calorie allowance

aneary1980 · May 2014

I have changed my goals from 2lb to 1lb a week as I felt the 1200 cals were too low.

This bumped my allowance up to 1410 which is fine with the excercise I do.

Then I read for the amount I want to lose I should be aiming for 1.5lb a week so changed my goal again to 1.5lb and it has turned up at 1200cals again.

I'm confussed????

BigT555 · May 2014

whats your height and weight
mfp doesnt let you go below 1200, it could be that your maintenance calories is below 2200, in which case a 2 lb per week goal (which is a 1000 cal deficit) is too low for mfp settings
edit; im thinking that this must be it as a 1lb per week goal is a 500 cal deficit, and 500+1410=1910 maintenance

terbusha · May 2014

What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1400 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

Allan

Branstin · May 2014

What have you selected for your activity level?

aneary1980 · May 2014

I'm 5'4" I work in an office so I don't move all day.

I go to the gym 4/5 a week 2 pilates classes and 2/3 workouts which include cardio/weights (light atm)/ab work which is about an hour and half long.

Hannah_Hopes · May 2014

Give this a read
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

mfp tends to set alot of people onto 1200calories a day straight away it may be worth setting your goals based of your TDEE - x% do some research and use a online calculate to work it out, in the end it's worth just giving something a go and increasing/decreasing your calorie goal accordingly

I go to the gym 4/5 a week 2 pilates classes and 2/3 workouts which include cardio/weights (light atm)/ab work which is about an hour and half long.

Also remember if you're going by MFP & working out you should be 'eating back' some calories to be netting at whatever mfp says your goal is

Branstin · May 2014

You are at least "Lightly Active". Try changing your activity level to better represent your situation and your weekly weight loss goal to 1.5-2lbs. a week and see if that works.

StaciMarie1974 · May 2014

Here is how MFP works...

You enter stats such as height, weight, etc. You say what your activity level is. MFP uses that information to estimate what you burn in a typical day. (This does not include exercise.)

You then set a weight loss goal and MFP uses that to create a deficit. It takes your daily calories, subtracts 750 (for 1.5 pounds) or 500, 1000 as appropriate. If your calories - deficit is less than 1200, you're given 1200.

For you, if you get 1410 with a 500 deficit then MFP calculates you at 1910 for maintenance. 1910 - 750 (1.5 pounds) is less than 1200, so you're back at 1200.

How about this: set your goals for 500/1 pound and strive to be more active. That will bump up your daily burn from 1910 to something higher. So you can aim to lose a little more by moving more.

Unknown · May 2014

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lrmall01 · May 2014

You are at least "Lightly Active". Try changing your activity level to better represent your situation and your weekly weight loss goal to 1.5-2lbs. a week and see if that works.

Sorry, but I don't agree. The MFP calculator is trying to determine your daily calorie level before exercise and it then expects you to log exercise. She very clearly stated that she works an office job, so her activity level, excluding any exercise, if sedentary.

I go to the gym 4/5 a week 2 pilates classes and 2/3 workouts which include cardio/weights (light atm)/ab work which is about an hour and half long.

So if you then log all of these exercises, MFP will give you a few more hundred calories to eat on the days you workout. 1200 calories a day will only apply on the days where you sit in your office chair all day. Any time you workout, go for a walk, etc. you should log those and then eat the calories it suggests.

Basically you won't really be eating 1200 calories on most days and your weekly average is probably going to look a lot like the 1400 calories that Terbusha recommended.

MireyGal76 · May 2014

I have changed my goals from 2lb to 1lb a week as I felt the 1200 cals were too low.

This bumped my allowance up to 1410 which is fine with the excercise I do.

Then I read for the amount I want to lose I should be aiming for 1.5lb a week so changed my goal again to 1.5lb and it has turned up at 1200cals again.

I'm confussed????

It's early, so my math may be wrong... but based on the fact that you were set to 1410 at 1 pound a week, I'm thinking that MFP is calculating your daily calorie goal (at maintenance) at 1910.

If you want to lose a pound a week, that means you need to cut 500 calories a day at maintenance, leaving you at 1410 cals per day.

Setting it to 1.5 pounds a week, means you need to cut 750 calories a day, and that takes you to 1160 cals for food. This is a value that has been accepted as being too low, so MFP pushes you up to 1200. That's why there is no change when you move to 2 pounds a week.

I know you may want to lose a fair number of pounds, and fast, but I urge you to consider staying at 1pound per week, or dropping to 1/2 a pound a week (which would give you 1660 cals/day)... it may take longer, but you will learn to adjust your eating in a healthier and much more sustainable way.

It isn't a race to health. You want something that you can live with and enjoy. If you are too low on food, you will be unhappy, and more likely to binge.

Take your time. Get your exercise. Eat at least half of those calories back.. and start adjusting your lifestyle in simple and meaningful ways.

And try to enjoy your ever changing shape.

Plus... don't forget to weigh and measure your food. Estimation/eyeballing it, until you have had a lot of practice, is not your friend.

eta - HAH! Beaten to the punch!

sk8trchk · May 2014

You can manually set your goal lower, but MFP doesn't like it as it thinks that it is not enough calories.

I find for me that if I give myself the 1lb/week loss goal it's more of a challenge to get below that number. I try to eat at least 1200 calories and than workout to get back down below that.

aneary1980 · May 2014

I'm 5'4" I work in an office so I don't move all day.

I go to the gym 4/5 a week 2 pilates classes and 2/3 workouts which include cardio/weights (light atm)/ab work which is about an hour and half long.

I believed he asked for height and WEIGHT

if you cant tell us your weight because you are embarrased you are on the WRONG site looking for help

help us help you

what is your height AND WEIGHT?!

I actually missed that bit!!

Putting things in capitals makes you sound very abussive and until I can work out how to block you am I not making you aware of my weight.

Unknown · May 2014

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AdventureFreak · May 2014

abusive is spelled with one S.

Derp_Diggler · May 2014

abusive is spelled with one S.

Ess is spelled with an E and two ess'

AdventureFreak · May 2014

abusive is spelled with one S.

Ess is spelled with an E and two ess'

Like this... Eessess?

Derp_Diggler · May 2014

abusive is spelled with one S.

Ess is spelled with an E and two ess'

Like this... Eessess?

Ed Zachary!

_KitKat_ · May 2014

I'm 5'4" I work in an office so I don't move all day.

I go to the gym 4/5 a week 2 pilates classes and 2/3 workouts which include cardio/weights (light atm)/ab work which is about an hour and half long.

I believed he asked for height and WEIGHT

if you cant tell us your weight because you are embarrased you are on the WRONG site looking for help

help us help you

what is your height AND WEIGHT?!

I actually missed that bit!!

Putting things in capitals makes you sound very abussive and until I can work out how to block you am I not making you aware of my weight.

really youre going to get butt hurt because I used caps?

Good luck on MFP

if youre embarrased about your weight you are on the wrong site honey.

Like I said, good luck to ya.

Your weight is one of the few extremely relavent numbers to be able to answer your question.

Taking insult where non was meant will not work here very well. When you post people really want to help, but only if you will help yourself. Honest logging, providing ALL relavent facts and making your best effort at educating yourself. There are some great threads that show up everywhere here. Read them and ask a question that you still have, but make sure to give: Sex, height, weight, activity, method (MFP/TDEE), and an open diary always helps. Also weighing your food and logging everything is the only way to get the proper data on consumption.

If you are sensitive to bluntness, definitely do your research. You most likely wouldn't handle it well if you started repeating some of the ignorance that goes around on the forums.

calorie allowance

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