Following the suggested calorie guideline

melissamarrone
melissamarrone Posts: 1
in Getting Started
Hi All,

I am new to this website and so far, loving it! It really allows me to be mindful of what I'm putting into my body when I have to log it.

MyFitnessPal has suggested that I intake 1200 calories per day. Now I may be just over-analyzing this but you know that little phrase on the bottom of the page when recording your food says "If everyday were like today you'd be ... in 5 weeks" ? Well every time I add a meal, my estimated weight gets heavier (in other words I'd weight 138 lbs in 5 weeks until I add my salmon dish which puts me back at 143 lbs in 5 weeks). Am I making sense?

I guess I'm just confused because I also read on the website that I should be in-taking the suggested 1200 cals to avoid putting my body in "starvation mode".

Anyway... If I can get any feedback on how closely other members depend on this tool, and other advice as to what exactly I should be paying attention to and focusing on to achieve my goal weight would be greatly appreciated!

- Melissa

Replies

  • norabb90
    norabb90 Posts: 6 Member
    yes your estimated weight will get heavier because they are averaging how many lbs. you will lose a week. nothing more than 2 lbs. a week is considered medically safe and you will most likely gain it back.
  • norabb90
    norabb90 Posts: 6 Member
    also 1200 cal is pretty low for most people unless you plan to not exercise at all and sit all day.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    MFP is a calculator. It is designed to figure that a pound of fat equals 3500 excess calories so a 3500 calorie deficit will equal one pound lost or gained. MFP takes your daily deficit and then projects that deficit over five weeks and calculates how many pounds you should lose "if every day were like today."

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