295lbs How many cals?

Take a look at this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

From my personal experience that is way too low. I would even hazard a guess that is under your BMR. I started out at 255lbs and eating 1610 cals + eating back exercise calories. I kept lowering my cals every time MFP prompted me to getting down to about 1420 + exercise cals. My hair began falling out scary fast and my energy tanked. After doing a lot of research, I upped my cals, protein and iron and my hair began growing back and my energy was restored. I currently eat 2000-2500. I maintain on 2500 and lose slowly on 2000. I've also learned that a smaller more moderate cut keeps me mentally sane. When I cut calories too low I begin to feel deprived and rebellious and I find myself binging. The way I eat is not a diet. It's just how I eat. I eat everything I want in moderation. If there is something I want to eat more of or have a family get together I eat and don't worry about calories . It all balances out. For the first time in my life I feel normal in my relationship with food. Food and my body are no longer the enemies to be subdued. They are my partners in a wonderful healthy life.

Hi there,

We just became friends, but I will answer you here in case it's helpful to someone else one of these days.

I started in November at 274 and I currently weight 248.6. I generally eat around 2,000-2,500 calories per day. I have lost weight before and gained it back. In my late teen and early 20's I was bulimic and though I stopped purging, I remained a pretty serious binge eater until a couple of years ago. I spent a couple years trying to normalize my relationship with food before I decided to lose weight. Here is what I learned:

1.Restricting below 1500 calories per day sets me up for binging because it's NOT ENOUGH FOOD FOR SOMEONE OVER 200LBS. It's just not.

2. I don't want to have to lose this weight again. If I were to only eat 1400 per day, I still wouldn't be learning how to eat like a normal person. The way you eat when you're restricting severely is drastically different from normal eating, for most people from what I've seen of people's food diaries and my own experiences. A higher intake will help you learn how to eat like a normal person.

3. Food is food. It's a neutral thing. Pretty much any food has a place in a healthy diet. So you should be eating enough calories that if you have piece of cake or some ice cream or (my favorite) deep fried jalapeno poppers now and then it's not a big deal. 1400 calories doesn't leave room for moderation. Moderation is key.

4. Be content to lose slowly. I consider any day with a deficit successful. Sure, I aim for 1,000, and I average 750, but I am perfectly content with 300. I didn't eat all my calories, awesome!

5. I love cooking and I love eating = move my body more. I try to burn 3,000 calories per day. I hate the gym, so I hike and walk, even when the weather is crappy. Find something you like to do.

6. Little choices make a big difference: If the weather is really bad, I've learned that jogging/walking up and down my living room, dinning, and into the kitchen can still get me 10,000 steps, so can walking up and down my stairs. I can choose to stand instead of sit at work. I walk when I am on the phone. Stand to fold laundry. My house is 3 stories with the main living area on the bottom, when ever I go to the middle floor, I actually go to the third floor, then come back down to get that extra set of stairs in. Park further. These thing really do add up. Start with one, add other.

7. Data is important. Be honest with yourself when you're logging your food. Measure and weight to help understand portion sizes. I have a Bodymedia Link armband and it has really helped me. I learned that I burn much more than I thought, or MFP estimated as an obese person. Even if I sit in a chair all day, I burn more than the MFP "sedentary" estimate. I strongly reccomend you change your setting to "lightly active".

Speaking of lightly active, I need to get off this damn computer and get outside!

I suggest you decide how committed you are. If you can't see yourself eating 1400 cals worth of food that's more than I eat in almost a day in a half. You won't starve yourself even at 1200. The human body which is not active doesn't require that much thermal load.

You need to allow your body to burn the fat out of your organs like your liver for example. To do that, you need to drink a lot of water, and create a deficit.

I would also recommend cutting refined carbs, soda, and other sugary treats out for the time being. Stick to protein and green veggies. Carrots and other "sweet" veggies have a lot of hidden carbs. Cut down on fruit. You want up your fat intake as well.

LCHF diets are very effective for morbidly obese individuals. But remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a diet. Once you start down this path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

A typical day for me looks like this:

Morning:
2 eggs scrambled
avacado or bacon (2 -3 slices)
coffee with coconut milk (unsweetened)

Lunch:

1 can of tuna
with some tomatos and vinegar

Snack:

Handful of almonds (about an 1 oz)

Dinner:

3.0 oz of Chicken baked with mushrooms (10-12 mushrooms) and kale (1 cup of kale)

Normally, I'm below 1300 cals and I exercise on top of that so i eat lots of fats and protein.

I weigh everything out. Its the only way to be certain. I would also endeavor to stay away from processed foods like lean cuisines and weight watchers foods. They have lots of salts and additives. The number 1 killer of weight loss success is not paying attention to portion size. That's really the only thing that matters. Its true that you can eat whatever you want in moderation. But I can't do the moderation thing with some foods. So I just don't eat them or bring them in the house.

Having been not so far from where you are about a year ago. I understand totally. But once you start CONSCIOUSLY eating, you will be surprised. You will be hungry, and you will have cravings. Will power baby. If you screw up, forgive yourself and start over again.

this is a good reason to do cardio! start out just walking if thats all you can do,,just start..it gives you more calories to eat back.then after a while you can start adding in lifting,and you will be amazed at the results,,I like to eat and I eat like a horse 3 days a week after 3 hours of TKD,,but I only record one hour on MFP so I am still at a huge deficit..you will find you will need to tweek things to work for you as you go along,and thats perfectly fine as long as the end result is what you want! edited to say:with MFP I have lost 14 lbs since late nov,,thats when I joined,total I have lost 50 Lbs since July 2013.