Daily Calorie intake....

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Moop87
Moop87 Posts: 71 Member
in Food and Nutrition
According to my stats on here, I am to consume 1490 calories a day in order to lose a pound a week. I have been losing weight with the suggested caloric intake, but now I seem to be on a plateau. I am not losing as much as I used to when I first started. I had recently just purchased a new scale as the old one was giving me different readings every time I got on.

Anyway, the scale I have now lets you set goals and it tells you how many calories you should take in daily to lose and how many weeks it will take to reach that goal. It's telling me my intake should be around 1900 calories a day. And according to some other sites I have checked out it's a bit higher than when I have on here too.

My question is, has anyone else adjusted their caloric intake? I'm just wondering if I should actually be consuming more to keep my metabolism where it should be to lose. There are some days where I do tend to eat a little more, and it seems those are the weeks I lose.

Any ideas? :huh:

Replies

  • AlyssaC2010
    AlyssaC2010 Posts: 100
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    Have you been eating back your exercise calories? That would up your total caloric intake. That's how I look at it...mines's 1650 and if I workout and burn 300 calories I make sure I eat at least half of those. If you're on a plateau, try a High Intensity Interval workout to get your body out of it's comfort zone. It's hard but it'll definitely help!
  • asallen7
    asallen7 Posts: 301
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    Hi there. I have asked this question often myself. I found out from personal experience that I did need more food. My weightloss came to a halt and there was nothing I could see that I was doing wrong. I was working out and eating well, but not change. I was eating around 1300-1600 daily based on my actvity level. It wasn't until I started eating between 1800-1900 calories that I have started losing again. It took about 2 weeks for me to notice a difference, but I am so happy that my plateau is broken. I say give it a try. It may be hard as first since its almost an extra 500 calories, but you should be able to tell after 2 weeks or even 2 1/2 whether or not this is working for you. Try to keep the foods you add healthy though. An extra serving of lean meat, brown or wild rice, veggies, fruit, nuts, etc. Hope it works for you!
  • penny5
    penny5 Posts: 148 Member
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    I haven't increased my calories at all but I was very surprised when MFP said I should only be consuming 1490/day as well. I had done the calculation to see how many calories my body needs to maintain my starting weight and it was just over 4000 calories so to cut this drastically seems like it might throw off the body. I just started this 12 days ago so that is a great question. I will be looking for other people's advice too :)

    Good luck to you and congratulations on how far you have come :flowerforyou:
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    My base is 1860 with a start weight 283/5'5". I have a hard time during the work week getting there and usually eat between 1300 and 1500, sometime 1600. So far so good but I definitely see a trend in peoples posts that if you do hit a plateau that you should increase your healthy calorie intake and switch up your activity/exercise. I sometimes eat my exercise calories but not always
  • bigbluejim
    bigbluejim Posts: 10
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    Plateaus happen a lot...the body is am amazingly complex and adaptable system. It will always seek that homeostasis, no matter what. Exercise is the same way...after 30 days, your body adapts, and if you don't switch up your exercise routine, you'll notice a plateau. We are creatures of habit, and in these cases, these habits end up working against us.
  • Moop87
    Moop87 Posts: 71 Member
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    AlyssaC2010 ~ Unfortunately I haven't been working out recently. My father has been in and out of the hospital for quite some time and it's hard to get the exercise in. But the times I have, I do eat about half the calories lost back. How I have managed to stay on track with the stress, I have no idea!

    asallen7 ~ That's the hardest part for me, is taking in more calories for fear that I will put the weight on.I have been relying a lot of chicken for the extra protein.

    penny5 ~ Thanks, and good luck to you as well!!
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    Back in nov I was I a slump so I upped my calories and stopped working out for the entire month and I lost 12lbs.

    I guess my body needed more to lose more.

    I always play with my intake. I'm down to 1380 right now and I eat half my workout calories and last month I lost 14lbs.

    I think starting monday I'm gonna try something new for the rest of the month although I don't know what yet.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    When you lost the first round of weight, were you losing 1 lb/week as per plan, or was it more, or less? If it was more, then it's a simple diagnosis - up your calories.

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