How many calories are you on?

amandaveldtman
amandaveldtman Posts: 3 Member
edited May 2016 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi. I've now lost 6 stone in 18 months. I'm 5.5 now weighing 11 stone. I've gone from 1350 caliries a day yo 1100 then 1000. Seems I can only lose weight on 800 calories now. Maintain my weight at 1100.

Just interested. How many can you get away with? ??

I've done it all with my fitness pal!!! Love it!!!
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Replies

  • carmkizzle
    carmkizzle Posts: 211 Member
    Wow, how are you managing on 800 calories? My calories are set to 1873 and I'm losing. Are you pretty tight on weighing your food and everything? 800 is extremely low - I'd imagine you're not getting all the nutrients you should with just 800 calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Either you've managed to damage your metabolism (unlikely but not impossible) or you're not counting your calories accurately.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Either you've managed to damage your metabolism (unlikely but not impossible) or you're not counting your calories accurately.

    This. 1100 is lower than the recommended minimum, and 800 is dangerous.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited May 2016
    Do you use a digital scale to weigh solid food, and measure liquids in a measuring cup? If you truly can't lose on 1200 calories....perhaps you should be tested for medical issues.

    An "average" TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) for a 39 YO, 5'5" sedentary woman weighing 154 pounds is 1,729 calories. A 500 calorie deficit (1 pound a week) would be 1229 calories. This should have you losing 1 pound per week. Of course due to water weight fluctuations some weeks you may see no weight loss....and other weeks more than 1 pound.

    800 severely limits your ability to get adequate nutrition. This can lead to all kinds of problems.

    I don't get away with instead I choose 1400 calories. I'm 16 years older than you (about same size)....so my TDEE is lower than yours. I want fat loss....so I choose to lose slowly.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    edited May 2016
    I lose weight on 2,500 calories a day. Lot more on weekends when I have more time to play outside. :smile:
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    1800-2000 a day, and that's with exercise (I use the TDEE method). Lately I've not been exercising for various reason, so eating a bit less - but your levels seem way too low. That is often the problem with going for lowest cals - when you stall or need to change things up, you've got nowhere to go but dangerously lower.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I am currently losing on 2700 cals. :)
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
    Your weight loss of 4.5 pounds per month for 18 months is impressive. But I have to agree with others here questionong your accuracy. Do you weigh every single thing in grams? Do you measure liquids? Do you double check MFP calorie counts to a more reliable data base? If the answer is yes then you need to see a Dr. No one should need to restrict calories to 800 to lose weight. 800 is dangerous to your health, even in the short term.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    I maintain under 10 stone on over 2,000 calories most days and I am 48 years old. 800 doesn't sound like enough to get all the nutrition you'd need. Unless you are dead idle you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still lose weight.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited May 2016
    You and I are in the same boat! Before I started running I could lose weight at 800 calories a day, maybe half-1 pound a week. Now I'm running probably 5-6 hours a week and on 1500 net calories. I'm not losing, not gaining. I bumped my calories back to 1200-1300 and it appears I'm losing slowly.

    I don't know why it's that way. We're different. We're not statistically "normal". Which is fine. I've just learned to eat cleaner, closer to the source foods. I enjoy them. Just extra mindful of pizza and such. Staying away from fast food, packaged food helps with a more accurate calorie count too.

    I'll have to look up the conversion for pounds to stones, I forget. I'm 125ish pounds, 5'5" I have prob another 5-10 to lose. My goal is my ideal running weight which is less than the ideal healthy weight. I'm small framed.

    If you don't already exercise, it'll help your metabolism. And adding weights helps. Congratulations on your weight loss.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    I'm 5'3", 161 and at 1530 calories/day... You are either eating way too little, or you're not logging accurately.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    That's complete and utter BS. You're not logging accurately. Or you're a 5 yo child.
  • jillkaiser1
    jillkaiser1 Posts: 2 Member
    I did the hcg diet and my calorie limit was 500 per day. It was dangerous and unhealthy. I lost 50 pounds but it didn't stay off when I went back to a normal lifestyle. Pluse I couldn't exercise or I would pass out.
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    I highly doubt you truly maintain on 1100 calories.

    I'm 5'5 and ~130. I maintain on 2400-2500 calories a day. A bit more during the warm summer months. I get a good amount of exercise though.

    Even if I sat on my *kitten* for the entire day... I could likely eat upwards of 1800 calories and maintain.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Like others have asked, are you using a scale and tracking EVERYTHING?
    I'm 5'9" and lost all my weight eating 1800 calories. But I track EVERYTHING. For lunch, I ate 2 of my child's Doritos, so I logged it. When I have gum, I log it. Every single thing.
  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
    1600
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    That's complete and utter BS. You're not logging accurately. Or you're a 5 yo child.

    My 5 year old child eats more than 1100 calories/day.

    OP obviously isn't tracking everything, which is quite common. Nothing to really be concerned about health wise. The scale doesn't lie, if they are maintaining weight they are eating more than 1200 calories and probably nutritionally fine. If the OP said they were losing 2-3lb/week and eating 800 calories then I might be concerned.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    currently maintaining on about 2500 calories a day.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    nordlead2005 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    That's complete and utter BS. You're not logging accurately. Or you're a 5 yo child.

    My 5 year old child eats more than 1100 calories/day.

    OP obviously isn't tracking everything, which is quite common. Nothing to really be concerned about health wise. The scale doesn't lie, if they are maintaining weight they are eating more than 1200 calories and probably nutritionally fine. If the OP said they were losing 2-3lb/week and eating 800 calories then I might be concerned.

    But s/he is surely bulking! lol.

    I have a 9 yo and have looked up what a typical child's calorie level is a few times, just out of curiosity. I always thinking of the calories listed as bulking calories since kids are supposed to be adding size/growing.
  • notreallychris
    notreallychris Posts: 501 Member
    Losing on 1900.
  • ChampCrucial
    ChampCrucial Posts: 120 Member
    5'10 240lb Sure I would be losing on 2500 if I could stick with it. I have been knocking down anywhere from 2000-3500 calories and losing. I workout every day except Saturday and Sunday and I get a ton of steps from my 2nd job. Low intensity walking 5X a week, moderate intensity weights 3X a week, High Intensity cardio session 1X a week
  • Pam_Shebamm
    Pam_Shebamm Posts: 167 Member
    I'm usually between 1500-2000. Depends on how much or little I exercise.
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
    MFP has me set to 1240 currently, but I find I have to stick to closer to 1000 + half of any exercise calories to lose even half a pound a week. that said, I'm coming off Seroquel, which is an antipsychotic medication known to cause metabolic syndrome. have you been to a doctor to find out why you need to eat so little to lose weight? there must be some sort of medical condition happening, assuming you're logging correctly.
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
    I'm 5'5 too, weigh 8st11 (ish) and maintain on about 2,500 which after exercise nets to about 1,600-1,800. (I train around 6-10hrs a wk)
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    My guess is that your probably eating more than you think. Either by using inaccurate database entries, not measuring/weighing food intake accurately or not logging consistently.

    I'm 5'4.5" and if my conversion is correct 8 st 10 lbs (122 lbs). I maintain in the 2200-2300 calorie range.
  • maisiedaisie579
    maisiedaisie579 Posts: 4 Member
    My bloods are normal ( recently checked) but am not losing on 1,200 calories a day. I've not lost any at all after 6 weeks. I previously lost 6 stone, ( intermittent fasting) gain a stone back and it isn't moving with 1,200. I exercise everyday too. I do wonder if the calorie counter on here is wrong tho. You can pretty much put in whatever you like cos there is many different results for every type of food.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    maisiedaisie579 wrote: »
    My bloods are normal ( recently checked) but am not losing on 1,200 calories a day. I've not lost any at all after 6 weeks. I previously lost 6 stone, ( intermittent fasting) gain a stone back and it isn't moving with 1,200. I exercise everyday too. I do wonder if the calorie counter on here is wrong tho. You can pretty much put in whatever you like cos there is many different results for every type of food.

    @maisidaisie579 - The database is largely user created. This means that there is a lot of inaccurate entries and you should double check everything you log (even when using the barcode scanner). I've seen chicken entries that were only 1/3 the calories they should be. Now some packaged and restaurant foods will vary in nutritional data depending on where you live.
  • Johnsweaver
    Johnsweaver Posts: 46 Member
    Months/years of constant calorie restriction can slow a metabolism. If it's really as slow as she says and the food measurement is accurate - I'd recommend eating at maintenance and slowly try to raise maintenance calories over the next many weeks or months. Try different strength or conditioning workouts. Track your waist and hips so that if you are adding weight you can figure out if it's bodyfat or muscle. Put yourself back in a position to run a caloric deficit at higher calories sometime in the future.
  • haliirae5
    haliirae5 Posts: 7 Member
    I eat 1450 calories a day and I have been losing still. 800 your body is probably going into starvation mode and storing fat :(.
  • xCyanideGirlx
    xCyanideGirlx Posts: 116 Member
    1400 cals to lose 2lbs a week

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