Calling all 100 poundish losers...

Hello Kim

I would suggest going here http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Plug in all your info and find your tdee, based on your activity level it will tell you how many calories to eat a day. 2 pounds per week is really aggressive, I would aim for a pound per week and go from there. 1200 may be a little low for you...

Also buy a food scale and weigh EVERYTHING, accuracy logging is essential for weight loss.

Good luck

I have about 100 pounds to lose as well in order to get to a very healthy weight. I've only just started. When I chose guided I got the same results you did - about 1200 calories a day. I found that I'm never tempted to eat more than that. I'm full all day. I know when I'm hungry my chances of grabbing anything and everything increases so I eat EVERY time I'm hungry. Usually fruit or veggies. I'm not sure but I think it's the fiber in my new snacks that's keeping me full throughout the day. It may not seem like much but 1200 of the right types of calories are way more than they seem. I also drink a lot of water all day long.

So yes, 1200 may be fine for you. I suggest trying it for a few days and see how that goes. If you need more calories readjust then.

My calories are mostly from protein, low on carbs and a little lower on fat. My protein is the only thing that goes over (that and sugar because of my two fruits) but I think that is fine.

I also eat back a portion of my exercise calories. Weight loss is greater when I do than when I don't.

Hey, we are practically the same age and exactly the same start weight.

I added exercise to my daily routine and I eat back those calories. I started off with walking, now I do walking, Zumba and weightlifting. I lose pounds if I can to stick to 1400 net calories or under. If I eat more my habits tend to creep in the wrong direction and my weight loss stalls. It's good for me to try and fail though. A lot of lessons learned in that space.

I lost about 90lbs in roughly 7-8 months about a year ago. I started on ~1200 cals/day and kept this up for a couple of months. I was only walking a couple of miles a day most days at this point. I upped both sides of that about 3 months in to roughly 1700 cals and 6-10 miles a day. I have spent the last year maintaining. I just started back up again and am sticking with the 1200-1300 range which may change depending on my activity (for now). The first couple weeks are the hardest.

You need to actively keep yourself away from the temptations. I feel like it's a constant awareness thing for me, especially when just starting. Every single day I am actively making very specific food choices. It will probably take some trial and error to find daily meal plans that work for you. But, if you're eating *mostly* clean, fresh and stay aware of every ingredient you're consuming, you can actually eat perfectly well on 1200 or so cals a day.

Most importantly - Don't be afraid to modify your plan if it really isn't working for you. There may be some necessary tweaking to find what will work best for you. The most valuable and effective plan is the one that you will stick to. You're better off losing 20lbs in a year and sticking to it than losing 10 in a month and then quitting.

The least I allowed my calories to get to before I flipped over to 1.5lb per week was 1300 calories, below that I probably would have started to eat random things without logging and defeated the purpose. 2lb per week sounds good when you want to lose fast but it can be real painful to deal with. I am now doing 1 lb per week and will probably switch over to .5 lb per week in a few more weeks as I get closer to my next milestone (and move the goal line out just a little further).

I started out a year ago at 295lbs, 5"4 & 32yrs old. I set my goal at 1lb a week because honestly my opinion is that anything more then that is not being realistic, at least not until you are into this & see that you are truly going to change your life & stick to it. So many people give up so killing yourself for 2lbs a week is just crazy. That might be something easier to achieve later on. I also stuck with the calories MFP gave me which in the beginning was 2070 (before mfp I prob avg about 3500 calories most days). I never ate to the 2070, I would come in around 1750ish so I always had calories left over, even more when you factored in exercise calories but I never changed it, I used what I was given. Every 10lbs mfp deducted 50ish calories off. A year later, I have 101lbs gone & I now get 1490/day. If I don't exercise I rarely stay under those but if I go over its usually by 100 or less so I am still within my deficit. Edited to add: I lost my 101lbs in exactly only year, for the first 10mths I averaged 9lbs per mth, then it slowed down big time, I took Dec off which I regret. Since Nov I've lost the 11lbs to get me to my current weight. It does eventually slow down. I still have 43lbs to go, it very well might take me another full year to reach my goal but I am more then ok with that.

The goal is to set yourself up to be successful that's the only way this works. If you set yourself up for failure you will give up in no time. I know you can do it but you have to do it right. Its such a mental game, the slightest thing will send you reeling, so if you are aiming for 2lbs & you get a 1lb, instead of celebrating you will be upset. Every loss is a step in the right direction & its not a gain which is huge. Keep in mind the avg person loses about 4lbs a month & if done right, you have a much better chance of the weight staying off. There is no quick fix for this, it has to be a way of life for it to work.

Good luck on your journey to a healthier & happier you :-)

For me 1200, is way too low. For the best long term ability to stick with it, you're going to have to experiment a little and figure out what works best for you. I joined the site quite some time ago, and blew it off. I came back in Dec at 164 with no really significant amount to lose but still with abinge problem, and I started my calorie goal at 1700 until I could get used to it a bit. Now I'm at 1400, but I eat back pretty much all of my exercise calories. This gets me a 1lb a week loss even with not logging and eating pretty much whatever on Sundays. That 1400 can be tricky, and planning ahead is a must for me. This needs to be something you can do forever! I know I would rather lose weight slowly much more than losing it quickly and gaining it back because I didn't learn how to change all the things that made me gain the weight in the first place.

I have a goal of 140-150 pounds to lose, and I eat 1,550 a day and can still get kinda hungry while being pretty inactive >>
1,200 seems like a poorly informed decision. Do what's best for your body, not what seems fastest. It's not even close to your BMR.

I eat about 1400-1500 calories a day and work out about 4-5 times weekly. I am at the end of my weight loss and it is going slow now. But before I would lose 1-1.5 a week. 1200 is really low.