Is my goal realistic?

LePhoque
LePhoque Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
I currently weigh 13st 2lbs and am wanting to get down to 10st 7lbs so have a fair bit to lose, I'm also a 5'6 female. I'd ideally like to lose 2lbs a week at the moment, but as I get slimmer I'll be happy with 1lbs loses. MFP has recommended that I eat 1320 calories. I'm just wondering whether this amount of calories is realistic? I've read on here about damaging your metabolism and am worried that I'll lose the weight, start eating again normally and then just put all the weight back on again. I do want to lose weight and see results but also want to lose the weight for good. I'm also currently just doing the odd bit of exercise on the exercise bike as I am moving away this week so have to wait until I move so that I can join a local gym. I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to dedicate to the gym so I'll just have to wait and see how local the gym is, how often I can get there, etc, etc. I really just want to make sure I'm going in the right direction and am on a sensible long-term diet. :)

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Keep in mind that if you follow MFP's calorie goal, you are meant to be eating back your exercise calories. The 1320 is a net goal. So if you exercise and burn 200 calories, you would eat 1520 calories.

    As for whether it is realistic, that is kind of up to you. I am the same height as you and currently weigh 156. For a good portion of my weight loss, I've eaten 1750-1850 calories per day. I range between 200 and 400 calories burned through exercise 5-6 days per week. I, personally, could not eat only 1320 calories per day because I know myself well enough to say I'd be miserable. But I could net around that if I ate 1750 and burned 400 and from experience I know I'd be okay. Part of weight loss is figuring out what works for you and being flexible enough to change your methods. You have to start somewhere so go ahead and start with the 1320 and see how it works for you. If you are uncomfortably hungry all the time, up your calories a bit. It's okay to lose slower. Yes, it's nice to do it faster because you get to your goal faster, but if you have to slow down in order to stick with it, be willing to do that.
  • LePhoque
    LePhoque Posts: 4
    Thanks for the reply. :)
    Yeah I'll definitely eat back my exercise calories which I am currently doing anyway. I might do a few weeks eating 1320 calories and then up it to 1420 and see if I still lose weight. I'm not hungry at the moment just find it hard to find meals that will fit into my calorie limit.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Start out with this plan, and if you find you're hungry you can lower your weight loss goal, thus giving you more calories.
  • PlumpKitten
    PlumpKitten Posts: 112 Member
    1300-1400 calories a day won't "ruin your metabolism."
    The whole "starvation" thing is a bit of a myth. You have to be very, very low to go into "starvation mode."
    Simply put, if you want to lose, you simply have to take in fewer calories
    1,300-1400 is on the lean side of a normal diet for a petite woman - but it's very do-able. It's 3 healthy meals a day.
    I bounce between 1,200 when I want to aggressively push towards losing - and 1,600 when I am maintaining.
    So it's in the ballpark.

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