calories

saaddiie · July 2016

I'm SO confused with how many calories I need.. I've always thought 1200-1500 is a good limit for weight loss.. Now I'm hearing its TOO LOW for me. I weigh 225, I'm 5'5, and 21. I was doing a 1500 diet and recently stopped losing. So I did research and it says I should consume about 2000 calories..crazy. I know! So how did you lose weight? And also should I stay at 1,500 and add more excerise? I do about 20 min 6 days a week of light workouts. Any advice/tips will be awesome.

jencook1969 · July 2016

Hi, I started out on mfp by putting in my stats and I think it allowed me around 1600. And I wasn't losing very much at all. I have since dropped it down to 1200...you never want to go under 1200. Some say eat back your exercise calories...I try not to, as I think they are overestimated anyway. I started on here at 265 on 5/25/16...I'm 5'9" 47 year old female. This morning 7/27/16. I weighed in at 233.8. (31 pounds down) I try to walk every morning for at least an hour, or ride bike..hope this helps.

oolou · July 2016

If you can manage 1500 and not be tempted to occasionally cheat, then carry on. The targets we are given from online calculators are estimates. For some people they will be bang on, for others either too high or too low. You'll know what works for you from your own experience after a couple of months.

If you have stopped losing at 1500, how long was the plateau? Weight weight can go up and down even when we eat in a deficit because of other factors such as water weight, hormonal changes, increase in exercise and so on. If the plateau is going on for longer than three weeks, then it's time to re-examine what you are doing.

LivingtheLeanDream · July 2016

yeah 2000 sounds more like the thing for you, you'll find as your weight reduces so will your calories so you might as well eat more now, especially as you will still lose weight. Its not good to have too aggressive a calorie deficit as our bodies really do need proper fuel to work efficiently and be healthy.

LivingtheLeanDream · July 2016

jencook1969 wrote: »

Hi, I started out on mfp by putting in my stats and I think it allowed me around 1600. And I wasn't losing very much at all. I have since dropped it down to 1200...you never want to go under 1200. Some say eat back your exercise calories...I try not to, as I think they are overestimated anyway. I started on here at 265 on 5/25/16...I'm 5'9" 47 year old female. This morning 7/27/16. I weighed in at 233.8. (31 pounds down) I try to walk every morning for at least an hour, or ride bike..hope this helps.

1200 is too low for your current weight, what happens when you go to less than say 170 lbs e.g - are you going to drop your calories then to 1000 to lose? and no, that wouldn't be healthy. But you're getting your body used right now to eating too little when there is no need to.

Eating back exercise calories is how MFP works, the calories given doesn't include physical exercise so its best to eat at least 50% of those back. Its not a race to the finish line, its about slow and steady and keeping the weight off for good imo.

Steff46 · July 2016

Hi! I'm also 5'5". I started out at 153 then dropped to 133. After entering all my information into MFP they allowed me 1256 calories (I rounded it up to 1300). I have a sedentary desk job so that puts me into the less calorie range. It has worked for me so far...but I did stray some last summer (used maintenance calories 1500)while training for a triathlon and my weight went up to 137. Still trying to get that off...lol.

ldowdesw · July 2016

Hi, I'm 5'11" and I started December 28th on 1600 calories and I weighed 280lbs. I felt like I was eating too much although I dropped 28lbs like this but I have in the past 12 weeks dropped my calories to 1460. I'd lost my motivation for a while but managed to keep to 252lbs and I'm now back on track and have just dropped to 249lbs. I see myself as having a little space this way and if I want another coffee then it won't break the calorie bank.

RoxieDawn · July 2016

I will never tell anyone randomly to eat a certain amount of calories to loose weight. Personal stats, where you are starting weight wise (vanity pounds, overweight, obese category, etc) are things that have to be taken into consideration. Also exercise, etc..

You must run your own numbers, trust the calculator (MFP) and watch weight trends. Loosing too slow for set goal, you will know what to do. Loosing too fast for the set goal, you will know what to do.

jencook1969 · August 2016

I wasn't suggesting 1200 for anyone, just saying what has been working for me. Other than the sporadic exercise I do manage to get in, I'm pretty much sedentary. Setting my calories at 1200 allows me some wiggle room, especially for those days when I'm not getting exercise. I have noticed that even without exercising at 1200 I can lose between .5 and 1 pound a week. Any higher than 1200, (for me) I'm gaining. The last time I did MFP, my calories were set at the suggested 1700's and I was killing myself with cardio and working my butt off at the gym, and was not losing but continued gaining. I'm hoping as I lose more, I will be exercising more and by the time I reach my goal, my maintenance should be around 1500 per day...but of course will have to be adjusted according to activity as well. Like I said I wasn't trying to give anyone bad advice, just saying what has been working for me. There has been a LOT of trial and error on my part over the years trying to lose weight and get healthy. But this seems to be working for me.

LivingtheLeanDream · August 2016

jencook1969 wrote: »

I wasn't suggesting 1200 for anyone, just saying what has been working for me. Other than the sporadic exercise I do manage to get in, I'm pretty much sedentary. Setting my calories at 1200 allows me some wiggle room, especially for those days when I'm not getting exercise. I have noticed that even without exercising at 1200 I can lose between .5 and 1 pound a week. Any higher than 1200, (for me) I'm gaining. The last time I did MFP, my calories were set at the suggested 1700's and I was killing myself with cardio and working my butt off at the gym, and was not losing but continued gaining. I'm hoping as I lose more, I will be exercising more and by the time I reach my goal, my maintenance should be around 1500 per day...but of course will have to be adjusted according to activity as well. Like I said I wasn't trying to give anyone bad advice, just saying what has been working for me. There has been a LOT of trial and error on my part over the years trying to lose weight and get healthy. But this seems to be working for me.

That's great - its about finding what works for you and what you can stick to consistently.

Jezreel12 · September 2016

I understood what you said about the 1,200 calories so don't feel bad about what you're saying.

RhapsodyWinters · September 2016

saaddiie wrote: »

I'm SO confused with how many calories I need.. I've always thought 1200-1500 is a good limit for weight loss.. Now I'm hearing its TOO LOW for me. I weigh 225, I'm 5'5, and 21. I was doing a 1500 diet and recently stopped losing. So I did research and it says I should consume about 2000 calories..crazy. I know! So how did you lose weight? And also should I stay at 1,500 and add more excerise? I do about 20 min 6 days a week of light workouts. Any advice/tips will be awesome.

Hm, I am 5'4, 253 lb, and to lose 2 lb a week, mfp's calculator set me at 1,370 calories per day. These are my settings. I placed exercise as zero, because the calculator will add calories based off my exercises anyway. I eat some of them back, but not all of them.

selina884 · September 2016

well, ive upped my calories to 1800 and Im still losing? Whats that about eh????

elisa123gal · September 2016

I don't see how much weight you've lost. But if you've lost a good amount.. your body could just be adjusting as it will..and you won't lose for a while. I do think we all need to tweak things for our personal bodies. Follow your instincts.. maybe stick with what you're dong of ra few more weeks.. if no change increase for a few days and see if you drop or not. It isn't an exact science like many on here say.

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