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what's the lowest I should go in terms of calories?

lizsummers88
lizsummers88 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'5 and 240 lbs and trying to lose at least 50 lbs. I am starting a high-protein diet consisting of chicken, tuna, boiled eggs, and grapefruit, very small snack-sized portions 6 times a day to keep my metabolism up. But I calculated the calories in the amount I plan on eating in a day and it's only 900-1,000. Would this be unsafe on this diet? If I need to take in a couple hundred more calories I can supplement with low-calorie meal replacement shakes and/or vegetables. What would be the lowest calorie intake suggested?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    1200 is the lowest MFP will recommend. However, you can eat a lot more at your size. At 240 my goal was about 1850 a day.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
    Yes it is way too low you should be eating much more I'm 5'1 and about the weight you said you want to be at and eat 1300-1500 to lose to maintain I can eat around 2000. Also try adding in some veggies they are good for you after all.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    1200 is the lowest I would recommend without being monitored by a doctor. It becomes difficult to get adequate nutrition when your eating less than 1200.

    That being said, I'm 5'4.5 and since tracking on MFP, I typically don't go lower than 1500 (although there is rare occasions where I only eat around 12-1300). I average in the 1800 calorie range to lose weight (currently around 179lbs).
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    900-100 is okay if you are being closely watched by a doctor and supplementing your nutrients, if it's just an odd day where you don't feel like eating, or if you're doing the kind of intermittent fasting that involves high/low calorie days. Being that low consistently is at best unnecessary and may cause you to quit your diet sooner than you'd like and at worst may cause you health problems. At 240 I usually ate around an average of 1600.
  • lizsummers88
    lizsummers88 Posts: 2
    I would like to stay low on the calorie end since I suspect I messed up my metabolism when I was anorexic as a teenager. I know post-anorexia when I was a healthy weight, about 140 lbs, I had to only eat about 1,400 calories a day in order not to gain weight. I know you burn more calories the heavier you are, but my metabolism is probably slower than most people my weight. I'm not being monitored by a doctor really so I'll shoot for around 1,200-1,300 I think. Add in veggies.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
    I suggest you set up your goals using the auto-settings on MFP. Try that for a few weeks and modify after you have a chance to see how you feel overall eating at the recommended setting (probably in the 1600 - 1800 cal/day range). At that range, you will likely lose around 2 lb/week. Eating less than the recommended and you may feel like you are starving and tired all the time - not fun and likely to make you fall off your plan.

    After a few weeks, evaluate how you've been feeling. Make moderate adjustments (100 - 200 calories at a time). Remember to redo the calculations for each 5 - 10 lbs you lose. Also, you will lose less rapidly as you have less to lose but that's OK.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    900-100 is okay if you are being closely watched by a doctor and supplementing your nutrients, if it's just an odd day where you don't feel like eating, or if you're doing the kind of intermittent fasting that involves high/low calorie days. Being that low consistently is at best unnecessary and may cause you to quit your diet sooner than you'd like and at worst may cause you health problems. At 240 I usually ate around an average of 1600.

    Yep, this.
  • raysputin
    raysputin Posts: 142 Member
    Why is the minimum calorie figure "one size fits all"?

    Surely people with a smaller ideal body weight need fewer calories. If we take the average male height for the USA ( 5'10"), the recommended BMI weight for that height and the 1200 calories and convert that to calories-per-pound we get 7 calories-per-pound of ideal weight. If we take a man 5'5" and convert the 1200 to calories-per-pound of ideal weight we get 8 calories-per-pound. A 5'1" man equates to 9 calories-per-pound. Why should a taller person need fewer calories per unit of body weight than a shorter person?

    I think that the calorie figure should vary according to a person's ideal BMI weight.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I would like to stay low on the calorie end since I suspect I messed up my metabolism when I was anorexic as a teenager. I know post-anorexia when I was a healthy weight, about 140 lbs, I had to only eat about 1,400 calories a day in order not to gain weight. I know you burn more calories the heavier you are, but my metabolism is probably slower than most people my weight. I'm not being monitored by a doctor really so I'll shoot for around 1,200-1,300 I think. Add in veggies.

    What number did MFP give you? That's kind of the point of this site, it calculates the numbers for you. Remember that your MFP calorie goal does not include exercise, you need to eat a portion of those calories back.
  • ssbobbyh
    ssbobbyh Posts: 19 Member
    1200 is the lowest you should ever go, imo.

    I would recommend starting between 1300-1500 with an hour of light exercise.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    That is the WRONG question to be asking. The question you should be asking is "What is the highest number of calories I could be eating and still lose weight?" Everyone wants to eat moar, isn't that how we all ended up here in the first place? The LOWEST you can eat, what the what--? Who asks that?? :tongue:
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    According to this calculator your tdee is 2100 calories. tdee=total daily energy expenditure. Eating 20% below this number places you at 1680 calories and be able to lose weight without too severe a restriction. As you lose weight re-visit this link and update the information. I enter 25, 5'5", 240, female, no body fat and sedentary.

    Folks who have responded with 1200 probably aren't taking in to account much of anything posted above. Learn the numbers, and learn how they work and why. Best of luck.

    One of the biggest mistakes people make when they attempt weight loss is they are too restrictive. These are the same people who say they were successful before which isn't true. If your successful you keep the weight off. Again, good luck.

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