A little bit confused.

Kcrax
Kcrax Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm 29 an around 5ft 5in. I have a lightly active job and want to loose weight. MFP gave me 1200 kcal per day. Is this about what I should be eating or should I drop more? I've lowered it to 1150 but I'm not realy loosing?
«1

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    How long have you been at it?

    How many pounds did you enter to lose per week?

    If you open your diary, you may get some useful specific advice.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Typically, 2 pounds weight loss provides 1200. The magical 1200. What if you could eat 1500 and lose weight?
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Have you just started? Like 1-2 weeks?

    Maybe give it more time before manually lowering the limits.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Why would you lower it beyond what MFP gave you?

    How long have you been trying? If not losing at 1200, it's more likely to be a logging issue. How much are you trying to lose and how much do you weigh?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited March 2015
    Define "not really losing." Are your expectations for weight loss too high or are you not losing any weight at all? Most people, unless they have more than 75 pounds to lose, should not be aiming for 2 pounds per week. Here's a rough guideline:

    Pound per week goals
    75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

    The problem is, if you don't have a lot to lose it's pretty hard to meet the 1000 calorie deficit needed each day to lose 2 pounds per week. MFP also has a 1200 calorie lower limit, for health reasons, so anyone who is aiming for more weight loss per week than they should be is going to end up with 1200 calories per day. That means, that for most of those people, they aren't going to be able to actually lose 2 pounds per week at 1200 calories because they simply can't create the necessary 1000 calorie deficit while eating 1200 calories per day.
  • kindrabbit
    kindrabbit Posts: 837 Member
    1200 is the minimum you need to breath and pump blood round your body (and all the other clever things your body does without you asking it to). Are you weighing everything you eat? do you use a kitchen scale and log everything totally 100% accurately? That is by far the most common mistake to beginners. MFP is mathematics. Once you enter your details accurately into the chart it will calculate how many calories you need to eat for your level of activity and desired speed of loss.

    I certainly wouldn't suggest dropping your calorie goal lower than 1200
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Weight loss is a bit like the Stockdale paradox. The people who are successful aren't the people who expect it to happen right away or the people who expect it will never happen. The successful people are the ones who know it will happen but expect it to happen well into the future.
  • Kcrax
    Kcrax Posts: 13 Member
    I'm in my 3rd week I think. I'm 12stne and want to drop 2stne. Just seems so slow. I weigh everything religiously.
  • Leana088
    Leana088 Posts: 581 Member
    Kcrax wrote: »
    I'm in my 3rd week I think. I'm 12stne and want to drop 2stne. Just seems so slow. I weigh everything religiously.

    Unless you are morbidly obese, weight loss SHOULD be slow in order to be healthy. 1 pound a week of fat loss is enough. Otherwise, you will eat too little, and you will become malnourished.

    You didn't put it on in a month, don't expect it to come off in a month. Rapid weight loss does your body more harm than good.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Yeah, it'll be slow, but look at it this way: You're retraining yourself how to eat. That's a skill that will last the rest of your life. So focus on that and making sure you have a healthy diet, and don't worry about the speed at which you lose. It'll be better for you in the long run.

    Also, my suggestion is to only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time and same day. Weight flucuates daily, and it's much eaiser to get discouraged since you won't be seeing weight loss every day. By doing that once a week, it's easier to stay on track because you'll start seeing positive results.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You didn't gain it in three weeks, it won't be coming off in three. Patience is key.
  • Kcrax
    Kcrax Posts: 13 Member
    Thankyou for your input everyone . My diary is now public if u want to see where I'm going wrong. X
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    Have you checked out your goals on a second calculator? http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
    or http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

    You do not mention anywhere your current weight, or how many lbs you want to lose. But you seem to be targeting a 2lb a week loss.

    So, with a 5ft 5" frame if you are not at least 160lbs (BMI 26.6).. we have a problem because you are too close to any rational target weight for you to be losing 2lbs a week as SueinAz already mentioned : -)

    Of course, even if you are at least 160lbs we STILL have a problem.

    Because as a 160lb lightly active person with your height, and age, and with a 20% deficit you would to be eating closer to 1600 calories than 1200.

    And if you are heavier you would be eating more.

    So, OP, are you on a crash diet? Or are you trying to lose fat in a permanent fashion? Make some life changes?
  • Kcrax
    Kcrax Posts: 13 Member
    I'm hoping to keep the weight off.. I weigh 12stne 3 lb no idea what that is in lbs and I want to be 9stone. Guess I'm just impatient.. Summers coming u see.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    171lbs
    check out halls.md *(cheezy site; but has some interesting info--and check out the percentile information)*

    and http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
    and http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    OP: I know summer is coming. But I would have thought that your health and ability to complete your journey is more important than summer.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    Your 9 stone, 126lb target gives you a desired weight loss of 45lbs, and you would weigh less than 79% of women your age and height.

    At 149lbs (10st 9lb), you will already be at a normal weight, and you would weigh less than 52% of the women your age and height. You would need to lose only 22lbs to get there.

    Regardless of your final target, a deficit in the order of 500 calories (in the beginning to give you encouragement maybe 750 calories at most) would make sense.

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    So it looks like your maintenance is over 2050 calories a day, and that most calculators suggest that you eat more than 1650 calories a day (at the AGGRESSIVE weight loss setting) for a sustainable loss of weight and to give you an opportunity to practice your eating for the long haul.

    The non extreme level of reduction allows you to mostly lose fat and to preserve the highest percentage of muscle mass.

    It also leaves you some room to be able to lower your calories in the future as you lose weight. And by allowing you to be less hungry it increases the chance that you will stick to the plan for the long haul.
  • Kcrax
    Kcrax Posts: 13 Member
    Ok so I realy need to up my intake at the moment I'm eating 1150 a day.... I'd like to be in the normal weight range but closer to the underweight end :smile:
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,138 Member
    edited March 2015
    So your diary says that you eat a lot of carbs, and only a little bit of fat and protein. And you're not eating much. and I got hungry just by looking at what you don't eat : - )

    If I were to regularly eat starches and pasta within my calorie allotment like you do, I would be left feeling hungry... which is why I would rather substitute protein and fat for those calories.

    Your protein is in my opinion low. If you are combining cardio, with a high deficit and low protein, I think that most people will tell you that you run a higher risk of reducing your muscle mass alongside your fat mass as you reduce your weight.

Categories