MFP help please, 1200kcal cannot be correct?

Bonny132
Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
edited August 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Guys where did I go wrong? Under my goal it states MFG gives me 1200 cals a day which will lead me to 1lbs loss per week.

I am 5'2 (Or 158 cm) 82.7kg with a sedentary job (I sit on my butt 8hrs a day) This puts my BMI as obese.

I exercise both cardio and weights and I eat my exercise calories as I am hungry!

Seriously, with the weight I got to loose, I would have expected to be able to eat more than 1200 calories and get a 1.5-2lbs loss? Instead of MFP setting it at 0.5kg or 1lbs? As I would not have to eat back all my exercise calories?

Can someone please advice on what I have ticked wrong in my goals/profile please? Thank you!
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    to lose about 1 Lb per week requires a deficit from your maintenance of about 500 calories per day (or 3500 calories per week). If you put sedentary then MFP is estimating your maintenance without any exercise to be around 1,700 calories...which is probably about right. At your height, you're not going to have huge calorie requirements.

    when you exercise, you cease to be sedentary right? so with MFP, you log that activity to account for that activity and you get more calories. just be careful as estimating calories out is tricky business and many people log highly inflated burns...be conservative and provide someway of dealing with estimation error...for many, this means eating back only some % of those calories...as arbitrary as that is.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    It just is a bummer to be short sometimes. That means it's estimating your maintenance at around 1700 when sedentary. I'm 5'3 and 125, and if I were sedentary my maintenance would be around 1550. You might lose a bit more, since most people aren't really sedentary if you walk a decent amount in daily life. Or you can go with the TDEE method rather than eating back calories -- that's what I did eventually, since I didn't want 1200 on rest days.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    I use my Fitbit HR and I eat back my tracked exercises, not what it records throughout the whole day. So you're saying with a min of 20kgs or 50lbs left to loose I need to get used to 1200 cals a day or 1lbs a week? I had hoped for 1.5lbs at my current weight Ho Hum...
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    I am 5'6" and aim to lose about 30 more pounds. I work from home and am pretty lazy, so I selected sedentary. I put in 1.5 pounds a week and got 1200, but MFP says I can expect a 1.2 pound loss per week at 1200. So...

    I use my Fitbit like crazy and eat all my extra calories if I feel like it!
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    I'm short (5'1.5") and sedentary and have the same challenge. MFP won't go below 1200 calories (which is a good thing) but it means your margin for deficit may be smaller than you would like. I *am* a little surprised that it set you at 1200 at ?190? pounds to start; it started me off at about 1450 calories when I started MFP (at 218 pounds). But I may have set my goal less aggressively; I don't recall.

    The conventional wisdom is to eat back only 1/2 to 2/3 the exercise calories (to allow for optimistic calculations in *giving* them).

    All I can say is learn to enjoy the best choices you can make for your calorie "buck". It *is* possible to eat at about 1300 calories (with exercise calories added back in) and be sated, but it takes some practice. Get enough fiber; get enough fat (for satiety).
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    Sounds about right! I'm 5' and sedentary, and my calorie allotment per day is 1,200. My maintenance is only slightly higher. You will adjust to the eating habits very easily! Try to focus on snacking on healthy foods throughout the day instead of large meals in order to keep hunger subdued.
  • ScreeField
    ScreeField Posts: 180 Member
    You could consider easing into it. Do you know how many calories per day you ate before starting MFP? Just by decreasing from your starting point, you'll definitely be moving in the right direction.

    One thought would be to start at 1,500 per day for a couple of weeks, drop to 1,400, then 1,300, until you reach a point where you are both losing weight and aren't feeling too deprived.
  • mrssabre113
    mrssabre113 Posts: 24 Member
    I'm 5', had 26lbs to lose (current loss of 17lbs) when I have mine set to sedentary and it gives me 1200. I log my exercise but rarely eat any back. If you make healthy food choices, veggies fruit and good protein and control the amount of processed foods, 1200 really isn't too bad. I'll admit, the first 2 weeks was hard and I felt hungry all the time, but once I got used to it, I find it hard too eat too much more than 1200.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    ScreeField wrote: »
    You could consider easing into it. Do you know how many calories per day you ate before starting MFP? Just by decreasing from your starting point, you'll definitely be moving in the right direction.

    One thought would be to start at 1,500 per day for a couple of weeks, drop to 1,400, then 1,300, until you reach a point where you are both losing weight and aren't feeling too deprived.

    I got diagnosed recently with gluten intolerance. I ate insane amounts of food and drinks last year and could not keep anything down/in sorry TMI and I dropped loads (start weight 102kg) this year I regained 14kgs (30lbs) after my insides settled down, and I have already lost nearly 6kg of that or 13-14lbs. My Dr said that was normal as my body has not absorbed nutrients for such a long time.

    I am now on a GF diet for life, as I am getting more and more intolerant. So whereas I could maintain and loose last year with no exercise and eat 24/7 (I was hungry/lethargic/vitamin deficient and more) this year is a different story
  • EmmaFitzwilliam
    EmmaFitzwilliam Posts: 482 Member
    I am sad for you that you have a gluten intolerance - my housemate has the same challenge. The good news is that it makes it easier to eliminate some super-charged calorie "black holes" from your diet. I had to simply choose to not eat most grains; you will actually experience a benefit from not eating those foods.

    My housemate started with a generally "paleo" approach (and has modified it to suit her needs) but there are pitfalls. It's easy (with any of the grains and/or carb limiting plans) to replace grains with fats.

    That said, it can be done. You might want to start with a higher minimum and work down to 1200, but as you learn to be aware of whether you are *really* hungry, or if you are bored or thirsty, and as you learn to make satiety maximizing choices, it does get easier.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    Thank you Emma for the advice. After spending years under the weather (2014 was just a particularly bad one) I am finding it hard to readjust. As gluten, wheat and mussels are off my menu. The last 5 years I did not gain any weight and could eat whatever... Now I am getting used to normality which means not only staying clear of my intolerances but also eating close to nothing... Such a change to my life.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Bonny132 wrote: »
    I use my Fitbit HR and I eat back my tracked exercises, not what it records throughout the whole day. So you're saying with a min of 20kgs or 50lbs left to loose I need to get used to 1200 cals a day or 1lbs a week? I had hoped for 1.5lbs at my current weight Ho Hum...

    Yeah 1200 is the lowest mfp will go, any lower and it starts being unhealthy or difficult to get adequate nutrition.

    Like others said, work down to it or ease into it.

    But you might get used to it after a few weeks.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    Thanks all, guess I'll need to become a gym bunny or hope one morning by a miracle I wake up taller. And they say size does not matter, my calorie allowance tells me differently!
  • ElkeKNJ
    ElkeKNJ Posts: 207 Member
    I have about the same stats: extremely sedentary, exact same height, but 66 kg this morning, so overweight category. I think 1200 kcal is very hard to stick to, and so I keep falling off, though it is not even a 500 kcal deficit.
    Yesterday I decided I will aim for 1450 kcals from now on, which will be my maintenance level when I reach my goal anyway. This will be a small deficit from my current weight, but 1. slow progress is better than no progress, which I keep ending up with now and 2. By the time I get to my goal weight, 1450 kcal might come naturally to me... (oh, and yesterday, I failed...)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
    I think you should consider giving yourself a bit more time to lose this weight.

    You've got a lot of adjusting to do now that you have knowledge of your condition. It sounds like you're (quite naturally) unhappy about not being able to eat familiar foods. It's good though that it was figured out! and it sounds like your symptoms have improved.

    The main thing with weight loss is sticking with your plan, consistency. If your plan leaves you TOO hungry and uncomfortable, that's going to set you up for bingeing, going off it, maybe losing confidence in your ability to achieve your goal.

    Go for 0.5/lb week for now. Or track your ordinary diet, and cut say 200 from it. Add in a good pacey walk (40-60 minutes) after dinner on the days you don't do cardio, that will make up the difference.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,138 Member
    Calorie allowances is seriously one of the first times I've been bummed about being short (5'2). I'm not hungry on my calorie allowance but nor does it leave any wiggle room for eating out, wine etc. Luckily I exercise heaps so that helps. I do have to be structured with my food intake - I meal plan and pre-log to make sure that I'm under my allowance while still meeting my macros and fueling my workouts.
  • Trishfitz78
    Trishfitz78 Posts: 69 Member
    I'm 5'2 and started this journey at 80kg. Booked a trainer twice a week and he put me on 1500 cals a day! I thought this was high but trusted him - he also gave me macros of 40 / 30 / 30.
    I've logged consistently for 95 days now, train with trainer twice a week and run 35 mins twice a week (I also eat back some exercise cals) and I've lost just over 10kg! I couldn't survive on 1200, love my food too much!
    Feel free to add as a friend, my diary is open. :)
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    I'm 5'2' as well. There's three reasons I'm not facing the same calorie goal as you.

    I'm active so I get to eat those calories back.
    I have a Fitbit. So it gives me my daily TDEE and I get to eat any extra with that. Despite you having a sedentary job you might be able to eat more than you think. Get yourself a pedometer (like Fitbit) and find out how active you really are.
    I do a form of intermittent fasting called 5:2. So five days a week I eat to maintenance and two days a week I eat 500 cals. I chose busy days where I don't have a lot of time to eat so it's easy for me. It might work for you too.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    I have gotten used to what I can and cannot eat gluten wise, eating out is a real struggle so I do not do it very often (Too many restaurants does not understand that once they contaminate GF food, it is no longer GF and I cannot eat it) so my symptoms are very much under control. I know I can never go back to my old eating habits, and I have reconciled myself to that fact. If anything last time I was accidently glutened, and spent the following 3 days ill served as a nice reminder of how much my body dislikes gluten, and how much my life in general has changed since my diagnosis.

    I think my problem is more along what @oh_happy_day mentioned above, there is no leeway in my planning for anything. 1200 calories is quite hard to feel satisfied on, especially when I try to fit in some exercise too, as I want to not only tone up, but to build muscle (so I eat my exercise calories, as otherwise I do literally starve)
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,138 Member
    Bonny132 wrote: »
    I have gotten used to what I can and cannot eat gluten wise, eating out is a real struggle so I do not do it very often (Too many restaurants does not understand that once they contaminate GF food, it is no longer GF and I cannot eat it) so my symptoms are very much under control. I know I can never go back to my old eating habits, and I have reconciled myself to that fact. If anything last time I was accidently glutened, and spent the following 3 days ill served as a nice reminder of how much my body dislikes gluten, and how much my life in general has changed since my diagnosis.

    I think my problem is more along what @oh_happy_day mentioned above, there is no leeway in my planning for anything. 1200 calories is quite hard to feel satisfied on, especially when I try to fit in some exercise too, as I want to not only tone up, but to build muscle (so I eat my exercise calories, as otherwise I do literally starve)

    You're welcome to add me to check out my diary. It does have gluten in it though. :)

    I feel satisfied on my allowance. I find the exercise very helpful - gives me a few hundred extra calories, some of which I store up so that I can eat out etc.

    Just be aware that you can't build muscle in a deficit. Don't let that stop you working out though - you can still get fitter/stronger and it will help retain lean muscle mass which you already have.

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