I finally have a normal bmi!!! and now I'm a bit confused...

snowy_sk
snowy_sk Posts: 117 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
So finally! Hooray! my bmi is now under 25 and in the normal range (down from 30 at the beginning of the year). Whoop whoop!!!

I'd still like to lose another stone or so which would get me down to a bmi of around 22 so the question is, should I be eating a bit more? I'm currently eating 1200 a day which is about 1 1/2 pounds a week. I'm happy to stay at this number of calories but want to do whatever is healthiest.

Any words of wisdom?

x

Replies

  • PBmaria
    PBmaria Posts: 854 Member
    Make sure to calibrate your calories on here!
    And congrats!! :)
  • CristineD
    CristineD Posts: 59 Member
    I'm a pound off a healthy bmi and want to lose about the same as you so going to.....bump....hope you don't mind :)
  • hosment
    hosment Posts: 12
    Congratulations! Perhaps change your settings according to your current weight and see what it recommends. My BMI is just under 25 now and it recommends 1,380 cals a day to be losing about 1lb a week but I guess it calculates it differently for each person. Well done! :)
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    Congratulations!

    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



    Good luck on your journey
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
    Congratulations!

    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



    Good luck on your journey

    Love your answer.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I agree with other responders you should lower your weekly loss goal to 0.5, this will help ensure that you lose mostly fat, instead of muscle, as having a large deficit when you don't have much to lose causes your body to burn muscle to use as fuel.
  • yanicka
    yanicka Posts: 1,004 Member
    Once you reach a healthy BMI, you have to be even more carfull with your calories. I've reached a healthy BMI in April and lost 4 pounds since then. I have upped my calories to 1350 and eat 75% of my exercices calories. It is going very slowly but I do not mind all that much.

    That being said, if you are not at a plateau, no need to change anything. Eat healthy food, move and trust your body.

    Good luck
  • spitfire1962
    spitfire1962 Posts: 347 Member
    Congratulations!!!!
  • sillymesillyyou
    sillymesillyyou Posts: 18 Member
    Congratulations. I reached the same point a few weeks ago and have the same end goal, but since then I've started to feel a bit rough at times. I think possibly my blood sugar was dropping a little low or something like that. Maybe when you're in the "healthy" range it's harder for the body to burn fat and so there is less energy available. So I upped my calories by 100 per day (to 1400) and have been feeling much better - seemed to cause a plateau for a couple of weeks, but then weight loss got going again.

    Doesn't really answer your question, I know. But I was in a similar situation and wasn't quite sure what to do. In the end my body told me what to do.
  • jo_marnes
    jo_marnes Posts: 1,601 Member
    If what you are currently doing is working, then keep doing it! Don't fix something that ain't broke!!

    Results are how we know a plan is working.

    When you get to a plateau then change something (prob up exercise and THUS increase calories). Don't get all caught up in everyones opinions - you know what is working for you
  • MichelleF81
    MichelleF81 Posts: 98 Member
    I agree with other responders you should lower your weekly loss goal to 0.5, this will help ensure that you lose mostly fat, instead of muscle, as having a large deficit when you don't have much to lose causes your body to burn muscle to use as fuel.

    This is what I'm trying to do now.......my bmi is 21 and I want to lose another 8lbs but after losing 8lbs in 3 weeks on 1200 cals I've now increased mine to about 1400 net on my non workout days and 1600 gross on my workout days and I'm trying to eat more protein.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I also dropped my weight loss goal to 0.5 pounds/week once my BMi was "normal." However, I was also plateauing so by eating more I broke out of my plateau. I have lost 5 pounds since the beginning of April, so my weight loss is slooooow but it is going down. Just think of it as maintenance practice, as you will adjust to eating more calories, get used to not seeing 1+pound losses every week, etc.
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