can some one help me understand how it works

madcollie0
madcollie0 Posts: 3 Member
edited September 2024 in Introduce Yourself
hi im new here and i understand that u have to eat 1200 calories a day. but my personnel allowances stae 1573. im targeting about 1400 aday and then with my general exercise its knocking it down to 1200ish. if i go below 1573 does this mean my body will go into starvation mode and wont loose weight. if i do more exercise and burn off carlories that take me below 1200 then again does that put into starvation mode. i havent a clue.
if i eat 1400 a day its below my norm for me so is that starvation mode. ive never done a proper diet before so want to get it right without been hungry but again without going into starvation mode. please help x

Replies

  • BeLightYear
    BeLightYear Posts: 1,450 Member
    Your net should never go below 1200 calories a day.

    Hope this works:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Best of luck!
  • madcollie0
    madcollie0 Posts: 3 Member
    thank you, so i need to make sure i have more than 1200 no matter what exercise etc i do. thanks for replying x
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
    the general rule of thumb is that you need to eat 1200 calories minimum. that's kind of the 'golden rule' of how many calories you need to operate on a daily basis - breathing, moving, heart beating, sleeping - things like that.

    if you eat anywhere between 1200 and 1543 calories, that's fine! now, let's say you eat 1500 calories, and then burn 400 calories exercising. that puts you into a defecit of 100 calories (1500 - 400 = 1100). it would probably be in your best interest to eat an extra 100 calories to keep you at that 1200 mark.

    of course, it's not the same for everyone, but that's probably the closest thing to a 'blanket' statement we've got for weightloss. hope this helps some!
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    When you set up your account you put in your height and weight and activity level. you then put in your goal to lose xlbs a week. MFP calculates how many calories you need to achieve that weight loss. 1573 is that number. If you eat 1573 everyday and didn't do any exercise you should lose xlbs a week. IF you add execise it will speed up that process. You just need to make sure after exercise you do not net less than 1200 calories.

    1400 is fine as long as you are not burning 500 calories exercising because that would put you at a net of 900 calories.At that point you would want to have a snack to boost you up to 1200.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    Of course, you always want to make sure your calories burned figures are accurate as I think this is what kills a lot of people. I wear a HRM and my numbers for accuracy and my numbers are always much lower than what MFP will say.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,297 Member
    thank you, so i need to make sure i have more than 1200 no matter what exercise etc i do. thanks for replying x

    Not quite, you need 1200 plus exercise calories. so if you burn 400, the minimum calories you should eat would be 1600 (1200+400) which is 1200 Net (1600-400)
  • Vicky14174
    Vicky14174 Posts: 715 Member
    You log everything. Food and exercise. Then do what the MFP tells you to do. It's figured it all out for you. You may start at 1200 but the exercise adds to that count. then you eat all of those calories. If you have logged your profile correctly, like how active you are during the day, MFP will that that all in to account and add all the calories that your body needs. Not what you think you need. Hope this helps.
  • madcollie0
    madcollie0 Posts: 3 Member
    thanks everyone that has helped me loads, i now understand...hopefully. im well pleased that i joined this site it looks like i can do it now just to work out my evening meals that will be good for everyone, thanks again i really apprechiate it x
  • PAnn1
    PAnn1 Posts: 530 Member
    I agree with the replies here. I don't believe in going below 1200 calories a day. The calories and nutrients you need are based on your weight and activity level. You do need to eat more if you are very active, but I don't eat back ALL of my exercise calories. We need a deficit in order to lose weight. You do need to replenish nutrients after exercise, tho, so definatly should eat some back. When I started in Jan. 2008 I was a pretty sedentary 200+ weight gal. For me starting at 1700 calories a day worked fine. When I got down to 175 I went to 1500 calories. I was a lot more active by then, but didn't eat many more calories. When I got to 150 or 145, I dropped to 1300 calories and stayed there to my goal weight of 122. I have been on maintenance since Sept 2008. When I started maintenance I gradually increased my calories until I stopped losing. I now DO eat some exercise calories back, depending on how hard I work out and my hunger level, but find that usually it's hard for me to eat more than what I have alotted for my day. Everyone has to find their niche. What works for one may not work for another. Start with your alloted calories and adjust from there. Best wishes for much success!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories