Jumping in with both feet

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tchrmom04
tchrmom04 Posts: 84 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been here logging everything (yes with a food scale) and have made some progress. I have lost 11 pounds over about 9-10 weeks. :) However - this past week was a realization for me. MFP has given me 1740 calories per day. However - I thought this amount seemed way too high. I mean it didn't feel like I was restricting anything at that amount - so obviously it "must be wrong" (sarcasm). :) Anyway - this past week even with Thanksgiving - I was under calories everyday and that didn't even include my exercise calories. I don't include them ever because I haven't been wearing my heartrate monitor so I don't have an accurate count of them. My BMR ranges from 1607 to 1680 depending on the website. And I have been way under that. My daily calorie count ranges from 1200 ish to 1400 ish.

So starting today (my weigh in day is Sunday) I am going to make sure I eat at least 1600 calories a day. I work outside the home but it is a desk job about 60% of the time - but on my feet about 30-40% depending on the day. Plus I do two exercise classes at the gym twice a week.

So I hope this works. I have been reading everyone's words of wisdom about eating at your BMR (minimum) and I think (hope) that is my problem. Yes I have had some initial weight loss and I am extremely happy about it. But I think this will be a better situation/scenario for me by upping my calories. I still have quite a bit of weight to lose (over 50) so I think this will make it sustainable for me. :)

Thank you for listening. :)

Replies

  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    I would increase calories only after I have exhausted all other options such as tighter logging, increased exercise intensity. My personal experience: when my weight loss stalled I increased my calories by 500 and worked out harder and the weight started to drop. May or may not work for.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    There's nothing wrong with eating under BMR My goal is 1270 and BMR is over 1600. But yes, too high a deficit, especially as you aren't adding in your exercise calories, is not sustainable. Good luck!
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    11lb over 9 weeks is a good rate of loss

    What has made you feel you need to adjust?
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    You're doing great! Keep up the consistency. You're certainly on the right track. I always encourage people to eat as much as they can while still making progress. If you can continue to lose weight with eating more, do it! It sets you up for better long-term success.
  • tchrmom04
    tchrmom04 Posts: 84 Member
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    Thank you for the kind words. I know I am losing at a good rate. But I want to keep it up. I want this to be consistent for the long haul. I am just so obsessive with my food scale and weighing everything. :) Anyway - I thought if I went ahead and increased my calories and was able to lose - then it will be easier later on when I "need" to decrease my calories. So yesterday I did pretty well and hit 1700 but today I am at 1500. :) Which is much better than 12-1300 which was my average for last week.

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