SO CONFUSED!

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pamelasusan
pamelasusan Posts: 90 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am a newbie and have been reading EVERYTHING on here.

My mind is now jumbled about how much to be eating. :embarassed:

I am 5'2, 200 lbs, female & 39 years old. I want to get to 140-145

MYfitnesspal has me eating 1200 calories without adding any calories in if I exercise.

Does this seem low?

Anyone?

Replies

  • emersoam
    emersoam Posts: 179
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    It seems to put alot of middle aged women in around 1,200 calories per day.
  • nbingham
    nbingham Posts: 102 Member
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    How many pounds a week did you tell it you wanted to lose? I've got mine set to 1lb a week and at 5'2" 236lbs It has me eating 1670 calories a day.
  • littleluvbug
    littleluvbug Posts: 137 Member
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    I started at 240 and it put me at 1200 calories right from the get go as well and I was 28 when I began. If you don't like having to limit yourself to 1200, you can input to lose less in a week, or exercise. It's so rewarding to work out and know that you can eat a little bit more to not feel deprived. There is no easy way to do this...it's gonna hurt, it's will suck at first, but once the pounds start rolling off, you'll get addicted.
  • dwgirl140
    dwgirl140 Posts: 7
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    I'm 28 wanting to lose 40 pounds. MFP has me eating only 1200 a day too. I have not (so far) been able to keep it under that, but I'm getting closer. :wink:
  • patio1313
    patio1313 Posts: 169 Member
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    I will be honest...I just signed up today and was amazed at how few calories it said I should be eating. I have already lost 35 pounds without being on here...I am just using the food diary to track what I am eating...Just to make sure that I stay on track with not eating too much. The best advice I can give you is portion size and what you are eating. There are foods out there that are MUCH more filling than others and will make you feel more satisfied. Lean proteins and the like. I think a huge thing is controlling your portions and fat intake...as well as carbs and calories. Just remember to eat slowly, and stop eating wen you feel ALMOST full. it takes time for your body to feel satisfied from eating. And as hard to believe as it might be...I find now that the amounts that I am eating are still coming in a little lower than the recommended calorie intake from this site.

    GOOD LUCK...you can do this
  • brendansmom1
    brendansmom1 Posts: 530 Member
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    So I am a newbie and have been reading EVERYTHING on here.

    My mind is now jumbled about how much to be eating. :embarassed:

    I am 5'2, 200 lbs, female & 39 years old. I want to get to 140-145

    MYfitnesspal has me eating 1200 calories without adding any calories in if I exercise.

    Does this seem low?

    Anyone?

    It will give you extra once you log your exercise. I am at 1200 each day too and about the same size as you, and the same age. LOL I generally burn from 300-500 on an average day and once I log it it adds the exercise.

    Hope that helps!!
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
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    It has a deficit for you as far as eating goes, BUT if you exercise, you need to be eating back all those calories. Otherwise if you are only eating 1200 calories and you burn 400 exercising, you've just taken your calories down to 800. Make sense??? Always eat back your exercise calories! Hope this helps and good luck to you!
  • vayax
    vayax Posts: 152 Member
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    I am on 1200 calories as well and found that if I eat healthy and control the sizes of my meal it is hard for me to reach the 1200
  • owlwomyn
    owlwomyn Posts: 50 Member
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    Not sure why you don't get calories added back when you exercise. That doesn't sound right. Are you sure you are adding the excercise correctly? I thought it was a given that you would get calories added if you excercise. BTW - I find I loose more if I don't eat the additional calories but once in while it's nice to be able to have them available!
  • SharonsJetSet
    SharonsJetSet Posts: 159
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    My calories changed based on how many pounds a week i wanted to lose
  • pamelasusan
    pamelasusan Posts: 90 Member
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    WOW........thanks everyone for the quick responses!

    I love this place...........and have found some great resources here!

    Thanks for the warm welcome!
  • chefdurk
    chefdurk Posts: 3
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    1200 is a good number. i thing i find that works for me is. 3 meals a day, no snacking between, (believe me this can be done. i've worked 30 plus years surrounded by food) and slow down when your eating. its amazing how much less you'll eat if you let your brain keep up with your stomach. this is a good site to track your food, just keep with it.
    good luck
    jim
  • jrlenig
    jrlenig Posts: 364 Member
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    1st the bigger you originally are changes the amount of calories your body needs, MFP bases it on your activity level chosen by you and it gives you extra calories when you do work out so don't worry about not meeting your daily nutrition needs. I recently bumped mine manually to 1500, b/c my activity level has doubled since I started my life change( I have a heart rate monitor and realized my daily cal burning was about 300 off, I was burning 300more than they say that a normal person at my weight should be.) But no doubt they are right, after all this weight came off after I started MFP!
  • jrlenig
    jrlenig Posts: 364 Member
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    add more activity if you seem to struggle with the 1200, your activity level needs to change if you want to eat more!
  • lmell
    lmell Posts: 17
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    I just started on here too. I am 5'3" started at 181 & it has me at 1390 calories for the day. I have lost 3lbs so far. Oh & I'm 52.
  • Cherylinbp
    Cherylinbp Posts: 2 Member
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    I've been on here since the end of July, so about 3-1/2 months. I'm 51 and now at 202. I've lost 14 since starting with this website, and I'm thrilled! I will say, it has me at 1,200 calories too - but I try not to have exactly the same number each day. I'll usually have one day of the week where I'm closer to 1,400, and maybe one where I'm SLIGHTLY below the 1,200 mark. I don't think you necessarily should make it a habit of being below that.... especially if you're exercising. I usually try not to eat the extra calories it gives me back as a result of exercise.... that way, I'm not used to eating that much more.

    Hope this helps!

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