1200 or 1500cal/day??

911_911
911_911 Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,

After setting my goals and daily activity, myfitnesspal has calculated that the daily intake necessary to maintain my weight would be 1650kcal. In order to lose weight, it has set a goal of 1200kcal/day. I have been struggling to be below this limit, even though I choose healthy, low-cal foods.

I have been told that 1200kcal are too little. I was on a 1500cal/day (moritored by a doctor) and it was successful. Do you think increasing my daily intake to 1500 would be a good idea or would it be couterproductive? I'm totally lost.

Thank you :)

Replies

  • vkdarling
    vkdarling Posts: 161 Member
    If 1500 was successfull why change it?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    If 1500 was successfull why change it?

    ^This
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    what did you set your weekly weight loss goal to? with 5.1kg if it's over 1/2lb a week change that.
  • emmietoby
    emmietoby Posts: 172 Member
    hi, i use to have it set at 1200 for the longest but found it to low so i upped it to 1500 . hated to seeing red most of the time. with it being 1500 i tend to try to stay under 1200 and if i do go over it's ok for like i said i have it up to 1500. ( in fact looking for more friends ;) )
  • mfpnick
    mfpnick Posts: 1
    I see the recommended calorie goal as a minimum unless you are in bed all day. You should also take in account the deficit incurred by physical activity.

    Myfitnesspal has my calorie goal set to 1400 but have not eaten less than 1400 despite losing weight for the last three months. I know whatever I eat over my recommended goal I have to offset with physical activity.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    You are young, you don't have much to lose, and the 1500 was working before.... I would stick with the 1500. You will be happier, and you can always adjust later. Take your time with it and enjoy your life. :flowerforyou:
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    1500 calories is at a deficit for you… so you will still lose weight on it.

    Sometimes MFP sets people at 1200 because they have set their weight loss goal at a faster rate.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    How much weight are you trying to lose? If 1200 is a little too low for you… you may try adjusting your rate of weight loss
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    You didn't mention your height/weight/goals, but I've been losing fairly steadily at 1560.

    SW: 229 Height 5'4"
    CW: 190
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,227 Member
    MFP tells me for 2lb a week I should be on 1200. I eat 1600-1700 on average and drop 1-3lb a week. MFP is weird.
  • louisedbatchelor1983
    louisedbatchelor1983 Posts: 42 Member
    Be cognisant that 1200 would be the NET calorie, so if you ate 1500 but did a workout and burned 300 then you would be at your 1200

    My track is set at 1200 net a day, I workout 4-5 times a week and burn around 800kcal each session, but on my rest days I would eat around 1300-1400 as trying to stick to a food intake of 1200kcals is difficult without feeling hungry!

    My understanding is that you shouldn't eat less than 1200 a day, so even if you did some walking/light excerise every day you would be good at 1500 intake
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    If 1500 was successfull why change it?

    ^This

    yep!
  • 911_911
    911_911 Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks a lot everyone for your answers!
    For whom asked about age/weight/goal, I am 1,63m, weight 57kg and my goal is 51-52. I'm 22

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