1,200 seems so low!

ascoope · June 2011

I'm fairly new so I apologize if any of this is mentioned somewhere else.

Using the MFP guided calorie goal thingy- losing 1 pound a week, sedentary lifestyle, it claims I should be eating 1,200 calories a day.

That just seems like so little! According to MFP, my base metabolic rate is 1,349 and I was under the impression that eating less than your BMR is a no-no.

Any suggestions? Do you think I can up it to at least my BMR?

P.S. I'm 20, I exercise 4+ times a week (running, hiking, yoga, weights) eat all my calories, and I work as a recruiter so I'm on the phone all day but I spend about half the day standing or pacing around.

MirandaDeCrane · June 2011

Could you possible go in and change from sedentary? That, or google around and see if you can find a precise calculator, and manually go in and change your calories, etc. Mine had me listed as 1260 calories, but I am lightly active and still breastfeeding my one year old, so I boosted mine to 1400.

Javajunkie67 · June 2011

Don't forget that each day you add in the calories you burn exercising. That will allow you to eat a few more calories each day.

R4z0r4Mm0 · June 2011

If you're exercising 4 x week - then you really wouldn't be eating 1200 calories. Once you add/eat the calories from your workouts, then you'd be eating over BMR - which still works out at 1200 net calories.

ascoope · June 2011

I think I will swap out my activity level to lightly active- I'm moving around about half the day. I used to lie in bed all day- that's my version of sedentary ; )

I do eat my exercise calories, but I'm just wary of that because it's so easy to miscalculate what I'm actually burning. I wish there was a more accurate way to do it.

Cytherea · June 2011

It sounds like your lifestyle isn't really sedentary, and in that case, yes, 1200 would be too low. You should change your level of activity and that should give you a higher number. And be sure to eat back your exercise calories as well!

bloodstar · June 2011

Caveat: I Am Not A Fitness Expert (IANAFE)

1200 may seem a low, but there are two additional things that factor in, the weight loss rate you're looking for and the exercise that you're performing. a 3500 calorie deficit is typically what you need to run in order to lose 1 pound. So over the course of a week, if you're averaging a 500 calorie deficit a day, you should be right around 1 pound a week. Now, as you work out and train, you'll burn calories as well, so that should also increase how many calories you can eat and still maintain losing about a pound a week.

Now, *if* the 1200 is accurate for you to lose one pound a week, then upping it to the BMR of 1349 would mean that you'd average losing about 4 pounds every 5 weeks or so.

Are you sure sedentary is accurate though? with what you're describing, it seems a hair more active than that with your day to day work activities.

good luck!

Pebble321 · June 2011

1200 is really low! I know that a lot of people here eat 1200 a day, but I just couldn't.
- You may well be better with a "llightly active" activity setting.
- Don't forget that with the exercise you are doing you will add lots of calories that you can eat, so you will probably be eating more like 1500 - 1600 cals most days.
- Or, you can try changing your settings to lose 1/2 pound a week. This is where I started and I found that sticking to the suggested calories I actually lost more than 1/2 pound a week.

If you don't have a huge amount to lose, you are probably better starting with a more conservative deficit, you can always change things around once you find out how it works for you.

Ramberta · June 2011

If you're exercising at least four times a week I wouldn't put your lifestyle as 'sedentary', because that's doing your commitment to exercise a disservice. I myself am on 'lightly active' because when I work-- which is four or five times a week-- I'm standing/walking around for eight hours a day (I work at a very large grocery store), and that's not including trying to fit in exercise a couple times a week.

ascoope · June 2011

Wow I am so happy with how fast you guys replied! Thank you so much. I will up my activity level to lightly active- I think it is more accurate. Even if I'm not burning quite enough calories, like bloodstar said it will put me just below a pound a week.
I've known people who have gone as extreme as 1,000 a day- I don't understand how they do it. I just can't. The more unrealistic my goals are, the more likely I am to say "f---- it" and just eat a bunch of unhealthy stuff. I think upping my intake a little bit is a good move.
Again, thank you! I love MFP!

Lauriee2014 · June 2011

You mentioned not being able to know what you've burned during exercise. I hought a heart rate monitor and realized I had been low balling myself in the calories burned department. It has really motivated me to do more, more, more. Just another 2 mins.. just another 50 calories, etc. Plus I always KNOW just what I've burned. I've set my activity level @ sedentary bc I'm between that and lightly active.. so I went lower. Not factoring I workout 6 days per week.

Other than the HRM, a food scale has opened my eyes too. I was low balling my protein intake [what i had guessed was about 5 oz of chicken is actually closer to 3.5].

So I know what I'm burning and what I'm eating. This makes me feel must more in control and if I make a mistake.. I KNOW I've done it. No mistakes.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

bloodstar · June 2011

I think I will swap out my activity level to lightly active- I'm moving around about half the day. I used to lie in bed all day- that's my version of sedentary ; )

I do eat my exercise calories, but I'm just wary of that because it's so easy to miscalculate what I'm actually burning. I wish there was a more accurate way to do it.

If you have a smart phone, I'd suggest something like the allsport gps app (for the droid), it is pretty accurate for calculating distance and pace and calories, and is free (ad driven). I use it for running, walking, and biking, and it seems about right.

it has a ton of activities to pick from besides those three, so just select what you want, keep your phone on you and it'll do the rest.

Just a thought.

dreamingofsandiego23 · June 2011

I was going to say this too! This is also something I am trying to understand.. but when we exercise... it tells us to eat more calories! Here is a great article I found a coupld years ago I put on my blog.. it's got some great info!!

http://letsgethealthy09.blogspot.com/2009/01/should-you-eat-before-or-after-exercise.html

ascoope · June 2011

Lauriee2011- is that a corgi? I have a corgi named Sammy that looks just like that! He's a little pembroke with the same coloring.

I'm definitely going to check out some kind of heart monitor- the best would be if there's one that can somehow hook up with an ipod ap.
I so know what you mean about the food scale- I was so off it was not funny. I am not one of those people that can eyeball things. I measure everything- my smart balance butter, my cereal, etc. My mom can take one look at a piece of meat and guess exactly how many ounces it is- she's usually almost dead on. For me, the hungrier I get, the bigger the ounces become.

bloodstar- I've got an iphone, I don't know why I never thought to check that out! I'm sure they have something similar. I need something like that because if I spend 20 minutes goofing off on the elliptical, MFP will tell me it's the same amount of calories as if I was busting my butt the whole time.

dreamingofsandie- that article is fascinating, thank you. I've been wondering about that lately

bloodstar · June 2011

One thing I do like about MFP is the ability to change the calories burned from their default for an exercise. I trust the machines to calculate the work more than a generic calculation.

good luck and work out hard!

1,200 seems so low!

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