Older participants???

cytomom123
cytomom123 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
For the over 55 crowd, any luck with the 1200 cal/day limit? I've had no luck on weight watchers and am wondering if myfitnesspal will be more helpful. is it possible I should have less than 1200 cals a day? regardless of what the experts say, I keep thinking i'd do better with fewer calories.....

Replies

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Welcome! It looks like by your ticker you are trying to lose about 8-10 pounds? If so, you want to lose .5 pounds a week, and 1200 would be too low. No, I would not advise going under 1200 under any circumstance. I am 52 and I lost my weight on about 1850 plus exercise calories, which came out to 2000 -2100 a day. I exercise 6 days a week, though it's not necessary for weight loss.
  • cytomom123
    cytomom123 Posts: 4 Member
    thanks so much and yes you are correct, I need to loose about 10 pounds. i'm very short and busy but not active (family stuff) so workouts are a real struggle. guess I need to remember that 0.5 pounds a week is the best way to go....
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    I'm 60...and lost most of this weight eating over 1600..plus my exercise burn. Slow and steady...with focus and patience is how you do it. If you want a fast fix..its likely to become unfixed, just as fast. Hang in there!
  • bonoeuf
    bonoeuf Posts: 58 Member
    Only difference with weight watchers and MFP is the price. Eating too little can cause the body to slow its burn rate (metabolism) and hold onto the fat. Listen to the experts, they are experts. Why did you not loose on WW? Whatever caused you to not loose weight, should not be repeated as the cycle will continue. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Exercise is for getting fit, not for weight loss.
  • cytomom123
    cytomom123 Posts: 4 Member
    MFP is helping more than WW because I'm not sure I ate enough on WW. Even though I've tried to weigh and calculate the points, my weight didn't go down. It might be the food groups chosen as all points are not equal. Hoping that MFP will help me there. The breakdown of food groups and percentages listed for me....this is all new and helpful. So here I go to try this balanced approach to eating. Just started actually.... will know more next week. Thanks for the input guys!!!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Welcome! It looks like by your ticker you are trying to lose about 8-10 pounds? If so, you want to lose .5 pounds a week, and 1200 would be too low.
    ^^^This. The less you have to lose, the more slowly it comes off. That's just the way the human body works. Set your goal to .5 lb. per week and be patient.

    Your goal should be to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight, not the minimum. Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
    Just try a little extra walking for exercise. and log everyday.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    There are a lot of people here who will tell you that 1200 calories a day is too few and that your body will go into starvation mode and actually burn calories more slowly than it would normally. I'm not an expert but it certainly sounds possible.

    I'm 61 and pretty much don't count calories at all. I'm 5'7" and went from 147 to 130 over a couple of years by cutting back on junk, eating more fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts and whole grains and less processed foods and sugar. Fortunately, fried and cheesy things don't tempt me very much. I also cut back to about 1,000 calories a day 2 days a week. (I later found out this is 5:2 fasting and there's a group on here for discussions about it.) That actually changed my relationship with food and I learned to ignore minor hunger pangs or eat baby carrots instead of looking for something crunchy and salty.

    I also stepped up my workouts, from 45 minutes a day to an hour, and 1.5- 2 hours on the weekends. From your post, though, this doesn't sound feasible for you. I love bicycling outdoors in warm weather. I also got a heart rate monitor so I know exactly how hard I'm working out- it's a great motivator. I burned over 700 calories at the gym today!

    No matter what age you are, the advice is the same: eat less, move more.
  • ladyshills
    ladyshills Posts: 58
    I don't think going under 1200 calories is a good idea. At age 55 I actually do better at around 1400 calories- your body will think it's starving at under 1200. Just make the calories "good ones".
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    How are you measuring your food? Are you using a digital food scale and weighing as many things in grams as possible? Sometimes measuring in cups or tablespoons can throw off the accuracy of your food tracking and it can help to make sure you really are eating what you think:smile:

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