Calorie goal unrealistic?!

Are you tiny?
Are you setting a fast rate of weight loss such as 2lbs a week?
How many calories would MFP give you if you set your goal to maintain?

PS - Also remember you can earn more calories by exercising.

Heyyy, i've used MFP for a while now but never stuck to it. Mainly because whenever I put in my calorie goal it comes up with 1200 per day. Does anyone have the same calorie goal and do they find it sustainable? All of the others accounts I had in the past I stopped using, because it was a case of I would go over my calories by 100 or so and feel disheartened. Seemed like the only way I could have 3 meals and stay under was through egg whites for breakfast and salad for lunch and dinner.

Thanks in advance for any tips

Hey I have found that it depends on what you are eating (where the calories are coming from) and how much you are exercising..... but a good rule of thumb is to multiply your weight by 7 and that's how many calories you should have for weight loss....... However, sometimes you should have more than that depending on what your individual goals are and how active you are!

I'm 5 foot 6 and weigh 164lbs. Ideally I want to lose around 40lbs, I exercise twice a week and would like to lose 2 pounds or more at the start of my weight loss.

Do you think that with 40lbs to lose a pound a week would work better?

Tired of giving up on this :noway:

It might work better for you, since you are having trouble on the low calories you need to sustain losing 2 a week. Nothing wrong with adding some calories back in, as long as you are still eating at a deficit, if it will be easier for you to keep up with it.

Are you eating "good" calories for your calories? I have found that if I am eating lots of simple carbs (pasta, rice, sugar, etc), I am STARVING on 1200 calories. But if I eat lots of protein, healthy fatty acids, and make sure my carbs all come from vegetables and other complex carb sources that I am VERY full on 1200 a day. Vegetables are high in fiber, complex carbs, and low in calories. It is hard for me to eat 1200 calories and not feel full if it includes lots of fiber and complex carbs and plenty of lean proteins (soy, fish, etc).

My calorie goal is 1200 also but it is very hard to eat just that. I try to exercise every day to earn extra calories to allow me to eat 1500 per day. Even a half an hour brisk walk makes a difference if you can't get to the gym etc.

You'll have days where you go over your calorie goal, and still lose weight. If your setting is to lose 2 pounds a week cut it back to 1 pound a week, and sometimes 1/2 or 1/4 pound a week loss is still a loss.

You can view my diary--I am 1250 calories, and it's taken quite a while for me to take off 10 pounds, but hey it works, I only have 3.5 pounds to go.

You have to stick with it, don't get discouraged and quit. People who quit, end up going back to old bad habits and gain even more weight.

:laugh:

I'm 5 foot 6 and weigh 164lbs. Ideally I want to lose around 40lbs, I exercise twice a week and would like to lose 2 pounds or more at the start of my weight loss.

Do you think that with 40lbs to lose a pound a week would work better?

Tired of giving up on this :noway:

It might work better for you, since you are having trouble on the low calories you need to sustain losing 2 a week. Nothing wrong with adding some calories back in, as long as you are still eating at a deficit, if it will be easier for you to keep up with it.

Are you eating "good" calories for your calories? I have found that if I am eating lots of simple carbs (pasta, rice, sugar, etc), I am STARVING on 1200 calories. But if I eat lots of protein, healthy fatty acids, and make sure my carbs all come from vegetables and other complex carb sources that I am VERY full on 1200 a day. Vegetables are high in fiber, complex carbs, and low in calories. It is hard for me to eat 1200 calories and not feel full if it includes lots of fiber and complex carbs and plenty of lean proteins (soy, fish, etc).

Thanks for the advice :bigsmile: The only time I mainly eat carbs is for breakfast and i'm starving by midday. Do you have any suggestions for a quick filling breakfast? I start work at 7am most days so I don't really have time to cook much :grumble:

Definitely set to 1lb/week, readjust as when you've lost half.

Eggs are quick.
Hard boil them and eat them on the go.

2% yogurt or cottage cheese
A protein shake or a smoothie with protein powder in it (like PB, chocolate protein powder, banana, ice, milk or coffee, ice, milk, chocolate protein powder, greek yogurt)

A combination of fat and protein will keep you fuller longer which is why I've suggested the foods above.
Fat won't make you fat and typically (not all always), a low fat/no fat variation of a food (yogurt, greek yogurt, PB), the fat is replaced with sugar to keep the flavor the same. And you won't always be as full as long on a 0% yogurt as you would a 2%.

Slow and steady wins the race. Find the lowest calorie goal you can stick to and still be at a deficit. Better to lose slowly and find something you can live with than to give up.

My calorie goal is 1440 and I'm often under that by 200 calories or more (with little to no exercise). Before I started measuring I would have said that I'm always hungry and I was probably eating 2500 calories or more on a typical day, because I was eating the wrong stuff and didn't even know it.

Focus on healthy foods you love - salad, stirfry, green veggies, low-sugar fruit (berries, melon), fish, turkey, etc. Make those the bulk of your meals every day, and you should still have room for a small amount of "treats". From my experience, though, carbs you hungrier, so the more you give up starchy food and sugar, the easier it may be to stick to your goals. Weird but true.