MFP says 1200 cal intake .... ::confused face::

aliah1981 · May 2014

I am i guess having an issue with my calorie intake. I am currently 194lbs and want to lose 30 lbs overall and close to10 in about a months’ time +/-. I'm a newbie to MFP and when I completed the initial profile I was told to intake 1200 calories a day. I have been doing that with no problem, keeping my meals veggie and protein conscious, however when I workout I am then told that I am not meeting my intake and that basically it may become a problem.

Now, I do not think I am "over weight" and even when I tell people I am 194 they do not believe me (check my profile pic) however I am more comfortable with the weight I was say 2 years ago. I am extremely muscular (i thank my mom for that

) and just need a bit of info on how I am supposed to go about the fat loss.

I am at a desk all day and am currently doing T25 with a mix of weight training at the gym and Pilates on random nights when I'm up and board, :laugh:

I am up for any suggestions.

Thanks a mill guys!!

SezxyStef · May 2014

With 30lbs to lose 10 in one month might be a bit ambitious...

Typically the suggestion is between 1/2lb and 1lb a week until you hit 25lbs to lose then switch to 1/2lb a week.

Did you put weekly weight loss goal to 2lbs a week?

And yes you need to eat back your exercise calories...to fuel your next workout...

For fat loss you need a calorie deficet, a decent amount of protien and resistence training...to maintain muscle mass...and lose mainly fat...

_HeartsOnFire_ · May 2014

With 30lbs to lose 10 in one month might be a bit ambitious...

Typically the suggestion is between 1/2lb and 1lb a week until you hit 25lbs to lose then switch to 1/2lb a week.

Did you put weekly weight loss goal to 2lbs a week?

And yes you need to eat back your exercise calories...to fuel your next workout...

For fat loss you need a calorie deficit, a decent amount of protein and resistance training...to maintain muscle mass...and lose mainly fat...

QFT

aliah1981 · May 2014

Thanks for the info .....

I did put 2lbs a week as my loss goal. I know its ambitious I only did it to get me excited and reved LOL.... It's not my end all be all, I promise.

Do you think the 1200 is enough considering I'm working out 4-5 times a week? I have a feeling I should up the calories but also thinking I should stick this out for at least a week just to see the results.

My TDEE: 2,237
TDEE - 20% = Fat Loss Cal: 1,790 per day

I'm thinking that might be a bit difficult simply bc i find myself feeling fuller alot quicker lately but will aim for at least 1500.

Thoughts?

aliah1981 · May 2014

With 30lbs to lose 10 in one month might be a bit ambitious...

Typically the suggestion is between 1/2lb and 1lb a week until you hit 25lbs to lose then switch to 1/2lb a week.

Did you put weekly weight loss goal to 2lbs a week?

And yes you need to eat back your exercise calories...to fuel your next workout...

For fat loss you need a calorie deficet, a decent amount of protien and resistence training...to maintain muscle mass...and lose mainly fat...

Thanks for the info .....

I did put 2lbs a week as my loss goal. I know its ambitious I only did it to get me excited and reved LOL.... It's not my end all be all, I promise.

Do you think the 1200 is enough considering I'm working out 4-5 times a week? I have a feeling I should up the calories but also thinking I should stick this out for at least a week just to see the results.

My TDEE: 2,237
TDEE - 20% = Fat Loss Cal: 1,790 per day

I'm thinking that might be a bit difficult simply bc i find myself feeling fuller alot quicker lately but will aim for at least 1500.

Thoughts?

Erikalynne18 · May 2014

I would eat more. The 1200 cal goal is if you are eating back your exercise calories you should equal out to 1200. Personally I think this is even too low. I did the 1200 cal (plus exercise) for 2 months and I did lose weight, but I hated dieting, I woke up with hunger pains during the night, felt weak during the day, and had bad headaches. Then I increased it to 1700 and I continued to lose weight, and could actually enjoy myself

also on 1200 I had no energy for my workouts whereas when I increased my calories it was much easier to put the effort in

Erikalynne18 · May 2014

Thanks for the info .....

I did put 2lbs a week as my loss goal. I know its ambitious I only did it to get me excited and reved LOL.... It's not my end all be all, I promise.

Do you think the 1200 is enough considering I'm working out 4-5 times a week? I have a feeling I should up the calories but also thinking I should stick this out for at least a week just to see the results.

My TDEE: 2,237
TDEE - 20% = Fat Loss Cal: 1,790 per day

I'm thinking that might be a bit difficult simply bc i find myself feeling fuller alot quicker lately but will aim for at least 1500.

Thoughts?

My thought is that you should be eating this amount

TDEE -20% is a great method

braves1girl · May 2014

I agree with you that you should eat more. However, I think a 20% cut may be a bit too much. That percentage is usually for those wanting to lose quite a bit of weight. Since you only have 30 lbs, I would go with a 15% cut. You want to fuel your body for those 4-5 workouts a week. IMO, 1200 is too low for anyone. Good luck!

dammitjanet0161 · May 2014

I started out at almost the same weight as you (196) and have a similar goal for weight loss (2 stone ie 28lbs). Not sure how tall you are (or if it makes a difference to what MFP calculates?) but I am 5'10 and MFP gave me about 1600 for a 1lb a week loss and 1770 for half a pound a week.

I like my food so I chose to go with 1770

and I am 8lb down since mid-March, so that's a bit faster than 0.5lb a week for me and that is including a few days weekends of going over my calories mostly at weekends (I tend to average it over a week).

I've seen people on the forums advise that the aim is to find the highest number of calories that you can lose weight on, rather than the lowest amount of calories that you can manage on, and I would agree with this 100%. Seems to be working for me so far anyway!

cwolfman13 · May 2014

With 30lbs to lose 10 in one month might be a bit ambitious...

Typically the suggestion is between 1/2lb and 1lb a week until you hit 25lbs to lose then switch to 1/2lb a week.

Did you put weekly weight loss goal to 2lbs a week?

And yes you need to eat back your exercise calories...to fuel your next workout...

For fat loss you need a calorie deficet, a decent amount of protien and resistence training...to maintain muscle mass...and lose mainly fat...

Thanks for the info .....

I did put 2lbs a week as my loss goal. I know its ambitious I only did it to get me excited and reved LOL.... It's not my end all be all, I promise.

Do you think the 1200 is enough considering I'm working out 4-5 times a week? I have a feeling I should up the calories but also thinking I should stick this out for at least a week just to see the results.

My TDEE: 2,237
TDEE - 20% = Fat Loss Cal: 1,790 per day

I'm thinking that might be a bit difficult simply bc i find myself feeling fuller alot quicker lately but will aim for at least 1500.

Thoughts?

^^^A better approach for sure. That said, if you stick with MFP be adivised that MFP is a NEAT method calculator which means you log your exercise after the fact and get additional calories...so if you exercise you will be eating more than 1200 calories.

I also agree with others that with 30 Lbs to lose a 2 Lb per week goal is extremely aggressive and more likely than not you will be very cranky in short order.

aliah1981 · May 2014

MY GOSH!! You ladies are awesome.

Thank you so much. I think I am going to raise my cal intake and go from there.

Thanks a mill!!

MFP says 1200 cal intake .... ::confused face::

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