Who eats over 1500 and manages to lose ?

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Replies

  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
    I am 5'7". I lost my first 75lbs eating 1800 a day. I'm now 166lbs, (down 97.4lbs) eating 1600 and still losing.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,089 Member
    Op- I eat between 2200-2600 right now ( I am no longer at a deficit )
    The last time I was at a deficit I ate around 1800.
    I'm 5'8 135 lbs female . I lost at 1800 . I am active.

    Yes there are many who 1200 cals is too low for( Unless someone is old, tiny , short - you get my point )
    Also 1200 is not sustainable for most. I surely could not live off of 1200 and be happy !


    There are lots of people on here who claim they are not losing so MUST eat low calories. Usually these people are not logging accurate. They are not using a food scale to weigh solids and are not measuring liquids. They often guess their calories and are eating more then they believe they are.
    For this to work, you must be as accurate as possible! Get a food scale and use it ! Log correctly ! No bar code scans, quick adds or guesses. Weigh everything! Log everything! Oils, butter, ketchup , dressings and all ! For this to work people must be honest with themselves!

  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    I am eating 1700/ day at 5'2" and 42, I'm down 45lb so far. I am losing about 1.5lb/week on average. I am enjoying this much more than when I was doing 1200.

    Is 1700 what you NET? congrats on your loss!!!!
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
    MFP is the land of food braggers. Everyone is eating. I don't know how but they're doing it. I've been poking around the reddit loseit forums asking similar questions I ask here. How many calories guys my size eat, etc. The answers here seem high. Here you get guys swearing they lose weight eating 2500-3000 calories. Women eating more than me losing weight (I'm a 230lbs male and lose nothing at 1800 calories). There you get more honest answers. Guys saying they started out higher but when they hit walls they had to dip way down. Some eating 1500 calories a day. Whatever answer you hear take it with a hugggggge grain of salt. You're probably talking to people who either a) have mutant metabolisms or b) do more cardio than they really are admitting.

    I also wonder when people tell others how many cals they are consuming, are these gross cals or net cals. Not many people specify when they throw their calorie count out there. To me, this is extremely significant information that people need to divulge. It's the net that counts at the end of the day.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    I eat 1200 + half my exercise calories and am losing about a pound a week (was doing that before coming to MFP, but MFP has really helped me see the numbers and understand where my calories are coming from.) BUT I started at 180 pounds, at 5' 4" tall, with thyroid issues. From experience, I figure I can probably stay this low for another 5 to 10 lbs, but then will have to switch up to 1400 base calories as I build fitness and increase activity.

    It really depends on what your goal is and how well your body processes food and responds to exercise, and for that every individual is going to be different.
  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
    I'm at 1610 and with exercise calories I usually can eat more than that. I don't always eat all my exercise calories back. I also don't weigh my food though so I probably eat more calories than I log. I've still lost weight this month though. For reference, I'm 26 yr old female, 5'7", and started the month at 205.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,393 Member
    edited January 2016
    JoJean12 wrote: »
    Older people need fewer calories to sustain their weight. People over 50 need to consider this . A 2000 calorie a day standard for women, 2500 for men does not apply.
    Metabolisms slow with age.

    It would depend on your activity level now, wouldn't it?
    Current maintenance is at about 2900 Cal.
    IF and when I average below that... I lose.
    You may want to use a trending weight app, it helps you figure out whether your general weight level is doing what you think it is doing based on scale measurements.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Wow... I'm a food bragger? LOL No, I just walk a fair amount. Do a little Zumba and yoga. Just started strong lifts 5x5. You know, average middle aged lady things.
    But I like that... 'food bragger'...
    Yeah, mine's bigger than yours! Dinner that is! Hahaha
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    FYI: calorie requirements only go down very slightly & progressively as one ages. So check me out! I'm an OLD eating these amounts and losing weight! Maybe a freak show in Florida will want to display me!!
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    My Fitbit tells me my estimate average daily burn is 2185. My average daily intake (total, not NET) is 1785 for the month January so far. I've lost 3lbs in that time, which is spot on to what a 400 calorie deficit would suggest. So, yeah, I eat quite a bit more than 1500 to lose at a decent pace (I'm 5'7", 148.4lbs, 39F, for reference).
  • Goatsmith
    Goatsmith Posts: 29 Member
    MFP gives me 1490 per day to lose 2lbs a week. I usually eat much more, but that's because of working out at least once a week, often twice, plus walking to work. On days when I'm off, like today, I usually end up eating a lot less, somewhere around 1000.
  • Itreadlightly
    Itreadlightly Posts: 87 Member
    I am eating around 1700/ day and I am only 5'0 - 61 yr. lost 25 lbs doing the MFP way. I average 10 miles walking per day ( Fitbit tracking) I walk so much because 1200 is just not enough - I like to eat well!
  • jessicapittman79
    jessicapittman79 Posts: 2 Member
    I'm at 1350 a day and 5'4. It seems to be working and helping so much! :) I have lost 13-15 lbs since December 26 2015.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    I eat around 2100. I'm breastfeeding (though she's 19 months so not feeding as much anymore) I run 14-20 km 3 times a week, hiit at the gym 4 hours a week, walk my 2 young kids everywhere. I've lost 15.5 kg (34lbs), and gone from a bmi of 26 to 20.8 in the last 8 months.
    I love my food. And wine and beer. I'm happy to brag as I work damn hard to earn both my slim fit body and my yummy food.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited January 2016
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    I am eating 1700/ day at 5'2" and 42, I'm down 45lb so far. I am losing about 1.5lb/week on average. I am enjoying this much more than when I was doing 1200.

    Is 1700 what you NET? congrats on your loss!!!!

    I set it at 1700 and let Fitbit adjust up, since MFP tried to set me at 1200, I have to be pretty active to get extra. I rarely get extra calories from Fitbit, and on weekends I am mostly parked in front of my laptop studying, so I figure the active days balance against the inactive days. I hope that makes sense :smile:

    And thank you! I have another 47 to go, but it's happening!
  • jmgj27
    jmgj27 Posts: 531 Member
    I'm on just over 1600 for a 2lb a week weight loss on lightly active. That's fine for me as I've lost 17lbs and have 83 to go so need plenty of room for manoeuvre for sure. Lightly active is definitely right for me as I have young twins and spend my life running around after them! I then log my exercise calories from walking and swimming but don't eat those back for the most part. 1200 calories a day would be pretty miserable for me (5.8 and 247 currently) and just not sustainable in the long term.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited January 2016
    MFP is the land of food braggers. Everyone is eating. I don't know how but they're doing it. I've been poking around the reddit loseit forums asking similar questions I ask here. How many calories guys my size eat, etc. The answers here seem high. Here you get guys swearing they lose weight eating 2500-3000 calories. Women eating more than me losing weight (I'm a 230lbs male and lose nothing at 1800 calories). There you get more honest answers. Guys saying they started out higher but when they hit walls they had to dip way down. Some eating 1500 calories a day. Whatever answer you hear take it with a hugggggge grain of salt. You're probably talking to people who either a) have mutant metabolisms or b) do more cardio than they really are admitting.

    You forgot this is called myfitnesspal. MFP has a good percentage of people who are very fitness-oriented. Many of the guys who lose eating at 2500-3000 have a few things going for them: high activity, often a good muscle mass and a reasonable deficit.

    I'm sedentary with a limited ability to be active all the time, but on days I am able to be active I lose a pound a week on 2000 calories. Of course I'm also still quite heavy, so I have that going for me.

    The comparison is not really valid because on other websites I have noticed people tend to want to lose a lot within a short time and if they don't they are quick to jump to the conclusion that they are not losing. Add to the that the lack of emphasis on accurate logging. Here you will find more people perfectly happy with losing 1/2-1 pound a week eating at a higher calorie level.
  • maryroser9
    maryroser9 Posts: 16 Member
    So if I'm not mistaken my calorie intake should be higher than 1200. I'm not a over active I generally do some walking health issues restrict me. Advice please
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    maryroser9 wrote: »
    So if I'm not mistaken my calorie intake should be higher than 1200. I'm not a over active I generally do some walking health issues restrict me. Advice please

    It's usually a matter of preference and stats. If you have a lot to lose, you can handle to eat more than 1200 calories even if inactive. If you are inactive, short, and close to your weight goal, you may be stuck at a lower allowance unless you are willing to have more food at the expense of less weight lost per week.

    It really is a personal balance. What calorie budget would you find yourself more comfortable at? And are you willing to have slower loss but be able to keep it up for longer? As a rule of thumb, enter 1 pound a week and let MFP calculate your calorie allowance for you then adjust from there if needed.
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    scolaris wrote: »
    I base what I eat every day on what my Fitbit HR is telling me I am burning. It has been very accurate so far. I aim for no more than a 500 per day deficit. If I have done really big workouts during the week and have a bigger weekly deficit than 3500 I eat some of those calories back on Saturday. Being very moderate really keeps me on track. I average 1 lb per week when I do this, but it isn't exactly the same week to week. It never is. I am not just trying to fit in 'z-size jeans by y/x date.' No. I am retooling my entire health. Fat loss is just one of many other goals. Running big deficits would defeat those purposes. I like to hike & get outdoors so i often eat 1800-2000 calories.

    Same here! I log my food on mfp but I eat the amount that my Fitbit charge HR tells me to eat. My weight loss is set to lose 1 pound a week. I eat about 2000 cals a day. I run/walk a mile, usually takes about 20 mins, then fast walk for another 5 mins. So with 25 mins of cardio, then several mins of walking in place to get to about 9 thousand steps. Fitbit says that I burn about 2500+ cals a day.

    Sometimes I struggle to eat what Fitbit tells me to eat and most times I end up under but I rarely way under 1600. Oh and yes since I started this I've been losing.