Anyone else feel cheated on calories allowed? =/

no..it all goes on your BMR..and reduces by 500 cals a day..so your BMR (to maintain your current weight is) 1900. you could of course eat a little more if you want..just workout a little harder to burn more calories.

:flowerforyou: that's a great question.:bigsmile: the number of calories is based in part on how quickly you want to lose weight so if you set your goals to lose one pound a week instead of two, you should get more calories.:bigsmile: another way to increase your calories is to exercise more.

:flowerforyou: when I started MFP I wanted to be able to eat a lot and still keep my calories down so I chose lean chicken or fish and a lot of steamed veggies and salad without dressing to I could have a lot to eat. I eliminated beverages (like juice and milk that had calories) and stopped eating processed foods, fast foods, fried foods, desserts and logged every bite I ate so I could see where the extra calories were coming from and substitute lower calorie choices

:flowerforyou: Instead of feeling cheated, take an active role in analyzing what you are eating and make the changes so you can be satisfied and still lose weight :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

I am around approx 1200 Calories. It depends on how much your targeted weekly weight loss goal is. I felt like I was being cheated when I first started also but I think it is all in retraining your body in to eating less and healthier calories. When we are heavier we eat too many calories and need to retrain our mind and tummy of what a healthy portion is. Soon enough you will adjust. Take it one day at a time so that you don't over do it. ; )

:flowerforyou: that's a great question.:bigsmile: the number of calories is based in part on how quickly you want to lose weight so if you set your goals to lose one pound a week instead of two, you should get more calories.:bigsmile: another way to increase your calories is to exercise more.

:flowerforyou: when I started MFP I wanted to be able to eat a lot and still keep my calories down so I chose lean chicken or fish and a lot of steamed veggies and salad without dressing to I could have a lot to eat. I eliminated beverages (like juice and milk that had calories) and stopped eating processed foods, fast foods, fried foods, desserts and logged every bite I ate so I could see where the extra calories were coming from and substitute lower calorie choices

:flowerforyou: Instead of feeling cheated, take an active role in analyzing what you are eating and make the changes so you can be satisfied and still lose weight :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

Couldn't have said it better! I agree 100%!

The calories will depend on how many pounds per week you input as your weight loss goal. Mine is also around 1400, which is quite low. If you burn off an extra 300 to 400 with exercise, then you will be able to eat 1700 calories and keep the same goal. If you lower your desired pounds lost per week, then your calories will be higher, and your weight loss slower. Find what works best for you! I don't mind losing only 1/2 pound per week, since it seems to stay off. Good Luck!

I'm at 229 right now, and still set for losing 2lbs/week, so I've got 1290 cals to play with in a day, however my daily total changes based on how much exercise I'm doing.

As well, if you are feeling hungry all the time and you aren't already doing this, plan your meals and have 4-5 small meals in a day. Extend your meals. I will, for example, put half of my supper on my plate, walk to the table, and eat one bite at a time, putting my utensils down in between, and taking a sip of water. After my first half of supper, I'll wait about 4-5 minutes, then get the second half, and repeat. Eating slowly ensures that your brain has more time to register the "hey, I'm full" feeling.

Totally understand though, and felt restricted for the first little while, but the results make it more than worth it. And if I'm feeling particularly deprived, I will simply put in an extra workout and burn x number of calories in order to accommodate whatever food I'm craving.

Edit: before I get criticism, I'm changing over to 1lb/week soon, at about the 220 mark, but right now I'm still good with this amount.

i have a pretty sedentary lifestyle (stay at home mom) for now.. though working on moving more.. i am 5'7" and 240 and allotted 1830 calories but the catch is i need to work out 3 times a week for 30 mins.. but i have been trying to encorporate exercise everyday though i have been counting cleaning.. (maybe cheating not sure) because i know i will count it as exercise i am cleaning harder if that makes sense i also try to add walking and cardio.. little by little.. just did 10 mins of 30 day shred @level 1 (jillian michael's) *10 mins post warm up and i feel like a wimp.. i pushed myself so hard to reach the end but i know if i push myself too hard i won't be able to push harder tomorrow.. the more you exercise the more you can eat though i have been doing this 4-5 days and i never eat back my calories and hoping i won't have too until i am working out hard core.. (1 hr plus at one go.. without breaking it up) i don't have too many suggestions for you as i am pretty new to this.. but try to encorporate cardio or other type of exercise or even to make it fun *pop in your fave c.d and dance for as long as you can (push yourself a bit but don't over do it) and even if you take breaks and feel like going at it later *and have the time.. you always can.. but again don't over do it.. i noticed i am NOT getting enough calories and all that is going to do is force my body into eating muscle.. so i need to eat.. i am just so obsessed now about every little thing that goes in my mouth.. and i don't cheat because no one is losing out except myself.. anything and everthing gets put in my diary.. sometimes embarassed or disapointed in myself for making a poor choice but i noticed counting my calories has helped me choose healthier alternatives.. think of food as fuel for your body the better the input the greater the output.. if your eating healthier you can make your body go farther.

You can do this!! and who says it has to be boring.. exercise CAN be fun!! and remember Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!!

I started out by choosing "lose 1/2 pound a week" because I knew that if I made a dramatic change to low calories, I just wouldn't be able to keep it up. I wanted something that was slow and steady and sustainable. I'm 5'4" and started at 204 pounds and initially was eating about 1660/day.
I found that I lost more than 1/2 a pound a week, so changed my activity settings to "lightly active" and my weight loss to 1 pound a week. This give me a bit over 1400 which is on the low side for me so I've been alternating between 1500 - 1600/week and still losing steadily (in fact, I'm losing about 1 1/2 pounds a week when I eat 1500, this seems to be the "sweet spot" for me).

If you feel 1400 is just too low and that you won't be able to maintain it, then there is nothing wrong with taking it up a bit - to 1500 or 1600 which gives you room to play with. Just make sure you don't fill the extra cals up with cookies and wine (like I sometimes do!), that probably won't be helpful.

And don't forget that if you exercise - say a half hour walk to the park and back - you will have an extra 200 cals or so that you can eat. Your deficit is still there and you can still lose weight.

And... one more thing. You will find that you get better "value" from your calories if you cook stuff at home (less added salt and sugar) and get lots of fruit and vegies in there. This way your body is getting the nutrition you need. If you are using those cals to eat fast food you'll be getting less quantity of food, less nutrition and likely will be much hungrier.

Maybe starting off slow would be better.

I knew I would have trouble cutting a bunch of calories from my diet and would probably feel so starved that I would binge at times, which defeats the whole purpose of what we're trying to do. So I decided that losing a 1/2 pound a week, which allows me about 1,800 calories a day, would be best.

Sure the weight loss is slow, but sticking to an 1,800-calorie diet hasn't been too difficult. Basically I eat about 500 calories per meal and then have 300 calories left over for snacks. Many times I end up under the limit for the day, especially if I'm eating a lot of healthy stuff like fruits and vegetables that day.

It's totally do-able, at least for me, and although the weight loss has been slow and gradual, I'm actually losing inches and am down a couple of sizes after just a few months. And I don't feel as if I'm starving at all.

Now that I've got my eating under control, I'm moving on to phase 2 of my get healthy plan - getting some exercise. Again, I'm starting off slowly. Right now I'm doing 1 workout a week for 20 minutes. Once I get used to that, I'll add another workout to the week and then another until I get a set routine down that works. Eventually I might move to longer workouts.

My therapist is the one who advised me to take it slow - she told me that setting small and easily achievable goals would keep me motivated to keep on going. And she was right - so far so good.

How quickly are you ACTUALLY losing? I've always lost far faster than mfp predicts, so quickly upped from 1200. I think it way be because I hardly ever watch TV and if I do it's often whilst standing to do the washing up.

On 1200 calories I counted all exercise, including any tidying away or washing up, but didn't feel the need to when I upped my calories. When I'm really trying to lose I embrace that hungry feeling and see it as success in the making.

Experiment with your calories until you find what works for you.

1400 is plenty if you cut out processed foods. You will have to make some choice though. Reduce the amount of bread you eat. Baked or steamed instead of fried foods. increase the amount of fruit and vegetables in your diet. Go for fish and lean meats if you eat them. I know you work for Taco Bell, but reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet will free up a lot of calories as well as reduce the amount the sodium and sugars in your diet. I would either pack a lunch and supplement it with taco bell foods like bring my own salad and maybe add the meat from Taco bell or not eat it at all.