through out the day. however, i do workout about 4 times a week so who knows. im currently at 220 and i havent' lost any pounds yet, but my clothes/rings are looser and i noticed my face looked a bit thinner. i also have pcos which adds to the struggle, but im workin it and trying to stay focused.
    my doctor gave me a heads up. she said women seem to have a harder time processing carbs (we store them for a later time), so its a could idea to cut back on them a bit and try healthy fats instead.
    good luck to ya!
  • Lizard863
    Lizard863 Posts: 26 Member
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    MFP had me at 2100 or something like that. I have been working downward toward 1500. I'm on my seocnd week of 1750. I want to avoid the starvation reponse from my body.
  • StacySkinny
    StacySkinny Posts: 984 Member
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    I weigh 323 lbs and I have my daily goals set at 1,400 but I eat back all of my exercise calories. I was using the site's recommended calories but the scale sat still for weeks. I figured out that it's probably because I work from home and I work on the computer all day. The only time I get any exercise is when I intentionally exercise. So it's not like a person who leaves to go to work every day and gets at least some unintentional exercise that way. The site doesn't have any settings for "very sedentary". lol So I went in and dropped my daily calorie goals by about 200 or so. That worked well and the scale started moving. I've been losing weight steadily since. :)
  • hyenagirl
    hyenagirl Posts: 206 Member
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    I try to eat anywhere from 1,000- 1400 a day. I try and vary it up a couple days at 1000 a couple days at 1400.
  • 123gonnareachit
    123gonnareachit Posts: 69
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    1200
  • PocketNaomi
    PocketNaomi Posts: 62
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    I used the "calorie suggestion" tool here and it told me I should be eating 1200, so that's what I'm eating. It seems like everyone else is eating a lot mroe and still losing weight, but this probably has something to do with my current utter and complete lack of exercise (which I hope to change soon, but haven't yet).
  • Carol_can_do_it
    Carol_can_do_it Posts: 73
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    MFP has me at 1500 calories. I have been cycling between 1200-1500 calories. I try to get as close to 1500 calories on my gym days, but I try no to spend those calories.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    MFP has me set at the minimum of 1200 calories.. Which I find weird because I'm still over 200 pounds, and I know others who are 150 or below and have up to 1400 calories. Oh well. I probably should be eating more, because MFP doesn't account for the fact that I'm 16.

    I actually stay around 1025-1175 a day. It's hard to be set at 1200, because in order to not get the "you're not eating enough" message, you'd have to eat EXACTLY 1200... or go over. Ugh. I'm working on eating more, trying to get between 1100-1200 each day. Then, I'll try 1150-1200 each day. Last time I tried upping my calories to 1200, after weeks of undereating, I didn't lose. That scared me, and I stayed way below my calorie goal. If you decide to increase your calorie intake, I suggest doing it slowly to give your body some time to adjust
  • sandra80
    sandra80 Posts: 308 Member
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    i started on this site May 1st at 327lbs. they had me at something like 2000+ calories back then. back then i was a SAHM and i exercised a lot at home between the wii, videos, my treadmill, and my pool. i changed my eating habits completely and noticed that it's really really really hard for me to get above 1300-1400 calories. i usually hover around 1200-1300 and i feel full. i will not force myself to eat. now.....90lbs later, MFP has me at a bit over 1200 calories but i also now have a desk job that i really don't move much at all so i need to be lower calorie wise but i try to walk 3-3.5 miles per night. my diary is public....feel free to go through it. in the beginning (may and june) i will totally admit i had no idea what i was doing and made some craptastic decisions but i figured it out and i've been doing really well. i've lost 90lbs here and 123lbs total from highest weight.

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