Frustrated with Net Calories, losing too much....

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alldayc
alldayc Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I have used myfitnesspal off/on as a food tracker for a long time, a few years. But I just now wanted to begin using ALL of it's features.
I had a personal trainer and was losing 1lb a day (approx.) and I lost 50lbs within 3 months or so. I lost the weight fast, but it was unhealthy. I couldn't keep it off, I had issues with binging... I was eating 800-1000 calories a day and high days about 1200.

Myfitnesspal set my net calories at 1200. I have ate that, and I lose 1lbs a day or more. That seems great but I really want to lose at a healthier weight of about 2lbs a week or so... I just CANNOT function at 1200 calories a day. I risk binging, giving up, getting headaches, and being so lethargic I definitely will not be working out.
I have done nothing today but college papers, no exercise at all. I still am STARVING. I am confused because my BMR tool said I need 1900 calories a day just to function.

If this is the case, why is myfitnesspal setting my calories so low at 1200? Other tools I have used said to eat around 2300 a day for maintenance and around 1800 for fat loss.... Suggestions, ideas, help?

Replies

  • tulosai
    tulosai Posts: 20 Member
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    Can you tell us your height, weight, age, and how many pounds you told MFP you want to lose a week?
  • noonydeloony
    noonydeloony Posts: 1 Member
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    I'm also on 1200 calories a day. I struggled the first couple of days with headaches because of the lack of caffeine but after that I've been doing ok for the past 2 weeks. I get peckish but I'm not starving. Are you drinking enough water? I found drinking a large glass of water with every meal and having a glass between meals as well as drinking green tea or other flavored teas helped with cravings and wanting to snack. I did lose a lot of weight very quickly in the first week as well, but most of that was water retention as I'd began consuming more (I have 6 large glasses a day, 1 with each meal and 1 between each meal). I've now plateaued, I'm no expert but it is my understanding that the initial quick weight loss is quite normal for the first week then after that you will slow down to losing 1 or 2 lbs a week. Hope some of this is useful and helps for you.
  • cadaver0usb0nes
    cadaver0usb0nes Posts: 151 Member
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    Change your settings to lose 1 lb a week, most likely you have set it to 2 lbs a week and that always usually makes the goal 1200 calories. You also are supposed to eat back your exercise calories.... And make sure you have your activity level set correctly as well. You can also try using the TDEE method instead.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    I am confused because my BMR tool said I need 1900 calories a day just to function.
    Those would only need to come from today's food if you had no body fat/calories to use to fuel your body. Deficit eating is by definition using your body's excess pounds as fuel. There is no reason you have to have 1900/day from food.

    But definitely tweak your settings to eat more if you're losing too fast. If you're losing a pound a day, try 1600 or 1900 or whatever eating level feels good to you, and readjust as needed. There is no tiny window of caloric intake we each have to try to decipher and eat within, especially if you have a lot to lose.

    Good luck!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    According to your ticker, you have 47 lbs. left to lose. Set your goal to 1 lb. per week—which is more than 1,200 calories—and be patient.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • AbsolutelyAnnie
    AbsolutelyAnnie Posts: 2,695 Member
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    1200 is low. Reset your goals to .5 to 1 pound a week or use the Custom setting under goals to set your net calories to about 1600-1700 for starters. Try that for a while and see how you feel. You should not feel like you are starving. This is trial and error and you will need to do some tweaking along the way to hit the sweet spot. Consider using the custom setting to tweak your carb, fat, protein settings to give you a bit fewer carbs and more fat and protein. That will help you feel fuller longer.

    Also, a pound a day is water weight. That will slow down considerably as time goes by.

    And send out and accept friend requests, if you haven't already. For me, it has made all the difference in the world.

    Best of luck!
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
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    3500 calorie deficit equals one pound weight loss regardless of whether the 3500 calorie deficit happens over 4 days or a month.
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    Ok...
    I am 23
    5'7
    212lbs

    I recently had a career change. I was a server for many years and that is FAST past go go go... Now I have to drive a lot and sit in a desk at college 3 days a week, plus my job is not near as go go go anymore, although it is more "community" than "desk". I walk my dogs a couple days a week, a leisure stroll about a mile or so... And I have not worked out in weeks with the new job change, my master's program, and all the driving. I would say I am not very active, I feel lazy compared to what I was doing actually.

    If I eat 1200 calories a day, I easily lose 5lbs a week. I would rather eat more and be able to lose less a week and stay on track than be starving and fall off the wagon.

    I did tell myfitnesspal I wanted to lose 2lbs a week, because I do lol :doh: Was that the wrong thing to do?

    TDEE.... Can you explain? I have seen it abbreviated when I tried IIFYM (a method I thoroughly enjoyed) I was eating around 2000 on it and losing about... 3lbs a week. But it was very carb restricting, very... I'd have to drink mostly protein shakes to try to catch up my proteins, and I hate shakes or anything with artificial sweetener.

    I wanted to try a good all around moderation diet that I can stick to forever sotospeak.
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    Whew, so much to read. I just read some more of the responses...

    I have used myfitnesspal for a long long time off and on... My ticker and settings were not updated at all. I was working on doing all of that today, and that's when I realized there was an issue here I couldn't fix.

    I was 208 then I was 158 then I was 165 then I was 185 now I am 212... I have tried to come back to MFP off and on so the settings were not where I am now...
    I only ever used it to track my food and calories, I never used it how it is meant to... That is what I wanted to start doing.

    I knew I could manually set it, but I wasn't sure where I should start at...

    Looks like I will go play with settings and change it to .5lbs a week and see what it says and play around with that.

    Maybe I am more active than I think I am, because 1200 calories I lose weight super fast, which I don't want.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I'm a bit confused as to why you're still at 212 lbs if you lose weight so fast, and further confused as to what the problem is - I would get to 150 before stressing to be honest.

    But the answer to the "why" question is that the calculations are all estimates with an accuracy of +/- 10% for any individual at best, so if the outcome for you is a faster loss rate then you're clearly using more energy than MFP thinks and can compensate for that by dialling in a lower loss rate to start with.

    You could also be over-reporting, so double check the entries you use as they're largely user submitted. We can't see your diary to check as it isn't open.
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    Wow....
    Well,
    I am still 212lbs because I lost a crap ton of weight within a 3 month period and also gave myself a binge eating disorder in the process.
    I then had surgery on both legs, couldn't work out, and still had my eating disorder. I was rapidly gaining weight.
    I tried to diet the only way I knew how, eating 1000 to 1200 calories a day, I would lose weight as fast as always, but again I would find myself not being able to hold steady and binging again for a day or two days and gaining everything for that week back.

    A diet that was way too strict was a contributor to that. I ate Chicken and broccoli all day everyday besides one days a week I would eat a sweet potato.

    I finally just stopped so I could get help with my binging and recover. Well, here I am. Thank you. I was 220. Once I got to 212 I decided to try MFP for support and to be able to find a HEALTHY calorie amount where I wouldn't have to totally throw out all foods besides chicken and broccoli.

    Now, I hope this helps your confusion.

    Thank you.
  • AbsolutelyAnnie
    AbsolutelyAnnie Posts: 2,695 Member
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    There is so much information that it can feel like drinking from a fire hydrant. Please don't get discouraged.

    I want to recommend the following two posts here at MFP. They were written by a couple of long time and very successful members. Please take the time to read through both slowly, and then repeat. :-) The links in each article are also very helpful.

    This one is gold.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    This one will help you with settings, especially macros, and talks about TDEE. TDEE is a little complicated to grasp at first, but it makes good sense. It basically means that all your activity is factored into your calorie intake, thereby increasing your daily goal. The difference is that you do not log your exercise at MFP so you don't have to deal with MFP adding calories back to compensate for your exercise burn and you don't have to monkey with a daily net. I've set my intake by TDEE and it has made things so much simpler.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    This last one is not an MFP article, but is a link included in the article above. For me, it was the better of the two TDEE calculators as it factors in all daily activity.
    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

    Feel free to send me a friend request if you'd like. :happy:
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Too aggressive a weight-loss goal is unhealthy & unproductive. Deprivation can lead to bingeing.

    Set your goal to 1 lb. per week, and learn to log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. You need to learn healthy serving sizes and proper nutrition. What you did last time was not sustainable, so try a different approach this time.

    Please, read the Sexypants link. It will help you lose weight—and keep it off—in a healthy way: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    APR thank you so very much. I will look into those... I think I would prefer not tracking my exercise on myfitnesspal... I thought it odd that when I put in weight training it would never count calories of that. Some of those sessions would kick my heart rate up more than anything, and my HRM watch would say I burned a lot of calories, but MFP didn't recognize weight training as calories so it was confusing if you were supposed to put them in or not.

    editor
    I know, it was VERY unhealthy. Which is why I began to binge, it was just horrible mentally what it did to me as well as the fact my body couldn't handle any other "normal" food for a while.

    I finally feel like mentally I am ready to try this diet thing again... But in a healthy way. In a slow, steady way. Not in the way I was taught by my original "trainer". And I want to make sure I find a good balance for myself.
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    The articles and websites have totally answered a lot of my questions. I feel better now, and realize I was under estimating my activity. A lot of what I consider doing absolutely nothing includes dishes, dinner, walking the dogs in the yard and playing fetch with them... I guess I am more active than I considered, I was comparing it to what I used to do.

    I feel like I have a better idea of what to start at and look for.

    I also liked the TDEE method, as I really don't track things like steps taken or walking the dog... To me those were not so "important" I didn't see them as exercise.

    Thanks to everyone who helped! :)
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    You can try resetting your goals. If I'm doing my math right, you theoretically could eat around XXXXX calories a day and still lose ~1 lb a week.

    From your post I garnered that you are losing 5 lbs every 7 days. 5 lbs * 3500 calories per lb = 17500 caloric deficit a week / 7 days a week = 2500 calorie deficit per day. If you're netting 1200 calories a day, then to maintain would put you at (1200 + 2500) 3700.

    This seems a little HIGH to me. Theoretically to lose 1 lb a week, you deduct 500 calories a day from your maintainence calorie goal (3700 - 500 = 3200). Maybe you're overestimating the calories you're eating?

    My recommendation is to reset your goals w/ youe current weight and set it to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs a week. See what calorie goals it spits out at you. Stick with it for a few weeks (about a month) and re-evaluate based on total lbs lost (calculating your TDEE). :)
  • alldayc
    alldayc Posts: 7
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    I did just that. It set me at 1680 and if that drops too fast I will move it up to 1800.

    When I calculated my TDEE from that website it was also a high number... But I considered things like fetch with the dogs, walking them for potty breaks, housework (on our all tile floor), walking our university campus and the four flights of stairs for class (I don't take the elevator), etc as unimportant things and still considered myself sedentary because I wasn't "really active" in my mind.

    Once I read on that site what the differences in activity level was I was like WHOA, that's why.... I think that was a big problem with it.

    I was comparing being a server 5 days a week and working out 6 days a week to what I do now.... Which was wrong. Instead of just calculating what I do now compared to the scales.
    You can try resetting your goals. If I'm doing my math right, you theoretically could eat around XXXXX calories a day and still lose ~1 lb a week.

    From your post I garnered that you are losing 5 lbs every 7 days. 5 lbs * 3500 calories per lb = 17500 caloric deficit a week / 7 days a week = 2500 calorie deficit per day. If you're netting 1200 calories a day, then to maintain would put you at (1200 + 2500) 3700.

    This seems a little HIGH to me. Theoretically to lose 1 lb a week, you deduct 500 calories a day from your maintainence calorie goal (3700 - 500 = 3200). Maybe you're overestimating the calories you're eating?

    My recommendation is to reset your goals w/ youe current weight and set it to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs a week. See what calorie goals it spits out at you. Stick with it for a few weeks (about a month) and re-evaluate based on total lbs lost (calculating your TDEE). :)

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