im confused ?

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mimilynn913
mimilynn913 Posts: 4
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On my fitness pal thing it says I must eat 2,264 calories to lose weight that can't be right ? I changed it to 1800 for now I weigh a lot :( 200 something.... That's as far as I'm going ! I'm 25 I'm not looking to do this for short term I wanna do this as a forever change amiI ok to put it as 1800 for now?
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  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
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    I'm eating 2300 and losing. I'm only about 148 right now, but I'm very active. The heavier you are, the more your body uses to fuel itself and keep itself up and running. If you eat too many calories under what your body needs to stay where it is, you end up hungry and it's more difficult to stay on track. Personally, when I was eating less than 2300, I would end up binging every couple of days but I was still losing weight. I decided it's better to eat MORE, lose weight SLOWER and be less miserable. That being said, 1800 isn't going to make you starve and you should definitely be able to lose weight, but perhaps you should consider trying the 2200 for a month and see if you lose any weight.

    A lot of people on this site will suggest figuring out what your TDEE is (total daily energy expenditure: how many calories you actually burn every day at your height/age/weight and activity level) and eat about 15% fewer calories than that. You won't feel hungry and you won't lose weight super fast so you'll keep more of your muscle.
  • MscGray
    MscGray Posts: 304 Member
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    Few questions....
    1. did you get that number from MFP (after you entered your physical information, activity level, goal weight loss per week)
    or did you get that number from TDEE calculator on another site?
    2. If it was MFP generated number....is that after you are logging work outs?
  • piedpiper95
    piedpiper95 Posts: 5
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    The MyFitnessPal estimates are usually pretty good. Heavier people do need more calories, so as you lose weight you'll need to eat progressively less to continue to lose. You may think 1800 is a good idea, but you might end up STARVING after a few days, so I'd try what the program says, for a while at least. If you aren't losing fast enough you can lower it later, but if this is your first time then I'd definitely take it slow, to get used to tracking food, eating healthier, etc. without being discouraged by being hungry all the time because you set your goal too low.
  • mimilynn913
    mimilynn913 Posts: 4
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    From fitness pal
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    Your profile says you have 120lbs to lose...if you weigh around 200, your goal is 80lbs? Or is it something else?
  • mimilynn913
    mimilynn913 Posts: 4
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    Your profile says you have 120lbs to lose...if you weigh around 200, your goal is 80lbs? Or is it something else?
    . I should fix tht :) I dont pay attention to my profile just app on my phone I feel so attached to it now it feels odd if I don't track everything
  • munabb
    munabb Posts: 4 Member
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    Tracking daily is my new hobby as well. :}. Keep it up. Munabb
  • smangan19817
    smangan19817 Posts: 5
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    I am at 1450 calories a day because I am not active. I stick to it but it is not easy. Don't cut yourself off from calories now because you will be cut back as you lose the weight. Exercise as much as you can and that will help. I used to walk 3 miles a day and lost 60 lbs. Can't do that anymore because of a medical reason but sure wish I could. Be patient, this is a war, not a battle.
  • MscGray
    MscGray Posts: 304 Member
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    Well first things first, you need to make sure that your information is correctly entered. MFP is making caloric recommendations based off of what you are entering...so if the numbers you put in are not accurate, then what MFP spits out at you is not accurate either. That number does seem really on the high end and I would be very curious what data you put in to get it. Unless you are quoting the number that you get AFTER adding exercise information in, then it could be more realisitc.
  • CCSavage88
    CCSavage88 Posts: 191
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    That's not high for someone who has a good amount of weight to lose and plans to be active...Cut it back if you want to, you'll only be hindering your losses. If you plan on being active and DONT meet your requirements what will your body use for fuel? If you think cutting it down will help you lose your only kidding yourself, you'll traumatize your system and will hold onto anything and everything because it's in starvation mode.
  • jackandnikki
    jackandnikki Posts: 3 Member
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    Stay with that amount if you are going to be active and make sure to eat your good carbs, fruits and veg. You will feel full. As you loose weight you can adjust then. If you were eating a lot of fast food or junk you were consuming more calories then is being calculated. Take an old day of eating and do a day journal so you realize the differences in calories, fat, salts, etc. you will be surprised. Be honest and calculate everything even a handful of chips or a couple chocolates add up quickly. If you are heavy start a walking program first no high impact. Then try some weight training as you loose to tighten and firm. Good luck:smile:
  • chijenyogini
    chijenyogini Posts: 6 Member
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    The MyFitnessPal estimates are usually pretty good. Heavier people do need more calories, so as you lose weight you'll need to eat progressively less to continue to lose. You may think 1800 is a good idea, but you might end up STARVING after a few days, so I'd try what the program says, for a while at least. If you aren't losing fast enough you can lower it later, but if this is your first time then I'd definitely take it slow, to get used to tracking food, eating healthier, etc. without being discouraged by being hungry all the time because you set your goal too low.

    =) +1
  • aaamen
    aaamen Posts: 2 Member
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    Well I'm confused I was told 1200 cal. were good for losing weight.
  • amy8400
    amy8400 Posts: 478 Member
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    Well I'm confused I was told 1200 cal. were good for losing weight.

    Whoever told you that gave you a generalization. Can you imagine a man who weighs 260 lbs eating 1200 calories a day?

    1200 calories is the MINIMUM anyone should eat just to keep their body running properly. And if you exercise, you'll be running at a deficit. 1200 calories is where a lot of women start but anyone who's been here a few months knows, you won't stay there long without being terribly miserable and cranky. Talk about a recipe for bingeing or eventually giving up.

    Eat more, exercise and lose weight in a healthy way. Lose weight fast and you might think you're getting somewhere but your body will eventually balk, you'll plateau and you'll have lost muscle in the process.
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
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    That's not high for someone who has a good amount of weight to lose and plans to be active...Cut it back if you want to, you'll only be hindering your losses. If you plan on being active and DONT meet your requirements what will your body use for fuel? If you think cutting it down will help you lose your only kidding yourself, you'll traumatize your system and will hold onto anything and everything because it's in starvation mode.

    Whoops, you just lost me at "starvation mode." Eating at 1800 or even 1200 calories isn't automatically going to put you in starvation mode, just make you grumpy and hungry and less likely to hit goals and succeed. I'd say 1800 is fine, if you feel satisfied. And honestly, calorie-logging is more an art than a science so if you set your goal lower, it can make up for innaccuracies that have you eating more calories than you thought.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Your profile says you have 120lbs to lose...if you weigh around 200, your goal is 80lbs? Or is it something else?
    . I should fix tht :) I dont pay attention to my profile just app on my phone I feel so attached to it now it feels odd if I don't track everything

    You need to pay attention to those settings for the 5 minutes it takes to set up. They determine everything about your weight loss and how that (wonderful) phone app works.

    Set your profile correctly - age, weight, sex, pounds per week you want to lose (start with one pound/week). Set your activity level to sedentary unless you walk 2 miles a day.

    Log every little thing.

    When you get going, you can log your exercise too and that buys you more calories. But yes, heavy people get a lot of calories - especially if they're young. That's why you need to be ACCURATE about your age, weight, and sex.

    Personally, I did mine accurately and then ate less than that if I wasn't hungry. But then again, I also logged all my exercise calories.

    IMHO, the best thing you can do when losing weight is to log for a week or two. Then go through your diary and figure out where all the big lumps of calories are coming from. Modify those. For me, it was cutting back on milk, bread, and cheese. I also took smaller portions of rice. That's all I had to do to be under my calories. For you it might be something else. But those were easy changes to make that didn't require a lot of effort. They made it easy to hit my calorie goals.
  • happysquidmuffin
    happysquidmuffin Posts: 651 Member
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    Well I'm confused I was told 1200 cal. were good for losing weight.

    Whoever told you that gave you a generalization. Can you imagine a man who weighs 260 lbs eating 1200 calories a day?

    1200 calories is the MINIMUM anyone should eat just to keep their body running properly. And if you exercise, you'll be running at a deficit. 1200 calories is where a lot of women start but anyone who's been here a few months knows, you won't stay there long without being terribly miserable and cranky. Talk about a recipe for bingeing or eventually giving up.

    Eat more, exercise and lose weight in a healthy way. Lose weight fast and you might think you're getting somewhere but your body will eventually balk, you'll plateau and you'll have lost muscle in the process.

    I do have to agree with you there, 1200 made me want to murder puppies just so I could eat them. No, not really. But I upped to 1350 and even though I'm still going over alot it feels more realistic and I don't have to skip a meal just to have enough calories left at the end of the day. Oh and with exercise, you get to eat more. I just underestimate calories burned (exercise for 20 min but log 15) and eat back the calories.
  • NerdyAdventurer
    NerdyAdventurer Posts: 166 Member
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    Yup, make sure you double check your goals. For my first couple days I was struggling to even eat half of what it wanted me to after exercise. I didn't realize that I put my starting weight at 183 (correct) and my goal at 365, instead of 165.
    Glad I caught it after only a couple days. That could have been disastrous!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    Actually, it is very possible...but the information MFP gives you is only as accurate as the information you put in. You have to understand that your calorie requirements are directly related to your sex, size, age, and activity level....there is no one size fits all XXXX calorie goal for weight loss.

    I'm a very active individual and I lose weight eating around 2300 - 2,500 calories per day. I maintain right around 2800 - 3000. Your activity level plays a tremendous role in your body's energy requirements. The whole 1200 calorie thing is basically sedentary minimum for females with an aggressive loss rate goal.

    Really, this ultimately comes down to trial and error...any of these calculators are just giving you a reasonably good starting point...ultimately you have to make adjustments as per real world results.

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