1,200 calories or 20% below my TDEE? Help?

1442802
1442802 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! So, I'm 18 years old, 5'8, 168-170 pounds. I work out everyday, hard, and I've got about 30 more pounds I'd like to lose. I just started MFP a few days ago. I was Paleo this past year, but I had to stop because my family can't afford that anymore. I don't plan on going paleo again, either, by the way. I just started eating 'un-paleo' a week ago... The same day I joined MFP.

Anyway, I've already lost about 30 pounds in the past year and upon starting MFP I set my weight loss goal 2lbs lost per week. It says to eat 1,200 calories a day. Well, upon reading some other forum posts, people suggest eating 20% below my TDEE? That would put me at a whopping 2,240 calories a day! That's a lot, is it not?!

For my age, weight, the amount I want to lose, etc. etc, what do I do? I'm super confused and I'm absolutely terrified of gaining weight!

Replies

  • x311Tifa
    x311Tifa Posts: 357 Member
    Your goal of 2lbs/week this "late" in the game is pretty aggressive. I would drop it to one, then down to .5 as you get closer to your goal. The closer you get, the slower most people tend to go and make a transition to maintenance.

    Anyway! Back to the original question. 15-20% TDEE for sure.
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
    1200 DOES sound a bit extreme. and it won't teach you anything in the long run. take it slow, do it right, and keep the weight off. :flowerforyou:
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    The idea is to eat as much as you can and still lose weight not the opposite this makes it sustainable long term. The MFP number does not include exercise calories which you need to eat back and most of the time would give you a figure near TDEE - 20%

    Have a look at the links

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
  • KaidensMom13
    KaidensMom13 Posts: 25 Member
    I was doing 1,200 calories for awhile until I found out about the TDEE method! I find the TDEE -20% MUCH more realistic and it fits my lifestyle the best by far. I have a fitbit so that gives me my TDEE daily. When I know I'm going to be going to a big dinner later in the evening it pushes me to work harder throughout the day to burn more calories so that I can eat good later that evening and still be within my TDEE-20%. So far it has been great for me, when I stay within that range I lose between .8 and 1.5 lbs a week.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Where did you get your numbers from? What's your exercise level? I put your numbers through IIFYM and for 3x/week working out it says you should eat 1751, if I bump it up to you working out every single day it still says you should only eat 2086.

    ETA: That's the site I use and I have been eating what it recommends and losing an average of 1.5 pounds a week.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    1200 is tailored to "I want to lose XX pounds per week." It's MFP's lowest DEFAULT minimum.

    TDEE is a number tailored to you. My preference would be a number tailored to me.
  • Katyd1
    Katyd1 Posts: 2 Member
    1200 calories sounds very extreme, do it at a slower rate. Are you walking or working out in addition to dieting? it might help with your weight loss and your dieting. It might help you get to you goals faster, without going to 1200 calories. But check with your doctor before you start an exercising to make sure that is the right way to go for you, since the dr is familiar with your health so
    he would know if that is a good option for you.

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