Is 1700 calories a day too much?

cookieinbk82
cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5 foot 5 and weigh 180 pounds. I want to lose 10 pounds but the scale is not budging. I was eating 900-1000 calories a day and working out everyday. I was told to raise my calories and reduce my workouts. Do you think 1700 calories and 3 workouts a week would help me reach my goal?
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Replies

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  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Are you sure you are logging correctly?
    Yes
  • 365andstillalive
    365andstillalive Posts: 663 Member
    Calculate your BMR and TDEE; that will tell you if that's too much/little. Just google for a calculator.

    Likely, you would lose on 1700. I'm two inches taller than you, but 15lbs lighter and I'd lose about 0.75-8lbs per week at that intake.

    Since you don't have much to lose you shouldn't be looking to lose more than about 0.5lbs per week (so a 250 cal per day deficit). Such a small deficit means that you need to be really accurate with your logging.
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
    1700 is a perfect amount. Try it, see what happens!
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  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Are you sure you are logging correctly?
    Yes

    Well unfortunately if you were eating so little you would be losing. So you are either over estimating your TDEE, under estimating your intake, or both.

    I originally was losing a lot of weight. Then the weight loss stopped.
  • kjmace
    kjmace Posts: 6 Member
    kellyb28 wrote: »
    1700 is a perfect amount. Try it, see what happens!

    I agree at 900 calories a day your body goes into survival mode and hangs on the the weight it has, as it thinks it is starving.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    Are you sure you are logging correctly?
    Yes

    Well unfortunately if you were eating so little you would be losing. So you are either over estimating your TDEE, under estimating your intake, or both.

    I originally was losing a lot of weight. Then the weight loss stopped.

    And why is it unfortunate?
  • Tea_Mistress
    Tea_Mistress Posts: 105 Member
    edited October 2014
    blazepurr wrote: »
    blazepurr wrote: »
    900-1000 would DEFINITELY have you losing weight.. considering this, make sure you have a food scale (preferably electronic) and weigh some of your food. Some people aren't so good at estimating their portions
    Also 1700 sounds reasonable but to me that sounds like quite a slow weight loss :)
    gl x

    Please stop promoting eating anything under 1200. It is unhealthy.

    I didn't tell her to eat 900 calories, I said that it it would produce weight loss as opposed to her saying it didn't

    Yes but your attitude about eating 900 calories wasn't exactly negative. Your comment could motivate others to continue down their path of having an unhealthy daily intake.
    Hisoka_disappointed.png

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  • berz82
    berz82 Posts: 100 Member
    edited October 2014
    keep your cals just under where they need to be. definitely not 1000. if you loose weight too fast you lose fat yes but you also loose the tissue that keeps you looking good, so in the end you just become a smaller version of what you already are. you want to loose fat and keep the good stuff and to do that you want to do it slowly to retain the muscle on ya. (even if you are female) lift some weights.
  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    kjmace wrote: »
    kellyb28 wrote: »
    1700 is a perfect amount. Try it, see what happens!

    I agree at 900 calories a day your body goes into survival mode and hangs on the the weight it has, as it thinks it is starving.
    No, sorry. No survival mode.


    OP, get a handle on the logging.

    I have a handle on the logging. Thank you for your advice.
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  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    I know that one day I'm going to ask a question on this website and there will be nothing but constructive, positive comments without anyone arguing.

  • cookieinbk82
    cookieinbk82 Posts: 320 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »
    kjmace wrote: »
    kellyb28 wrote: »
    1700 is a perfect amount. Try it, see what happens!

    I agree at 900 calories a day your body goes into survival mode and hangs on the the weight it has, as it thinks it is starving.
    No, sorry. No survival mode.


    OP, get a handle on the logging.

    I have a handle on the logging. Thank you for your advice.

    If you did you'd be losing weight

    Obviously not of im asking this question. Again, thank you for your comments and advice.
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  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
    berz82 wrote: »
    keep your cals just under where they need to be. definitely not 1000. if you loose weight too fast you lose fat yes but you also loose the tissue that keeps you looking good, .
    and you risk kidney and gall stones!

  • NoirMeow
    NoirMeow Posts: 1
    edited October 2014
    I am 5 ft and 110 lbs. I plan to lose 15 lbs in 7 - 8 months (to meet my ideal BMI – 18.6), so it would be 0.5 lb per week. Here is my approach:


    Exercises


    - Walking (mod. pace): < 1 hr

    - Thigh workout

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VusCUj61wDA

    - Belly workout

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqxxtxXWMsM

    - Cardio

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcN37TxBE_s


    Diets


    - 1200 calories intake daily (sugar and fat reduction, but I love rice so… >.<)

    - Have 6 – 7 meals during the day (after every 2 hours): a lot of small meals will build metabolism, as will the lack of actual calories in them, causing you to burn more.

    - Make sure your body stay hydrated enough (http://www.h4hinitiative.com/)

    - Detoxification: black coffee or lemon water


    Tips


    - Say no to excessive exercise: too much of anything is bad. The trick is to start your exercise with short amount of time (30mins/week for example) and then increase it to 35, 40 the next following weeks.

    - Don’t starve yourself: that will only make you feel exhausted and hungry, plus your metabolism will be slower down since your body decides to keep as much of the calories and fat intake as a survival strategy (like Polar bear in the winter ^^~)

    - Keep your expectation low: losing 0.5 lb/week is more realistic compares to 1lb/week. The possibility of meeting your goal is thus higher and you will be satisfied when achieve, which then motivates you to continue.

    Anyway, happy losing weight everybody!
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  • RebelDiamond
    RebelDiamond Posts: 188 Member
    first things first, i would say 1200 to 1500 cals is optimum for a nice weight drop, 1700 will get you there over a longer period of time (and although that's good, sometimes its hard to stay motivated when the results are slow)

    And although I agree with the survival mode/storing fat thing when you eat super low calories, the point to remember is you WOULD lose weight if you did eat 900 to 1000 cals a day. Your body WOULD start consuming its fat stores. your metabolism WOULD slow down, but you would still be losing weight. Otherwise, people with eating disorders/starving due to poverty would look healthy and robust right? because of survival mode? doesn't sound right to me.

    Iv'e been in your position, so trust me, 1500ish is a good place to start, stay motivated and be positive and you'll get there. It's all a matter of dedication and perception.

    (also consider seeing your doc for any medical related reasons you might be struggling to shed the weight)
  • bylot
    bylot Posts: 11
    Bro science/but I heard bro science probably isn't true/look at my wierd bro sciency diet, seasoned with some good advice - i.e. weigh food, Newton's laws.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    edited October 2014
    Over what period did you continue your 1000 calories and stop losing weight? Depending on if we're talking just the short term It may be totally expected. I gain about 6-7 lbs with my cycle sometimes but my deficit is set to lose 2 lbs per month when I'm doing everything just right. If I looked at the body weight scale at the wrong time it could appear that I had "gained" 5 lbs rather than being successful in the long term with my 2 lbs per month loss.

    New exercise routines can promote water retention. After about four weeks or so, that usually levels out and you get a nice drop though

    If you were really doing 1000 the issues with that include getting all your nutrients, and whether or not you can do it as long as it would take to lose the weight you want to. Basically is it a temporary effort, or a sustainable one.

    Finally, here's some more info about verifying that you're eating how much you think you are. With posts like yours, indeed it is the most common issue. So while I wrote the other stuff first my post would not be complete without these links, in case that needs to be reviewed as well:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Are you trying to lose 10 lbs and then reevaluate, or is 10 lbs your final goal? If you are only trying to lose 10 lbs, you should adjust your MyFitnessPal settings to Goal: Lose 0.5 lb/week. Here is the general rule of thumb:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    I bolded the part that applies to you. If you are actually hoping to lose more after the first 10 lbs, you may consider setting your goal to 1.0 lbs/week. How many calories you should eat to lose weight has a lot of factors. Height, weight, and activity level are the main factors. You can enter those into your Goals on MyFitnessPal and you will get a great calorie estimate. Have you played around with your settings? Since I don't want to mess up my own settings to figure out how much you need to eat to lose weight, I popped over to CalorieKing: http://www.calorieking.com/interactive-tools/how-many-calories-should-you-eat . 5'5" 180 lbs age 32 (I guessed based on your username), light office worker gives you: 1300 to 1500 calories per day to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Since you should be aiming for less than 1 lb per week of loss, that puts you at 1500 cals+. To maintain your weight, you need to eat 1800 to 2000 calories. So, if I were you, I would use the MFP settings, which will probably put you at 1600-1650.


    However, it's entirely dependent on how accurate your food logging and exercise calculations are. If you are not using a food scale, I highly recommend it.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I am 5 foot 5 and weigh 180 pounds. I want to lose 10 pounds but the scale is not budging. I was eating 900-1000 calories a day and working out everyday. I was told to raise my calories and reduce my workouts. Do you think 1700 calories and 3 workouts a week would help me reach my goal?

    I'm not sure why you would decide to almost double your calories and halve your workouts. What's wrong with 5-6 reasonably lengthed workouts per week and 1200-1500 calories? That is what most authorities recommend for most women to lose weight at a sensible rate.

  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    It's likely you can lose weight on 1700 calories a day, but be very careful with logging. You aren't going to have a huge deficit, so you can blow it with one or two high calorie days a week. I'm 5'6, started at 135 and lost on 1700-1800 a day. It was slow, though, and I had to be very disciplined.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    this thread hurts my soul.....

    This thread hurts my head!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    OP, can you open your food diary? 1700 with only 3 hours of exercise might be a it much. Also, how long have you "not been losing weight"
  • Neikx
    Neikx Posts: 3 Member
    I think it's important to consider the quality of calories consumed. If you are eating 1700 calories of real food, and not processed food, that is enough depending on your BMR. It's so important to take a nutritional supplement as well.
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    Neikx wrote: »
    I think it's important to consider the quality of calories consumed. If you are eating 1700 calories of real food, and not processed food, that is enough depending on your BMR. It's so important to take a nutritional supplement as well.

    There is nothing inherent about processed food that makes it "unreal," and there is no evidence for nutritional supplements being effective for anything in the absence of actual nutritional deficiencies, which most of us do not have.

  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
    kjmace wrote: »
    kellyb28 wrote: »
    1700 is a perfect amount. Try it, see what happens!

    I agree at 900 calories a day your body goes into survival mode and hangs on the the weight it has, as it thinks it is starving.

    So that's obviously why anorexics, who more than likely eat far less than the OP, look so healthy.

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