HELP - Is my calorie target right?
healthy_life2015
Posts: 215 Member
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping for some help and advice from the MFP gurus out there. I would like to be losing weight a bit more quickly - for the past month, I've been a little under 1 lb a week. I am keeping this in perspective and recognizing it for the excellent achievement it is! However, I think that given what I am doing, it would be realistic to expect faster weight loss.
Here are my stats:
26 y/o female
Height: 5'7.5"
SW: 182
CW: 165
GW: around 140 (we'll see)
I am eating 1200 calories per day. I'm very wary about going under this so I very rarely drop below 1200. My average day is around 1200-1250. I exercise 6X per week doing TurboFire DVDs (high intensity cardio aerobics-style workout; workouts range from 20 - 55 minutes). I am attempting to be more active despite having a desk job - on my fitbit, I shoot for 7000 steps a day (my average has probably been closer to 4000 to 5000 though) and am starting to increase that target now that it is getting warmer. I do not eat back my exercise calories.
Anyone have tips for me? I'm not sure if I should eat a bit more or eat differently. If I am not able to speed up my weight loss, well that is okay with me. Slow and steady will win the race, but I would love to get there a bit faster if I can! I lost weight on WW a few years ago and averaged about 2 lb per week. I don't know how many calories I was eating, but I feel that it was more that what I am now, so I'm wondering if I should modestly increase my intake.
To answer some common questions:
- I am very confident that my logging is accurate. I weigh everything and am very careful. The only thing I cannot be sure about is the food I eat when I eat out. I eat out 2-3 times a week at places that publish nutrition info but realize that is notoriously inaccurate.
- I'm not hungry (only been about 1 or 2 times). Yeah, of course there are times that I would love to be able to eat a bit more, but I am truly satisfied with what I am eating.
- My diary is open
Thank you so much!
I'm hoping for some help and advice from the MFP gurus out there. I would like to be losing weight a bit more quickly - for the past month, I've been a little under 1 lb a week. I am keeping this in perspective and recognizing it for the excellent achievement it is! However, I think that given what I am doing, it would be realistic to expect faster weight loss.
Here are my stats:
26 y/o female
Height: 5'7.5"
SW: 182
CW: 165
GW: around 140 (we'll see)
I am eating 1200 calories per day. I'm very wary about going under this so I very rarely drop below 1200. My average day is around 1200-1250. I exercise 6X per week doing TurboFire DVDs (high intensity cardio aerobics-style workout; workouts range from 20 - 55 minutes). I am attempting to be more active despite having a desk job - on my fitbit, I shoot for 7000 steps a day (my average has probably been closer to 4000 to 5000 though) and am starting to increase that target now that it is getting warmer. I do not eat back my exercise calories.
Anyone have tips for me? I'm not sure if I should eat a bit more or eat differently. If I am not able to speed up my weight loss, well that is okay with me. Slow and steady will win the race, but I would love to get there a bit faster if I can! I lost weight on WW a few years ago and averaged about 2 lb per week. I don't know how many calories I was eating, but I feel that it was more that what I am now, so I'm wondering if I should modestly increase my intake.
To answer some common questions:
- I am very confident that my logging is accurate. I weigh everything and am very careful. The only thing I cannot be sure about is the food I eat when I eat out. I eat out 2-3 times a week at places that publish nutrition info but realize that is notoriously inaccurate.
- I'm not hungry (only been about 1 or 2 times). Yeah, of course there are times that I would love to be able to eat a bit more, but I am truly satisfied with what I am eating.
- My diary is open
Thank you so much!
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Replies
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A formula I have been using lately is by Alan Aragon.
Goal weight x (hours of exercise per week + 9.5)
Me for example...
180lbs x (5+9.5)
180 x 14.5
26100 -
I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!0
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It sounds like you're doing everything right! I hit a weightloss plateau too closer to my goal and the problem was water!! If you don't drink enough water your body will retain it, after work out and lots of movement it is very important to keep hydrated! You could be holding pounds of water.. TMI your urine should be very pale. If otherwise you're not drinking enough. When I realize that I went a bit crazy and drank 13 bottles of water that day next morning was down 3 pounds 2 ounces (did everything else as ordinary)0
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XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
Great point.
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Oops also as soon as I see a sudden small gain I know I have to drink more water. The body truly is amazing and if you don't hydrate it enough it will hold on to every ounce that it needs! Truly something that simple can solve a huge problem (plateau) and discourages those of us closer the our goals. When your much bigger you don't notice water retention because you're already burning so much (from being heavier and having higher BMR).0
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Smiley_Emi123 wrote: »Oops also as soon as I see a sudden small gain I know I have to drink more water. The body truly is amazing and if you don't hydrate it enough it will hold on to every ounce that it needs! Truly something that simple can solve a huge problem (plateau) and discourages those of us closer the our goals. When your much bigger you don't notice water retention because you're already burning so much (from being heavier and having higher BMR).
Totally agree with you on the water intake! I actually do drink tons of water, but this is great advice!0 -
With 25 pounds to lose, a pound a week is exactly where you should be. Congratulations on the loss!0
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Make sure to readjust your goals every 5 lbs lost. Also I find weight loss slows the closer you are to your GW. I also read that sometimes it's good to reset the body metabolism when you hit a plateau. To do this, I read and this is UNCONFIRMED, eat at your maintenance weight for 2-6 weeks. The break is also good because this is a lifestyle change. If you do go to maintenance, only raise your calories by 100 per week until you get there. Slow and steady wins the race.0
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Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
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Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
I appreciate your input. Did your doctor recommend changing your eating/exercise habits?
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Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
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Well, because my thyroid is so extremely low right now, she wanted to start me on meds right away, but I told her I don't want to do that just yet. She agreed to let me try and eat some more (closer to my BMR, which is about 1370 ... give or take), and I will go back in a few weeks and have my levels re-tested. I've been pretty anxious about eating more, but first and foremost I want to be healthy, so I am doing my best.
Granted, it may be that my thyroid just decided to go bad, in which case I will have to go on meds anyway. She said though that because I've changed my eating habits and started to lose weight right after my last physical, which had normal blood work, there is a very good chance that I've been operating on too much of a deficit for too long, and that eating a little more will get the thyroid moving again.
In addition to that, she also told me to actually salt my food (I haven't done that in the past year at all, and I don't eat processed food because of so many food allergies/intolerances), so she was concerned that I may be iodine-deficient (I have been before, as a child, too), which can also cause the thyroid to slow down.
Again, I am not saying this will happen to you, but it was pretty scary to me to see those numbers (believe me, they were BAD), especially because my blood work has always been stellar in the past. It was amazing to me that I could still lose about 1lbs a week and function without being exhausted all the time.0 -
Yes, right before that, actually (about a month), and it was perfect. Right after that physical I started eating 1200 calories.
Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
Again, I am not saying that it will be the same for her! I am not a doctor, nor am I saying that "this is how it will be, no matter what!"
I just wanted to offer my experience. What the OP does, in the end, is completely her choice.
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Yes, right before that, actually (about a month), and it was perfect. Right after that physical I started eating 1200 calories.
Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
Again, I am not saying that it will be the same for her! I am not a doctor, nor am I saying that "this is how it will be, no matter what!"
I just wanted to offer my experience. What the OP does, in the end, is completely her choice.
How much weight did you lose in that year? Never mind... just read the above.
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I am also not complaining about any of this. I may have screwed up, and now I am trying to fix it IF this is really the cause. I also don't mean to scare the OP or anything, so please don't misunderstand me.
Yes, right before that, actually (about a month), and it was perfect. Right after that physical I started eating 1200 calories.
Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
Again, I am not saying that it will be the same for her! I am not a doctor, nor am I saying that "this is how it will be, no matter what!"
I just wanted to offer my experience. What the OP does, in the end, is completely her choice.
How much weight did you lose in that year? Never mind... just read the above.
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I am also not complaining about any of this. I may have screwed up, and now I am trying to fix it IF this is really the cause. I also don't mean to scare the OP or anything, so please don't misunderstand me.
Yes, right before that, actually (about a month), and it was perfect. Right after that physical I started eating 1200 calories.
Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
Again, I am not saying that it will be the same for her! I am not a doctor, nor am I saying that "this is how it will be, no matter what!"
I just wanted to offer my experience. What the OP does, in the end, is completely her choice.
How much weight did you lose in that year? Never mind... just read the above.
Not at all. I went through something similar. Did paleo for a few years and I think all the elimination screwed with some of my inner-workings well. Was getting fairly low calorie (for my size) as well and am pretty sure not getting enough nutrients. Things got back to normal once I got my calories up and added more variety...
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Yeah, that's what I am hoping for. I also noticed (when I paid attention to it) that my hair was not quite as shiny and my skin duller than usual ... but that I didn't attribute to the thyroid but to the dry winter and a new shampoo I've been trying. I haven't been trying to make excuses, but it never occurred to me that these things could all be related. So, waiting to get mt blood re-tested at the beginning of April, and I am pretty confident that the numbers will have improved. Also, I am still getting used to using salt again :P So weird to salt my food after all this time of not adding any.
I am also not complaining about any of this. I may have screwed up, and now I am trying to fix it IF this is really the cause. I also don't mean to scare the OP or anything, so please don't misunderstand me.
Yes, right before that, actually (about a month), and it was perfect. Right after that physical I started eating 1200 calories.
Actually ... not necessarily.XavierNusum wrote: »I say if you are losing consistently, aren't feeling bad (headache, no energy, etc.) and have been able to keep eating this way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. If you plateau I'd add back some of your exercise calories, but until then roll on momma! Great work!!!!
I have been eating a little under 1200 cals/day for almost a year, lost about 1lbs a week, felt great and didn't have any problems, but my last blood work came back horrible. My thyroid is currently at an alarming low, which caused other values to spike (cholesterol, liver) etc.
So no, just because she's not feeling bad/sick does not necessarily mean she's doing her body a favor.
I only work out 2-3 times a week ... the OP is working out a lot more, so she burns a lot more calories.
Granted, this was only my experience; it could be that her body does not react the same way, but I still wanted to throw it out there.
Did you get bloodwork done before you started on 1200 calories per day?
Again, I am not saying that it will be the same for her! I am not a doctor, nor am I saying that "this is how it will be, no matter what!"
I just wanted to offer my experience. What the OP does, in the end, is completely her choice.
How much weight did you lose in that year? Never mind... just read the above.
Not at all. I went through something similar. Did paleo for a few years and I think all the elimination screwed with some of my inner-workings well. Was getting fairly low calorie (for my size) as well and am pretty sure not getting enough nutrients. Things got back to normal once I got my calories up and added more variety...
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That's one of the calculators I used. I compared it with a few others, but in general the numbers were all about the same, so I am pretty confident that the BMR and TDEE this one is giving me is as close as I can get it.zoezoekende wrote: »
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