We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Starting again and want advice

Hi I'm 168lbs this time 18 months ago I was 146 :-( can't seem to get I to the zone, got no clothes that fit me so I need to do this,
I'm 168lbs 5ft 4 I've set my calories to 1450 is this ok or to much or to low?? My husbands Xmas party is in 6 weeks time and would like a stone gone by then is this do able??
Thanks x

Replies

  • chrishazza
    chrishazza Posts: 21 Member
    You will do it i am sure.Be positive and stick with it,6 wks of hard work will be worth it.
  • shfoster0721
    shfoster0721 Posts: 239 Member
    Feel free to add me. I have lost 116 pounds since January.
  • sarahlioce
    sarahlioce Posts: 4 Member
    if you want to lose a stone in 6 weeks, I'd set my calories at 1200 to start with, and do at least a 1/2 hour of cardio every day (walking briskly is fine). Once this level of exercise is no longer a challenge(2 weeks or so) add in some other exercise for an additional 15-20 minutes...
  • wikpix
    wikpix Posts: 31 Member
    edited October 2014
    I seem to recall reading somewhere or hearing that a kilo of fat is roughly equivalent to 7000 calories. So in order to lose 1 kilo a week you need to have a 7000 calorie deficit a week.

    There are different ways you can do this. Once would be to calculate your base metabolic rate (BMR) and then restrict your calorie intake by 1000 cals a day.

    Alternatively you could set your calorie intake to the same level as your calculated BMR and burn an extra 1000 calories a day through exercise but this may be difficult if you are not used to doing a lot of exercise.

    A combination of the two would probably work best for you. I recently restarted my journey and found it difficult to restrict my calorie intake a lot so I decided to have a slightly higher calorie intake and balance it off by doing exercise. I don't feel like I am missing out on food and I feel a lot less stressed out about my food intake as I am making my calorie intake goal most of the time and i'm not having blowouts any where near as frequently. I think this is because i'm not going over my goal and thinking 'oh well, i've blown it now, I may as well have a packet of chips' or whatever.

    I would lose around half a kilo in a week if I just stuck to my daily calories without exercise. I train 3 times a week with a dragon boat club and also do a spin class once a week and commute to work by bike once a week and seem to be losing around 1kg a week.


    There are several different ways to calculate your BMR. One is built into MFP when you set up your goals. There's also some helpful info here:

    http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Basal-Metabolic-Rate

    I hope this helps and good luck.
  • bakemma
    bakemma Posts: 161 Member
    A stone is 14 pounds. What is normally recommend is 1-2 pounds a week. You don't have as much to lose as you think. I'd say your calorie goal is perfect (it's mine too, we have the same stats ;) ) But you will probably only lose 1 pound a week, so about half a stone. You'd have to lose an extra 500 calories a day either through diet deficit or exercise to reach that goal you set yourself. Good luck!!
  • ankdworak
    ankdworak Posts: 336 Member
    Free free to add me, I've had some good results since July losing an average of 1.8 lbs at 1400-1600 calories per day. ankdworak