How many calories

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caroljoyce1961
caroljoyce1961 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How many calories are you all doing. 1200 or lower for faster weight loss.

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  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Eat the most calories you can and still lose is the winner.
  • jprewitt1
    jprewitt1 Posts: 264 Member
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    I eat 2100 calories per day (sometimes a little more as I have it set a little lower than my recommended amount by MFP). I'm a very big man though, so that amount is good for me. I tried the whole "1200 calorie" thing too because I wanted to lose weight fast. I stopped when I realized I was having inappropriate fantasies about food daily because I was hungry all the time. I finally came to the conclusion that I shouldn't lose weight fast because I didn't get fat fast. It was a slow process, just like weight loss will be. I'd rather be eating to keep my body ready with enough energy than starving to look good in a bathing suit.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Unless you are very tiny and completely sedentary, you shouldn't eat less than 1,200 cals.

    I am 43, 5'4" female, and I ate 1,600 cals to lose weight.
    Faster isn't necessarily better - you lose more muscle mass and can be too hard to stick with and maintain.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    1700-1800 calories to lose, here. Anything below 1400 and I feel like gnawing off my own arm.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited March 2016
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    More than 1200. Losing weight fast generally makes it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle. If you are very overweight, losing muscle won't be an issue. Closer to goal, you need to protect muscle.

    Pound per week goals
    75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
    Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
    Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

    I'm 5'5" tall, 55 YO and I eat 1400. MFP will give you a calorie goal based on height, weight, age, gender, activity level AND "I want to lose xx pounds per week."

    The calories MFP gives you are BEFORE exercise. Log exercise and eat 50-75% of those calories too, to get to your original deficit. Use 50-75% because calorie burns are estimates (and often generous).
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    2700-3200 depending on my workout for the day.
  • Ajocal18
    Ajocal18 Posts: 167 Member
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    I'm 5'1 and started at 198 (currently 144) I ate 1200 the whole time. After the initial adjustment I was never overly hungry and never ate my exercise calories back. Being a 5'1 female of a moderate weight I have an extremely low BMR I only burn around 260 calories through 30 minutes of intense cardio. I'm not sure of your stats but I think 1200 is reasonable for a smaller woman. However with all that being said I did fall off the wagon 7 months and 54 lbs later. I didn't re-gain any weight but I definitely stopped loosing and took several months to get started again. Maybe if I had been eating at a smaller deficit I wouldn't have gotten tired the process.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    ~1650
  • lizzyliz90
    lizzyliz90 Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm 5" 7 and have multiple sclerosis, so I am very sedentary right now. I'm eating 1500 a day, trying to anyway.
  • trinty425
    trinty425 Posts: 108 Member
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    5'6" and I am in a prediabetes program right now that says I need to eat 1700-1800 calories a day. After a week so far no loss. Before the program I was eating 1300-1550 calories a day (for a long time) and no weight loss. So the eat more to lose more is a new concept to me. We will see if it pays off since it is too early to really tell.
  • jprewitt1
    jprewitt1 Posts: 264 Member
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    trinty425 wrote: »
    5'6" and I am in a prediabetes program right now that says I need to eat 1700-1800 calories a day. After a week so far no loss. Before the program I was eating 1300-1550 calories a day (for a long time) and no weight loss. So the eat more to lose more is a new concept to me. We will see if it pays off since it is too early to really tell.

    If you eat more you won't lose more. That's not how any of this works. If you were eating 1300-1550 calories per day with no loss, you are either eating right at maintenance or underestimating your caloric intake. More than likely it's the latter. Get a food scale and really see your portions for what they are. You are probably overeating and don't realize it.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    2450, but I break it up to under-2k on weekdays, and somewhere around 3k on Saturday-Sunday.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Around 1600-1700 on average. Daily it varies.
  • DrusiliaDD
    DrusiliaDD Posts: 71 Member
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    Around 1400 daily. I'm 5ft and 60kg with my loss rate set to 0.5lbs per week. I've yet to notice a scale result but my time of the month rolling round might have something to do with that but my weekly pictures seem to be showing a difference.
  • SkyKC253
    SkyKC253 Posts: 42 Member
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    diannethegeek wrote: »
    1700-1800 calories to lose, here. Anything below 1400 and I feel like gnawing off my own arm.
    Amen. :wink:

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