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Am I Doing This Right? (Calorie Goal Question)

ErinMcMom
ErinMcMom Posts: 228 Member
edited February 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all!
I've been logging for 25 days and have seen positive results (probably mostly water weight), but after reading through a bunch of posts on this community, I've come to the realization that my daily calorie goal is very likely too low for me. I want to do this in a healthy way and don't want to lose muscle, so I want to make sure I do this right. I suck at math, will someone help me figure out how many cals I should be eating or let me know if I've got it right now?

Some info about me:
Female
5'9" 157 lbs (down from 168)
I wear a fitbit zip everyday and burn an average of 2448 calories per day (according to fitbit)
A lot of my exercise cals come from brisk walking (during my lunch hour), and playing Just Dance or Zumba on the Wii with my kids.
I've been using the 1200 cal goal that MFP gives when you set it to 2 lbs. I've also been eating back 50-75% of my calories everyday. So most days I eat about 1400 calories.

Am I doing it right?

Replies

  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    I would say you don't have a lot to lose, lower your estimated weightloss from 2lbs per week to 1 and your calories will increase. I am guessing you are pretty busy with work and family. Make sure you are getting enough, enjoy life and don't leave yourself hungry :flowerforyou:

    edit: Not saying you are doing it "wrong" but do what you think you can sustain, if peeps eat too little they tend to get HANGRY and want to give up ;)
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    I think 2lb per week is very aggressive for someone with so little to lose. I'd suggest changing your goal to lose 0.5lb per week or take a 10% cut from your TDEE.
  • ErinMcMom
    ErinMcMom Posts: 228 Member
    Thanks for taking a peek Faye_Anderson and knra_grl!
    I'd agree that 2lb per week is aggressive but I'm in a "Biggest Loser" contest at my work right now and would like to win (prize is $500 and Premiere Fitness membership for a year!) My plan is to bring it down to 1lb per week once the contest ends. :)
  • jess_blonde
    jess_blonde Posts: 229 Member
    You sound just like me! I'm 5'8" and my starting weight was 170ish...The first time I did this whole MFP thing, I did it super aggressively (the whole time at losing 2lb/week).

    I was one of those people like knra_grl said - I got HANGRY (though I did get down to 145 and looked fab in my wedding dress). Post-wedding, I fell off the wagon (and then I think maybe I ate the wagon) because I quite quickly got back up to 170 :(

    This time, I'm trying to be more conservative, sticking to 1lb/week and trying out some lifting instead of straight cardio. The other advice sounds spot on to me - drop to 1lb/week (after your challenge) and keep it slow and steady!
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    Thanks for taking a peek Faye_Anderson and knra_grl!
    I'd agree that 2lb per week is aggressive but I'm in a "Biggest Loser" contest at my work right now and would like to win (prize is $500 and Premiere Fitness membership for a year!) My plan is to bring it down to 1lb per week once the contest ends. :)

    Good luck with your contest at work! If you find yourself stalling though it sometimes does help to eat a bit more - even 100 cals. Whatever works for you though and congrats on your loss so far!
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