It is even possible to lose 1lb a week with just calorie counting?

ajc1309
ajc1309 Posts: 255 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It's my goal atm. MFP has me at 1360 a day which I'm finding hard as I work on my feet most of the day and get hungry. I've eaten over it most of this week I think :/

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    What's your Activity Level set to?
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Yes

    But why are your calories so low if you're active?
  • ajc1309
    ajc1309 Posts: 255 Member
    I don't know. I have it set to lightly active and to lose 1lb a week.
  • sherrifoster123
    sherrifoster123 Posts: 21 Member
    Definitely possible. I have a sedentary job and eat 1300 calories a day. I typically lose 1-2 lbs a week. Some days I'm closer to 1200 calories. On Friday and Saturday I splurge a little eating out but I've still been losing not working out at all.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    ajc1309 wrote: »
    I don't know. I have it set to lightly active and to lose 1lb a week.

    How tall are you, what do you weigh now, what's your goal weight, and how old are you?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Possible, yes...I did for awhile, but without exercise my calorie targets were not to my liking...so I figured I'd exercise initially so I could eat more...then, as I became more fit I remembered how awesome it was to be so.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    With 13 pounds to go your goal might be too aggressive.
  • OneHundredToLose
    OneHundredToLose Posts: 8,523 Member
    I am losing approximately 1lb per week following the caloric deficit MFP recommends and doing minimal exercise, so yes it's entirely possible.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I'm staying below 1360 most days, easily. I'm losing 2+ pounds a week, but then my calorie goal is 2300.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    ajc1309 wrote: »
    It's my goal atm. MFP has me at 1360 a day which I'm finding hard as I work on my feet most of the day and get hungry. I've eaten over it most of this week I think :/

    Yes! MFP expects you to log your exercise and eat back some of those calories, start with half and see if that works for you.

    In addition, it might help to start with a goal of one-half lb per week and get used to eating that amount, then increase your goal to one lb after you get more comfortable. But if you aren't eating any of your exercise calories, that might not be necessary!

    I ate 1500-1600 to lose weight, and for me personally, I found increasing my protein helped me feel fuller. So try playing around with your macros as well to find what will work for you.

    Good luck!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    And OP, this is not me judging, but I had to cut out alcohol most days when I was trying to lose. I have just been maintaining over the winter, and have LOVED having a beer or a glass of wine most nights. But once the weather warms up and I try to lose another 5-10 lbs, I'll be back to picking one or two nights a week at most. I need that couple of hundred calories for food :(.

    And I just noticed someone said you only have 13 lbs to go. I had to do one-half pound per week (I had 15 lbs to lose). My TDEE is @ 1,800, I could only get down to @ 1,500 ish calories or I was just generally miserable.
  • BoogeyBrat
    BoogeyBrat Posts: 212 Member
    Yes, it's totally possible to lose with just counting calories. I lost my first 20 that way, and then I started walking. Did no other exercise besides walking and and I lost another 30.
  • ajc1309
    ajc1309 Posts: 255 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    ajc1309 wrote: »
    I don't know. I have it set to lightly active and to lose 1lb a week.

    How tall are you, what do you weigh now, what's your goal weight, and how old are you?

    I'm 5'3, 139lbs, goal weight is 126 and I'm 26.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Yes it is possible, but probably not if you eat 1900 calories with your stats.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    I've got similar stats - 25, 5'4, 136 with a goal of 120. I'm set to lose 1 lb per week and get 1380 at lightly active, plus I eat back my Fitbit adjustments. My weight loss is slower than 1 lb per week because I generally like to eat to maintenance Friday-Sunday, having a 500 deficit the other four days of the week keeps me losing just over half a pound a week on average so I think the numbers you're working with will work as long as you're accurate with your logging and estimation of activity level.

    You might need to take it down to half a pound a week to be comfortable as you don't have much to lose, or get a step tracker - if you are on your feet all day you might actually be active rather than lightly active, in which case your body would need more calories to keep up with your daily activity.

Categories